READING FOR WEEK 10

Summary of Richard Brinsley Sheridan,The Duenna(1775)

Note: The Duenna has a very complex plot that is easy to follow in the theatre, but not easy to summarize. Read this summary several times and make sure that you really understand how the story works, and what the relationships between the characters are!

Act One: The story is set in Seville, Spain. Don Jerome, the father of Louisa, is forcing her to marry Isaac Mendoza, an old, rich, Portuguese Jew. She, however, is in love with Don Antonio, a handsome, but poor, young Spaniard. At the same time, Louisa’s friend, Clara, is being forced into a convent by her father.[1] Clara is in love with Don Ferdinand, Louisa’s brother. Both girls run away from their fathers on the same night. Louisa is able to escape from her house by swapping clothes with her Duenna (Margaret).[2] The Duenna stays behind to meet Isaac, who has not yet seen his intended bride.

Having run away, Louisa meets Isaac in the street. She tells him that she is Clara, and that she is in love with Don Antonio. Isaac is pleased to hear this, as he thinks “Clara” (who is really Louisa of course!) will be so attractive to Don Antonio that Don Antonio will give up his hopes of marrying Louisa. Isaac therefore agrees to help “Clara” (Louisa) find Don Antonio, and advises her to go and wait at his house.

Act Two: Isaac goes to Don Jerome’s house to meet Louisa. He meets the Duenna instead. He is surprised that she is so ugly, as he has been told that Louisa is very beautiful. However, the Duenna is very nice to him, and as he is mainly interested in the marriage for financial reasons, he decides that her appearance does not matter. The Duenna, pretending to be Louisa, says she has been so angry with her father that she has made a “vow” that she will not be given away in marriage by him.[3] She therefore asks Isaac to run away with her. He agrees.

After leaving Don Jerome’s house, Isaac finds Don Antonio and tells him that Clara is in love with him, and wants to see him. Don Antonio is amazed at this, but agrees to go and see her at Isaac’s house. When Don Antonio discovers that “Clara” is really Louisa he is happy. He shows that he loves this “Clara,” and this makes Isaac happy, as he assumes that Don Antonio can no longer be his “rival.”

Act Three: Isaac runs away with the Duenna. Isaac and Louisa, at the same time (a coincidence!), bothsend letters to Don Jerome explaining their reason for running away (Louisa’s vow) and askinghim to allow them to get married. Don Jerome writes a letter to Louisa, giving her permission to get married with the words “make your lover happy; you have my full consent to marry as your whim[4] as chosen”—he does not mention Isaac’s name.Assuming that Louisa will now marry Isaac, heplans a big party for when they return. Louisa shows her father’s letter to Don Antonio, who is amazed to see that he is now (apparently!) allowed to marry Louisa.

Isaac meets Don Ferdinand and tells him that Don Antonio is going to marry Clara. Don Ferdinand is incredibly jealous and angry, and asks where Clara is. Isaac tells him that Clara has gone to a convent. Louis and Clara are both at the convent, and both wearing veils. Don Ferdinand arrives and sees “Clara” with Don Antonio, and starts a quarrel; there are several misunderstandings before he realizes the trick that has been played. Afterwards all three couples get married.

Finally, the three couples return to Don Jerome’s house. At first Don Jerome is angry when he realizes what has happened, but eventually he accepts the situation, especially as he can laugh at Isaac.

[1] I.e. she is being required to live in a religious community of nuns – something that really could happen in Catholic countries when, for any reason, the family did not want a young lady to get married.

[2] A Duenna was an older lady employed as a companion for a young lady. Her most important task was to ensure that the young lady had no secret love affairs.

[3] In a Christian wedding ceremony the father of the bride symbolically “gives” her to her husband.

[4] Louisa’s “whim” is her desire to get married without her father being present.