In our last class we discussed in detail Byron's portrayal of his own wife and mother through Donna Inez and his general sexist outlook throughout the poem. Though I still believe the poem leaves a lot to be desired in terms of sexual equality and responsibility, Julia's letter "transcribed" in stanzas 192-97 adds layers to this general portrayal. In it, Julia hints that love is all woman are good for, with men on the other hand having the ability to pursue multitudinous opportunities through which to excel. And I have trouble deciding whether this is tongue-in-cheek or Byron's legitimate outlook.
It seems the strongest analysis provided by the text is a sexist one. Julia commits herself fully, and harmfully, to the traditional feminine role. Not only does she herself as the victim of their affair, "I have no further claim on your young heart,/ Mine is the victim, and would be again" (1531-32) but places herself permanently in that role in regards to Don Juan. But on top of being the constant submissive, she also blames herself for the affair "if I name my guilt, 'tis not a boast,/ None can deem harshlier of me than I deem," (1541-42), and thus paints herself as irredeemable in the eyes of society.
In addition to the final and destructive placement in the feminine role, as stated above, she states that the feminine and masculine rules of love are completely irreconcilable, "Man's love is of his life a thing apart,/ 'Tis woman's whole existence," (1545-6). Men can do things outside of love and women cannot, a very simplistic definition. Yet, this makes some sort of sense given Byron's history, the earlier portrayal of Donna Inez, and this section's basis that Julia is to blame for the affair. Women in Byron's pieces (at least in those we have read and excepting ethereal examples like Witch of the Alps) appear incredibly static and then become blamed and joked about due to this stagnation. He ultimately sets his feminine characters up for failure by allowing them no space to flourish.
So maybe the tongue-in-cheek reading was a bit hopeful.
Donna Inez, though, is described as a highly educated woman and it is then hinted in Stanzas 22 and 23 that her marriage with Don Jose is a bad one because she is a "learned virgin" while he is one of the "gentlemen, who, though well born and bred, / Grow tired of scientific conversation." In these stanzas, Donna Inez is portrayed as someone who has a lot more going for her than Don Jose.
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