The Stone Host

A dramatic poem by Lesia Ukrainka, her version of the world subject of Don Juan. The author deliberately shifts the centre of gravity: the principal figure is not the seducer but Donna Anna, whose will to power proves stronger than passion. Don Juan, who spent his life fleeing every obligation, finally becomes the "stone host" himself — frozen in a role he accepted for the sake of position. Lesia Ukrainka turns the legend into a study of compromise and of how freedom is voluntarily exchanged for status. The work is regarded as one of the most accomplished Ukrainian dramatic poems and a demonstration of Ukrainian literature engaging world subjects as an equal. The drama is considered the summit of Lesia Ukrainka's mature playwriting and is regularly staged in Ukrainian theatres. The drama appears within collections of her dramatic works, where it is read in dialogue with her other plays.