Continuing from the previous lecture, this module delves into Don Quixote's self-invention and self-legitimization, highlighting the book's innovative nature. It examines how the protagonist transcends familial and societal constraints, showcasing literature as a realm for wit and creativity. The module discusses perspectivism through linguistic variations and the significance of the inn as a societal microcosm. Early episodes illustrate the gap between literature and reality, focusing on Don Quixote's unique madness and Cervantes' techniques that blur fiction and reality.
The professor introduces himself and the course, explaining why Don Quixote is a masterpiece. He delves into its relevance in Western literature, clarifies the proper pronunciation of "Quixote", and discusses the real title: El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Key historical and cultural background notes are provided, along with reflections on the novel's influence in modern language, such as the term "quixotic". The session concludes with an examination of Don Quixote's lasting appeal, rooted in its profound exploration of the human condition, and an overview of the syllabus.
This module explores the reasons for Don Quixote's lasting currency today. It examines the novel's focus on literature's impact on readers and the creation of literature itself. González EchevarrÃa discusses the novel's invention by Cervantes, a fifty-year-old man, as a landmark in modern literature and assesses its feasibility in 17th century Spain. The module differentiates between novels and romances, highlighting Don Quixote as the first novel to depict a protagonist's clash with their setting. It concludes with an analysis of the prologue, touching on authorship, literary legitimacy, and self-invention.
Continuing from the previous lecture, this module delves into Don Quixote's self-invention and self-legitimization, highlighting the book's innovative nature. It examines how the protagonist transcends familial and societal constraints, showcasing literature as a realm for wit and creativity. The module discusses perspectivism through linguistic variations and the significance of the inn as a societal microcosm. Early episodes illustrate the gap between literature and reality, focusing on Don Quixote's unique madness and Cervantes' techniques that blur fiction and reality.
This module introduces the two main plots of Don Quixote: the novel's writing and the mad hidalgo's story. It draws parallels with Velázquez's Las Meninas, exploring multiple perspectives and human knowledge's limitations. The episode with the goatherds connects Don Quixote's ideal world with reality, showcasing human kindness. The Marcela and Grisóstomo story highlights their socio-economic environment and the primacy of free will. The lecture unpacks these themes to illustrate Cervantes' narrative complexity and philosophical depth.
Focusing on Juan Palomeque's inn, this module explores how the inn represents the novel's first part. Erotic desire subverts social norms, revealing literature's subconscious. Characters in this episode draw from picaresque traditions and juridical documents, marked by unique physical traits. Don Quixote's and Sancho's bodily functions symbolize the powerful drives to live, while the inn's architecture mirrors the novel's seemingly improvised design, connecting to cosmic themes.
This module discusses literature's nature and reality through significant meditations in the novel. The episode with the corpse emphasizes death's presence, while Don Quixote's awareness of his adventures being written adds a meta-narrative layer. The relationship with Sancho evolves during the fulling hammers episode. Mambrino's helmet exemplifies doubt in sensory perception, and the galley slaves episode satirizes autobiographical writing. Cervantes portrays a society recognizable to contemporary readers, with Ginés de Pasamonte representing innovative authorship and the rise of new genres.
Continuing with the galley slaves episode, this module explores Ginés' cross-eyedness as a metaphor for internal perspectivism. The "prisoner of sex" character demonstrates Cervantes' ability to create complex personas in brief descriptions. The Sierra Morena episodes, central to part one, weave narratives around themes like Don Quixote's love quest for Dulcinea and crimes committed by him and Sancho. These stories share elements with the main plot, focusing on offenses driven by passion and honor, with marriage serving as narrative closure.
This module highlights Cervantes' narrative skill in combining chivalric romance with novella collections. Characters invent meta-characters, revealing untold stories through traumatic interruptions that prompt introspection. Memory plays a crucial role, serving as a repository for past recollections and self-structuring in the present. The intricate network of stories exemplifies Renaissance art's aims, raising questions about acting out roles and the ethical bounds of being characters in others' fictions.
The module examines the insertion of the Novel of the Curious Impertinent and its role in meshing chivalric romance with Italian novelle. Despite its apparent awkwardness, this leads to the modern novel's creation. The irony of a priest reading a perverse love story aloud connects with oral traditions. González EchevarrÃa interprets the novel through René Girard's theory of mediated love, contrasting with the inn's young lovers. Don Quixote's interruption catalyzes reconciliations among couples, reinforcing new social forms and mental life's mirroring levels.
This module explores the returns and repetitions at the end of part one, adding depth to the fiction. The reappearance of galley slaves, Andrés, and speeches highlight the novel's themes. Don Quixote's insanity offers transcendence and critiques arbitrary laws. The captive's tale, the culmination of intertwined stories, emphasizes religious conversion overcoming social barriers. Cervantes creates a unique protagonist in Don Quixote, a highway robber and agent of Providence, drawn from legal archives and chivalric fantasies.
