A Study of Comic Meaning in “ Don Juan or the Love of Geometry"

Hyeong Shik Kim

The title of Max Frisch’s comedy, Don Juan or the Love of Geometry (DonJuan oder Die Liebe zur Geometrie) is antinomic. As Don Juan is widelyknwon as a libertine, the expression – ‘‘the love of geometry” – prevents usfrom drawing up the real image of the figure. The concept of ‘‘the love ofgeometry” does not match the image of the womanizer who is addicted tosensual pleasures and sexual love. Legendary Don Juan enslaves a lot ofwomen, but is not fascinated by geometry that is irrelevant to sexual love. Frisch’s Don Juan is “an intellectual” and yearns for “purity,cold-headedness and preciseness” in the geometric field. Written in 1953, orthe Love of Geometry seeks for the contemporary transformation of thelegendary figure. Frisch is not only interested in merely making a sarcasticcomment on or satirizing the libertine incarnate. Rather, he is more interestedin seriously examining the figure through the medium of a play. This study, therefore, is aimed at figuring out the comic meaning of thedrama by tracing the remarks of major figures in the drama including DonJuan and, based on that, closely examining the contents of the play. Thestudy was carried out in four parts. Chapter One attempted to examine the most conspicuous comic apparatusesof the drama that is sub-titled “A Five Act Comedy.” Chapter Two figuredout the author’s real intention of metamorphosing the two major motifs of the drama: “a seducer of sensual pleasure and sexual love” and “an outlawgoing to hell.” Chapter Three, by examining each act, made close research ofthe main story of the five-act drama with much focus on Don Juan. ChapterFour explained the comic meaning of the drama based on discussions madein the previous three chapters.

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