Don Quijote De la Mancha by Miguel de
Cervantes Saavedra
Part One
This book spans the 16th
and 17th century and it is a gateway in time to the past we have in common here
in Europe. Cervantes’ life was full of mishaps and adventure so there could be
no better source to draw on and one story tumbles into another. It is a bundle
of fun.
Sancho Panza is carried away as much as
Don Quijote by the make believe world of knights in shining armour and
damsels in distress and wizardly tricks.
Although his reason tells him one thing, wishful thinking leads him to follow his
master’s many madcap adventures. Sancho listens in awe to his erudite speech and
code of chivalry.
He is eventually declared by Don Quijote to be the best knight’s squire
in the world.
Sancho is totally distraught when at the end of part one it looks like
his master has died.
‘¡Oh flor de la caballería!’ he laments.
Happily this is not the case and they all return safely to their village
in La Mancha. Sancho exclaims to his wife, Juana Panza (because in La Mancha it
is the custom for wives to take their husband’s surname the writer tells us)
‘No hay cosa más gustosa del mundo que ser un hombre honrado escudero
de un caballero andante buscador de aventuras.’
Climbing mountains, visiting castles, penetrating
woods, staying at inns for free because …
‘Por la ley natural están todos los
que viven obligados a favorecer a los caballeros andantes.’
The walls and fortifications all over Europe and North Africa evoke a
time when people were inspired as much by faith as by the stories of knights
errant to take up arms and seek adventure. Don Quijote evokes the golden age of chivalry. The way forward was
Iglesia Mar o Casa Real
The writer asks the readers to give the same credit to this book as they
would to all the other books of chivalry, implying that they are every bit as
absurd.
We have a parallel history all over Europe and in the same way that the
Romans left their legacy all over the continent and North Africa so has the age
of chivalry. Thus a tiny village in Ávila is called Santa María De Los
Caballeros.
Chapter (39) describes a sea battle in the Mediterranean and may
well reflect Cervantes’ own experience. We meet a seafarer named Juan whose travels seeking
service with Juan De Austria in the year 1574 take him to Cyprus, Venice, Naples
and Constantinople. He arrives just when Spain loses the Tunisian port of La Goleta and he is captured at sea while trying to rescue the galley ship named Malta He eventually escapes and reaches Málaga. On his way home to Leon with
his bride to be, Zoraida, they stop at an
inn where they meet a jolly crowd of good company and he too tells
his story.
The author Miguel de Cervantes was also held captive in
Algeria after his participation in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, a very important victory for Christian Europe. The letters of recommendation he carried from Juan de Austria, meant
that the ransom for his release was very high. Fortunately for us, the order of
Trinitarians paid it.
Delusions of grandeur and difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction are prevalent nowadays too and people are still easily led to prefer a good story rather than look for the truth.
Delusions of grandeur and difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction are prevalent nowadays too and people are still easily led to prefer a good story rather than look for the truth.
But we will continue our journey with our two heroes.
‘Con todo esto, volvieron al camino real, y
siguieron por él a la ventura, sin otro designio alguno.’
This novel published in 1605 is remarkable in that it still has us laughing at the folly of its main character while enjoying his wonderful noble ambitions.
It is a very up to date situation comedy with a wealth of colourful characters.
It is a very up to date situation comedy with a wealth of colourful characters.
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| I fight against giants. Injustice. Fear. Ignorance |
