--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: what is a Don Juan? Vulgarly, a libertine." description: "\"“what is a Don Juan? Vulgarly, a libertine.”\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/george-bernard-shaw-68_don-juan_what-is-a-don-juan-vulgarly-a-libertine_838217.png" --- # what is a Don Juan? Vulgarly, a libertine. ![“what is a Don Juan? Vulgarly, a libertine.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/george-bernard-shaw-68_don-juan_what-is-a-don-juan-vulgarly-a-libertine_838217.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/george-bernard-shaw-68_don-juan_what-is-a-don-juan-vulgarly-a-libertine_838217.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/120/george-bernard-shaw-68_don-juan_what-is-a-don-juan-vulgarly-a-libertine_838217.png) > ““what is a Don Juan? Vulgarly, a libertine.”” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A Don Juan is defined as a libertine, a man of excessive sexual freedom. **In simple terms:** Don Juan = libertine. Key Takeaway Recognize the difference between myth and reality. Themes literature sexuality character archetype morality Mood critical inquisitive Type literary analytical When to use this quote - reading analysis - sexual ethics discussions Key Concepts libertinism cultural stereotypes Questions to Reflect On - What does libertinism mean today? - How do cultural views shape the term? A Different Perspective Some see the term as glorifying promiscuity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Don juan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-juan/) ## Related quotes > [It was only the vulgarly mediocre that repelled her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-only-the-vulgarly-mediocre-that-repelled-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A man without an address is a vagabond; a man with two addresses is a libertine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-without-an-address-is-a-vagabond-a-man-with-two-addresses-is-a/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“In the preface to my Plays for Puritans I explained the predicament of our contemporary English drama, forced to deal almost exclusively with cases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-preface-to-my-plays-for-puritans-i-explained-the-predicament/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“The prototypic Don Juan, invented early in the XVI century by a Spanish monk, was”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-prototypic-don-juan-invented-early-in-the-xvi-century-by-a/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“You seem to be turning into the theme of all my paint­ings”, she said. “The meeting of two worlds. A double exposure. Showing through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/you-seem-to-be-turning-into-the-theme-of-all-my-paint-ings-she-said/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Fashions pass quickly, and nothing is more pathetic than those puppets of fashion outrageously made up one day, pale the next, pleated or ironed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-saint-laurent/fashions-pass-quickly-and-nothing-is-more-pathetic-than-those-puppets/) [Yves Saint Laurent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-saint-laurent/) > [It has always seemed to me that the social order was implicit in the very nature of things, and required nothing more from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-antoine-de-saint-just/it-has-always-seemed-to-me-that-the-social-order-was-implicit-in-the/) [Louis Antoine de Saint-Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-antoine-de-saint-just/) > [Dominique Strauss-Kahn has always had a reputation as a man who cares for women, and even a libertine . . . There is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-guigou/dominique-strauss-kahn-has-always-had-a-reputation-as-a-man-who-cares/) Elisabeth Guigou > [The strength of an individual is not in his extreme freedom and libertine lifestyle, but in the stalwartness of his character and his moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/the-strength-of-an-individual-is-not-in-his-extreme-freedom-and/) [Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/) > [The press is like the air, a chartered libertine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pitt/the-press-is-like-the-air-a-chartered-libertine/) [William Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pitt/) > [Music's totally eclectic now. I saw a DJ the other day, he was on Virgin radio over here, and he said he played "Going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weller/music-s-totally-eclectic-now-i-saw-a-dj-the-other-day-he-was-on/) [Paul Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weller/) > [But, you never know when The Libertines is going to come along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barat/but-you-never-know-when-the-libertines-is-going-to-come-along/) Carl Barat > [The greatest part of mankind labor under one delirium or another; and Don Quixote differed from the rest, not in madness, but the species…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/the-greatest-part-of-mankind-labor-under-one-delirium-or-another-and/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-is-easier-to-make-a-saint-out-of-a-libertine-than-out-of-a-prig/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“As spread thighs are to the libertine...so was the letter V to young Stencil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/as-spread-thighs-are-to-the-libertine-so-was-the-letter-v-to-young/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Don juan quotes > [Do you know at this very moment you are surrounded by eternity? And do you know that you can use that eternity if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/do-you-know-at-this-very-moment-you-are-surrounded-by-eternity-and-do/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Inner silence works from the moment you begin to accrue it. What the old sorcerers were after was the final dramatic, end result of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/inner-silence-works-from-the-moment-you-begin-to-accrue-it-what-the/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [Pleasure's a sin, and sometimes sin's a pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pleasure-s-a-sin-and-sometimes-sin-s-a-pleasure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Seek and see all the marvels around you. You will get tired of looking at yourself alone, and that fatigue will make you deaf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/seek-and-see-all-the-marvels-around-you-you-will-get-tired-of-looking/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [A person who is insane has no sense of their place; they've lost that ability, which our friend don Juan describes as the tonal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-person-who-is-insane-has-no-sense-of-their-place-they-ve-lost-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Only if one loves this earth with unbending passion can one relieve one's sadness," don Juan said. "Warriors are always joyful because their love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/only-if-one-loves-this-earth-with-unbending-passion-can-one-relieve/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [As long as a man feels that he is the most important thing in the world he cannot really appreciate the world around him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/as-long-as-a-man-feels-that-he-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [The hardest thing in the world is to assume the mood of a warrior. It is of no use to be sad and complain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-hardest-thing-in-the-world-is-to-assume-the-mood-of-a-warrior-it/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [For me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/for-me-the-world-is-weird-because-it-is-stupendous-awesome-mysterious/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [Feeling important makes one heavy, clumsy and vain. To be a warrior one needs to be light and fluid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/feeling-important-makes-one-heavy-clumsy-and-vain-to-be-a-warrior-one/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [Don Juan speaks of the island of the tonal as something that's in the middle of the ocean ... the nagual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/don-juan-speaks-of-the-island-of-the-tonal-as-something-that-s-in-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Self-importance requires spending most of one's life offended by something or someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/self-importance-requires-spending-most-of-one-s-life-offended-by/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [We are all incarnate Buddhas. We just have not realized it deeply. We have not moved the mind - what our friend Don Juan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-are-all-incarnate-buddhas-we-just-have-not-realized-it-deeply-we/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I would say that he has a rather limited and uncreative way of looking at the situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/i-would-say-that-he-has-a-rather-limited-and-uncreative-way-of/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) [Browse all 89 Don juan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-juan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“what is a Don Juan? 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