Valor, agravio, y mujeres al borde

Abstract

Since its release in 1988, Pedro Almodóvar’s Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios has garnered substantial critical attention. One area that has received surprisingly little consideration is the film’s connection to a larger Don Juan narrative that includes some of the most important works of the Spanish stage: El burlador de Sevilla (attributed to Tirso de Molina but possibly written by Andrés de Claramonte), José Zorrilla’s Don Juan Tenorio, and Ana Caro de Mallén’s Valor, agravio y mujer. Through a comparative analysis, this article examines the ways in which Mujeres al borde can be read as an adaptation of El burlador and its successors, particularly Valor, agravio y mujer. In contrast to Caro’s comedia, however, in which Doña Leonor—cross-dressed as Don Leonardo—chases down the Don Juan who has jilted her and ultimately forces him to make good on his promise of marriage, Almodóvar’s Mujeres al borde not only depicts a Pepa who eventually decides that Iván is not worth the effort, but also creates a Marisa who ultimately needs no man whatsoever, thus completing a transformation that first began with Valor, agravio, y mujer.