Don Quixote de la Mancha: Thematic Analysis and Overview
Every so often, a book is written that captures more than just ideas, but finds itself a cross-section of an entire society. Books like Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, or Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Don Quixote de La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes is one such book that serves to not only entertain, but show us a portrait of 16th century Spanish life and spark debate in philosophy, politics, and a plethora of other fields.
Miguel de Cervantes was born of a noble family in Spain in 1547. Little is known about his childhood and his education but he joined the Spanish army when he was about 23. During the Battle of Lepanto, Miguel was injured for life. As he was traveling home after his service in the army in 1575, he was captured by Barbary pirates and enslaved with fellow Christians in the Algiers. His attempted escapes failed and it was not until 1580 that his mother was able to pay his ransom. Miguel got married to Catalina de Palacios and began writing plays and poetry in 1584. Not making enough money by writing, Miguel became a tax collector for the Spanish Armada, but was imprisoned in 1597 because of a dishonest associate. In 1605, at the age of 58, Miguel wrote and published the first part of his masterpiece Don Quixote de la Mancha. The second part was published in 1615 and is usually considered superior to the first part. Miguel died a year after the second part of Don Quixote was published and is buried in the Convento de los Trinitarios in Madrid. This essay pertains only to the first part of Don Quixote de la Mancha.
The first part of Don Quixote de la Mancha explores many aspects found in the society of 16th Century Spain. In his book, Miguel explores the complexity of ethical and moral standards, the seperation of class and the validity of this seperation, and the nature of truth and reality. To bring out the idea of how personal moral standards are often seriously flawed in the scheme of things, Miguel uses Don Quixotes actions as a demonstration of how misguided our choices can be. In Don Quixote, various classes are often thrust together with varying results that emphasize both the similarities between the nobles and the commoners, but also reveal distinct differences. Miguel explores the idea of reality and how our thoughts are perhaps more powerful than our senses by creating a character who is so deluded that his perception is shifted away from what would be considered normal, by leaving the reader in doubt on whether Don Quixote is truly insane or not, Miguel is exploring metaphysical ideas that attempt to understand what is truth. I believe that Cervantes was far ahead of his time and that his novel marks the true beginning of great western literature.
First, let us examine quotes from Don Quixote that seem to pertain to the decisions we make based on our beliefs, but before we can do so we must have a general idea of the plot. It would be near impossible to construct a summary of Don Quixote that is both complete and of high-quality, but is brief enough to meet our needs; hence, I find it necessary to forego a complete summary and will instead describe what has happened in the direct vicinity of the quotes mentioned. Fortunately, our first quote is found quite early in the book, so I am able to justify a cursory explanation of our heros beginnings. Miguel begins by describing a well-off, single gentleman, well-dressed, and fond of hunting. His name is Quixana and when he is not hunting, he enjoys reading books about the chivalrous knights-errant. This hobby then became an obsession, as Miguel writes, In resolution, he plunged himself so deeply in his reading of these books, as he spent many times in the lecture of them whole days and knights; and in the end, through his little sleep and much reading, he dried up his brains in such a sort as he lost wholly his judgement, (19). Quixana then decides that he will become a knight and begins various preparations, such as changing his name to Don Quixote and his horses name to Rozinante, and then sallies forth out of Mancha in search of adventure which he will find in abundance.
Our first quote demonstrates our tendency as human being to believe that whichever principles we believe are the correct ones and that what we see as unpleasant we also see as wrong. Quixote encounters a man whipping his servant boy tied to a tree. Being the chivalrous knight that he is, Don Quixote is appalled and warns the man that he should stop if he values his life. The man claims that he is right to beat the boy because he keeps losing sheep; the boy says that his master owes him for his work. Both the man and the boy seem to have legitimate complaints but Don Quixote, with his infallible sense of justice, takes the boys side and tells the man to pay the boy. The man is intimidated and says he will pay the boy but has no money with him. Quixote, after telling the man what he will do if he does not pay the boy says,And if thou desirest to note who commands thee this, that thou mayst remain more firmly obliged to accomplish it, know that I am the valorous Don Quixote of the Mancha, the righter of wrongs and undoer of injuries; and so farewell, and do not forget what thou hast promised and sworn, on pain of pains already pronounced,(38). Don Quixote then makes a dramatic exit on Rozinante confident that justice has been prudently dispensed. Don Quixote happened upon a moral situation and made a decision that he believed to be good based on very little information and without thinking about the possible consequences. Deciding what is good and what is not good is something we as humans do very badly. As G.K. Chesterton said, The word good has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man, notice Chestersons use of the word necessarily. I am sure that he and Miguel would have got along famously.
Our second quote is similar to the first, but instead of showing our blindness to our own faults it demonstrates our skill in criticizing the actions of others. We find the quote after Don Quixote, joined by Sancho Panza, meets some peasants who tell him of the death of Chrysostom, a wise and learned man who fell in love with the peasant girl, Marcela, who has extraordinary beauty. Chrysostom died of a broken heart when his attempts to gain Marcelas attention were ignored. Chrysostom was well-liked and everyone blames his death on Marcela. Quixote is intrigued and decides to attend the funeral where a friend of Chrysostom delivers a delightful diatribe on the evils of that temptress Marcela. After which, Marcela appears on a ridge over the crowd and speaks in her own defense. The beginning of her speech says it all,
I come not here, good Ambrosio, to any of the ends thou sayst, but only to turn for mine honour, and give the world to understand how little reason have all those which make me the author either of their own pains or of Chrysostoms death; and therefore I desire all you that be here present lend attention unto me, for I mean not to spend much time or words to persuade to the discreet so manifest a truth (105).
