У статті досліджено джерела виникнення і подано характеристику авторських інтерпретацій архетипу «донжуанства» у світовій літературі. Виявлено витоки легенди про Дон Жуана, розкрито особливості художніх творів, у яких використано відомий «мандрівний» сюжет Зроблено висновок про оригінальність кожної авторської інтерпретації, оскільки всі твори мали своєрідну ідею, яка відповідала не стільки внутрішній концепції образу, скільки духу епохи, в якій образ Дон Жуана було створено.
Introduction. The archetype of «Don Juan» is a striking example of the existence of «eternal» story in the world literature. To such problems the interest of literary critics will always remain, because such subjects, archetypes, interpreted in their own way, are the basis for testing their own scientific and methodological judgments, methods of artistic analysis of the work. Despite the large number of scientific studies, some aspects of the study remain under-interpreted, this concerns the study of the typological and genetic identities between the various literary interpretations of the Renaissance legend. Purpose: to comprehend the sources of functioning of the archetype of the «Don Juan» and to analyze the most characteristic examples of fiction using the «wandering» plot and image of Don Juan. Results. Fiction contains examples of writers’ appeal to long-known stories, images, archetypes, historical events, and more. This testifies, first of all, to the relevance and «eternity» of such material, in which through centuries the answers to the questions posed by the present can be found. Such «eternal» stories include the story of Don Juan. The image of the eternal lover is perceived in the modern sense in several meanings – as a «vulgar symbol», as a symbol of everyday desire expressed in signs, to the luxurious life that at the level of archetypes can bring Don Juan to other well-known images of lovers in the history of European and European culture. Originality. The particular manifestations of the archetype of «Don Juan» are characteristic of different eras, beginning with the era of feudalism, romanticism and realism of the 19th and 20th centuries. All of them have different character, artistic form and content. The legendary image of the seducer and his life story captivated the world literature. In each national literature, the writers have interpreted both the plot and the archetype of Don Juan. The authors in their own way understand the «eternal» image and plot. It speaks of its relevance, interest in details, the desire of writers in a philosophical and new way to approach a long-established and famous legend. Conclusion. In every European literature, the created image of Don Juan will be different in its own interpretation. First of all, depending on the author’s perception of the «eternal» image, there is an artistic interpretation of Don Juan’s image. The perception of the artist, the epoch in which he lived, his social position, as well as his literary direction and style, are primarily influenced by different perceptions. Each of the authors tried to treat the image of the «eternal» lover in a special way, to realize their beliefs. At the same time, Don Juan had such character traits that could recreate an individual authorial concept, a kind of philosophical workload. Depending on these factors, the work had a peculiar idea that corresponded not only to the internal concept of the image, but to the spirit of the era in which the image was created.