This module focuses on Part I's ending, as no second part existed then. The conclusion is prefigured in the prologue, echoing the meta-novel's characteristics. Partial endings include Don Quixote's caging and the barber's prophecy. The discourse among Don Quixote, the priest, and the canon critiques chivalric romances and explores narrative possibilities. Cervantes' originality contrasts with his theater conservatism. Don Quixote's return home intensifies his madness, transforming his village into an uncanny space, reflecting the novel's complex narrative structure.
This module covers the transition from Part I (1605) to Part II (1615), examining the grand themes of Part I, including ambiguity, perspectivism, and the self's limits. It introduces Part II's context, Cervantes' writing moment, and the impact of Avellanedaâs spurious Quixote. The lecture outlines Part II's characteristics, including its reflection on Part I, as the characters in Part II have read the first part, creating a new layer of narrative complexity and mirroring.
This module explains how the modern novel emerging from Don Quixote is inherently political and urban. Part II incorporates contemporary events, such as the expulsion of the Moriscos, critiquing arbitristas and satirizing the aristocracy. Characters evolve within a social and political context, contributing to realism's development. The module discusses Baroque elements in Part II and how it relates to Part I, emphasizing the novel's portrayal of everyday life and common people.
This module introduces the Spanish Baroque concept of desengaño, suggesting that Don Quixote's plot unfolds from deceit to disillusionment. The discussion between Don Quixote and Sancho about knight-errants and saints touches on arms, letters, and glory. This conversation reflects religious debates of the time and anticipates Part II's broader projection. Episodes like the enchanted Dulcinea and the cart carrying actors highlight Baroque themes, role reversals, and the novel's deep psychological and thematic layers.
This module examines the Spanish Baroque concept of desengaño, proposing that Part II's plot transitions from deceit to disillusionment. Essays by Auerbach and Spitzer from the Casebook illuminate Cervantes' unique style, the "Cervantean." Episodes in focus reveal character introspection and identity formation. The module concludes with an analysis of one of Cervantes' Exemplary Stories, "The Glass Graduate," illustrating themes of doubt and self-discovery in Part II.
The loose format of Don Quixote allows different stories, like Camacho's wedding, to be incorporated. The episode, an epithalamium based on Pyramus and Thisbe, emphasizes art's role in correcting nature. Art transforms deceit into a happy ending, with marriage as a transcendental metamorphosis. The module explores the blending of bloods and creation as a layered process involving reality. Cervantes' narrative skill mirrors Velázquez's visual artistry, showcasing inner representation recesses.
This module covers two pivotal Part II episodes: Montesinos Cave and Master Peter's puppet show. Don Quixote's descent into the cave questions chivalric authenticity and reveals his subconscious, prompting saner actions. Master Peter's puppet show, featuring Ginés de Pasamonte, critiques playwright Lope de Vega and analyzes mimesis through a complex visual trick, highlighting the novel's intricate narrative and thematic depth.
Part II's status as the first political novel is evident in its geographic concreteness and sociopolitical backdrop. The boat episode contrasts Don Quixote's outdated geography with modern Copernican ideas. The duke and duchess represent the idle upper class, mirroring Spain's financial woes. Don Quixote's debate with the ecclesiastic critiques the Church. The forest pageant, a baroque parody of Dante's Purgatorio, features Dulcinea as a transvestite, symbolizing repressed desires.
Developments in Part II are measured against Part I. The episodes of the afflicted matron, Countess Trifaldi, and Clavileño expand themes like love, death, and representation limits, aligning with baroque aesthetics. The presence of Virgil and Aeneid parallels Don Quixote's journey of self-conquest. Part I taught us to seek hidden stories; now, the duke's steward demonstrates story-making processes through pranks, revealing the novel's layered narrative complexity.
In this module, Don Quixote's epic task is to manage his madness by accepting his dreams' vanity. His change began with Dulcinea's enchantment and peaked in Montesinos' cave. He demonstrates wisdom in advising Sancho on governing Barataria. Sancho's good governance and the clever steward reflect societal change: a crumbling aristocracy and the common man's rise. Barataria, a satirical Utopia, traps its author, the steward. Sancho and Don Quixote's dignity remains intact, mocking their mockers.
This module delves into the concluding chapters of Don Quixote, exploring key themes that emerge as the novel approaches its ending. The discussion encompasses:
These themes illustrate Cervantes' commentary on the interplay between fiction and reality, culminating in a rich narrative tapestry.
This continuation of the previous module further investigates the innovative literary techniques Cervantes employs as the narrative unfolds. Key points of focus include:
This module invites students to grasp Cervantes' unique approach to narrative and the boundaries of literary tradition.
In this module, the focus shifts to the concluding segments of Don Quixote, where themes of self-acceptance and reality intertwine. Key discussions include:
This module emphasizes the philosophical implications of Cervantes' narrative choices and their resonance with broader human experiences.
The final module reflects on Cervantes' literary legacy, examining his other works and their connections to Don Quixote. Key points include:
This module concludes the course by considering Cervantes' impact on literature and the enduring relevance of his works.