Now who can blame Chrysostom for falling for a girl like that? She continues her speech in which she clearly shows that she is not to be blamed for Chrysostoms death. Afterwards, she walks away leaving all that remain in awe of her beauty and discretion. In this case, people were able to realize their error in judgement; usually that is not the case.
Our third quote shows how actions based on hasty moral beliefs can end up harming us. A little less than halfway through the book Quixote and Sancho spot a chain of prisoners headed for the galleys. Quixote immediately resents the oppression of the prisoners and tells their guards to release those who God and nature created free so they can be judged by God at their death and not by fellow men in their life. The guards disagree with that reasoning and are deeply amused. Angered by their disrespect Quixote assaults the guards. He would have been overpowered, but the prisoners then broke free of their chains and assist him in subduing the guards. Don Quixote then tells the freed criminals that they must take the chain that bound them and present to the Lady of Toboso. The Lady of Toboso is the imagined woman who is Don Quixotes motivation to do such grand deeds of knighthood. The criminals are just as amused by Don Quixote as the guards were and they show their gratitude by bombarding him with stones.
Rozinante, Sancho and Don Quixote, remained alone: the ass stood pensive, with his head hanging downwards, shaking now and then his ears, thinking that the storm of stones was not yet past, but that they still buzzed by his head; Rozinante lay overthrown by his master, who was likewise struck down by another blow of a stone; Sancho, in fear of the bullets of the Holy Brotherhood; and Don Quixote, most discontent to see himself so misused by those very same to whom he had done so much good (186).
Once again notice the slippery aspect of the word good at the end of the quote. Even though he justified the mens freedom with religion, he had not anticipated the results of his actions.
Our final quote pertaining to the matter of morality, this time Quixote was not even aware of the result of his actions and they caused another person harm. Do you remember that peasant boy that was being whipped by his master? During Quixotes travels he meets the boy again. The boy says that after Quixote threatened his master and left, his master did not pay him, but continued to beat him even harder than before. The boy says upon their parting:
For Gods love, good sir knight-errant, if you shall ever meet me again in the plight you have done, although you should see me torn in pieces, yet do not succour or help me, but leave me in my disgrace; for it cannot be so great but that a greater will result from your help, upon whom, and all the other knights-errant that are born in the world, I pray God His curse may alight! (299).
The poor boy had to suffer even more than necessary after Don Quixotes meddling. Don Quixote believed that the windmills were giants but his attacks were ineffective. Throughout the book he finds moral situations that are beyond his nave views but he attacks them with just as much fervor with the lance of chivalric code.
Our next set of quotes are all pertinent the idea of different classes and their perceived worth. This quote pertains to Marcela the shepherdess. Some shepherds explain to Don Quixote that her father is very rich and after his wife died he sent her to live with her uncle. She refuses to get married. But, see here! when we least imagined it, the coy Marcela appeared one morning to become a shepherdess; and neither her uncle, nor all those of the village which dissuaded her from it, could work any effect, but she would needs go to the fields, and keep her own sheep with the other young lasses of the town (89). Like Artemis, Marcela has chosen to remain chaste and forsake her wealthy origins. She is depicted by Miguel as the epitome of wisdom and beauty and her actions reveal amazing sensitivity and discretion. Marcela has chosen to free herself from her class and live the way she decides for herself.
Now a quote that provides an interesting view of how noblility is passed on. In a conversation with Sancho Panza, Don Quixote says:
True it is that I am a gentleman of a known house of propriety and possession; and perhaps the wise man that shall write my history will so beautify my kindred and descent, that he will find me to be the fifth or sixth descent from a king. For thou must understand, Sancho, that there are two manners of lineages in the world: some that derive their pedigrees from princes and monarchs whom time hath by little and little diminished and consumed, and ended in a point like pyramids; others, that took their beginning from base people, and ascend from degree unto degree, until they become at last great lords (173).
Quixote is saying that noble blood does not only dilute through generations, but that it will also concentrate. This means that nobles become less noble and peasants become more noble. This logic would seem to put all people on equal footing despite their perceived class.
This last quote occurs after Don Quixote becomes under the impression that Lady Dulcinea de Toboso has spurned his love. He decides that he will go mad and Sancho Panza tries to prevent him from doing so. Sancho asks who Dulcinea is and when she is described he realizes that she is just a simple peasant woman from Mancha with no particularly special qualities. Don Quixote surprises the reader by saying,And so, Sancho, is likewise Dulcinea of Toboso as much worth as the highest princess of the world, for the effect I mean to use her (220). Don Quixote admits, in a strangely lucid moment, that Dulcinea may be a peasant but is worth so much more because of the ideals that he believes she represents. Despite her status as peasant, she is what drives him to seek out injustice.
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