From the Spanish Golden Age comes this comedy of honor from a feminine perspective, criticizing the customs and position of women in society while ridiculing the myth of Don Juan. The female lead, Leonor, seeks to recover her lost honor against Don Juan who promised to marry her but flees and abandons her instead. Betrayed and dishonored, Leonor wants to take revenge. She disguises herself as a man named “Leonardo,” and pursues Don Juan, finding he has already moved on to seduce Estela, another woman. Estela in turn falls in love with “Leonardo.” Getting caught in this love triangle, Leonor/”Leonardo” manages to successfully influence everyone in her path to regain her honor, while poking fun at conventional gender stereotypes. Although the finale is typical of a 17th century Spanish play, the unconventional and “modern” aspect of this play is that a woman solves her own misfortune without the help of a man.
“The female protagonist’s intellect, way with words,
and sophisticated worldview fit right into our ‘nasty woman’ era.”
— José Solís, Theatre Development Fund
“What is fascinating…is that it feeds the many stigmas and tropes we have of
women today, while, simultaneously crushing them.”
— Diandra Rivera, Diandra Reviews It All
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