moduleIII.pptxCervantes & Don Quixote
A Brief Introduction
Cervantes
Purpose for writing Don Quixote may have been to ridicule books of chivalry and to poke fun at literature & society
Even so, it is a mistake to simply read Quixote as a clownish character.
Scott Gustafson’s Don Quixote, from Scottgustafson.com
Don Quixote
Captures a snapshot of Spanish life at the end of the age of chivalry
Note: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a good example of the kind of chivalric narrative that Quixote parodies; Gawain is in your book if you are interested.
Don Quixote
He is an extensive reader
He has read mostly chivalric adventures…
…but he’s also read Machiavelli
He interprets his own adventures by reflecting on the literature that he has read
He lives inside his own imagination…hence he sees windmills and jousts at them thinking they are giants
Illustration by Gustav Dore
Sancho Panza
Quixote’s side-kick
Sees the world as it is (versus Quixote who sees an ideal world)
Foil to Quixote
Tries to keep Quixote out of trouble.
Image by Gustav Dore
How are we to understand the novel?
Quixote becomes a tragic figure at the end of the novel and dies…
Does this mean that Cervantes chooses the real world over the ideal world that Quixote inhabits?
Or does Cervantes critique a world that does not have room for a Quixotic figure?
Or is it a bit of both perhaps?
Image by Gustav Dore
Now to make an abrupt leap from the idealistic character Don Quixote…
…to the cunning and certainly not chivalrous Machiavelli…
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)
About Niccolo Machiavelli
Born May 3, 1469; died June 21, 1527
Lived in Florence, Italy
Involved in government and diplomatic relations
Second Chancellor of Republic of Florence
Became a writer after losing his position in the government when the Medici’s took over Italy
Writes The Prince, which is
A manual for gaining and/or keeping power
A manual that explains how politicians can succeed in the world (Machiavelli does not suggest that politicians can create a better, ideal world; instead he tells politicians how to gain advantage in the world as it is)
Machiavelli
Advises that if rulers must commit cruel, murderous acts while gaining power, then it is best to do those deeds all at one time, rather than spread them out
Suggests that it is better to be feared than loved by the people, but it is best for a ruler to have both the fear and love of his subjects
Machiavelli
The phrase “the ends justify the means” is often associated with Machiavelli today even though he does not say exactly those words here.
This concept suggests that one can do evil deeds on the way to a goal if one’s goal is good or desirous.
