Enlightenment Era Ideals

The Enlightenment period was embodied by the notion that social authority comes from the people being governed. This period, known as "The Age of Reason",  elevated science and rational over religion and supernatural power. It was a time where great thinkers such as John Locke and Thomas Hobbes questioned "human nature" and why society behaves in certain manners. These questions would eventually give birth the ideals of this time period.

After watching Don Giovanni, I was able to pick up a couple of Enlightenment aspects within the opera. The fact that Don Giovanni is painted as the villain represents how aristocrats during the Enlightenment were portrayed as dark spirited.

Specifically, the opera connects to two statements by two Enlightenment thinkers:

1. People are naturally free. No one need ask permission of anyone else before acting. - John Locke
2. Humans want two things: to increase pleasure and to avoid pain. - Thomas Hobbes

Throughout the scene with him and Zerlina, Don Giovanni attempts to seduce Zerlina even though she is already engaged to another man. Zerlina is clearly not an available woman since she has already tied the knot with Massetto. However, Don Giovanni, being the brute that he is, completely disregards this and believes he is a superior mate for Zerlina since he is a member of the upper class and that he is entitled to whatever he so desires. This best represents the words of John Locke. Don Giovanni didn't even ask Zerlina if she would go through in marrying him, he simply pushed aside everyone else, including Massetto, and asked for her hand in marriage.

During Don Giovanni and Zerlina's duet, they both sang the line, "We'll go, my dearest, and ease the pains of innocent love." At this point, Don Giovanni has successfully won over Zerlina's heart. Their plan to "ease the pains of innocent love" resembles the comments of Thomas Hobbes. In order to avoid these "pains of innocent love", Don Giovanni and Zerlina seek marriage and a life of lust as a way to raise pleasure while masking any suffering.

My initial reaction when I first read up on the Enlightenment period, I thought to myself how free and nonchalant society was then. People began to stray away from some of life's norms and strived to live differently beyond what was socially acceptable before then.