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The Myth of Romantic Love

© Linda Casselman

Last time, we looked at the tragic love story of Tristan and Iseult from Arthurian Legend. A late addition to the Arthurian stories, this Celtic myth originated in Brittany and spread throughout Europe. This week, we will explore the myth of Romantic Love found in the Tristan and Iseult tale and popularized in the Middle Ages.

Today we believe that Romantic Love is natural and that it has always existed, but this is not so. Certainly there must have been great fondness and affection between husbands and wives, and between lovers, in the past as there is now; but unions, in the most part, were made out of necessity and convenience, for familial and political reasons, rather than for the love felt for each other by both parties involved in the union.

The story of Tristan and Iseult deals with the time when the idea of Romantic Love was being introduced into western society.

When we consider the myth of Romantic Love, we must consider the 2 variations of the myth: one represented by the story of Tristan and Iseult, and one represented by the Don Juan story.

Let's begin with the story of Don Juan...

This "Seducer of Seville" was a well-known hero from Spanish folklore whose fame quickly spread throughout Europe in the 17th century. Molière's play The Stone Feast (1665), Mozart's opera Don Giovanni (1787), and Lord Byron's (somewhat of a Don Juan himself!) epic poem Don Juan (1819-24) all attest to the popular appeal of this folk hero. This, briefly, is his story:

Don Juan was a famous Spanish lover and scoundrel who boasted over one thousand sexual conquests. He chose the beautiful young noblewoman Donna Ana as his next exploit but was soon discovered by her father, the Commander, as he prepared to seduce the lady. The Commander sought revenge on Don Juan so he challenged him to a duel. Don Juan accepted and killed the Commander, then escaped only to be pursued unsuccessfully by Donna Ana and her fiancé. One night as Don Juan was strolling past the cemetery, he passed the tomb of the dead Commander. An eerie voice called out to him from the dead man's statue warning Don Juan that someday he would be punished for his wickedness. But the cocky Don Juan just laughed and mockingly invited the statue to join him for dinner later. The joke was over, however, when the statue appeared at Don Juan's door for the meeting. It clasped Don Juan's hand in a vice-like grip and dragged him down into hell.