Don Quixote de la Mancha
What’s the most important book you’ve ever read? If it’s The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, a novel better known as Don Quixote of La Mancha or simply Don Quixote, you’re not the only one giving it top ratings. In a 2002 poll of the 100 top living authors in the world, Don Quixote was considered the “most meaningful book of all time.” The Spanish author, Miguel Cervantes, wrote the novel in two parts, the first published in 1605 and the second in 1615. Modern authors’ reactions to the book are about as varied as possible, with one saying it’s the one novel you should read before you die, while another claims no one in the history of the world has ever finished reading it. Regardless of its value to individual readers, there seems to be general agreement Don Quixote began the era of modern novels and is one of the most influential books ever written. It looks both backward and forward, using old writing traditions while introducing new ones, creating a bridge between ancient texts and modern ones so successfully Cervantes himself might think he was living in an illusion to see the profound world-wide impact of his ideas.
Cervantes claimed his only goal was “overthrowing the authority and prestige which books of chivalry enjoy in the world,” but he also admitted that, compared to books based on more realistic themes, chivalry “offers a wide and spacious meadow through which the pen may run without any hindrance." Perhaps this is why Don Quixote himself starts out wandering through a fantasy world comprised of good deeds and high ideals that only gradually gives way to reality and the awareness of his folly. Although the story line sounds fairly straightforward, interpretations have constantly evolved over 4 centuries. First the book was viewed as primarily entertaining and Don Quixote was seen as a fool. Over time, readers began to see him as noble, idealistic, tragic and even heroic and the book seemed to morph from a satire of chivalry into a satire of life. Cervantes himself said, "You may say of this story whatever you choose without fear of being slandered for an ill opinion any more than you will be rewarded for a good one." One thing seems clear from its long and widespread popularity: the illusion of being able to improve the world through your good deeds, and the disappointment of realizing you’re only fooling yourself, is an experience most people can relate to in their own lives.
Written as a burlesque, or satire, the plot evolved out of one writer’s disenchantment with a literary world dominated for several hundred years by an unrealistic and pointless view of life. The story unfolds gradually, with much meandering and lots of humor and word play. The characters seem to wrest themselves away from their creator's pen and live a life of their own—a new literary technique created by Cervantes, in which the writer learns about life along with his or her characters. The main character, Alonso Quixano, “a good man”, is well read and thoughtful. His most prized possessions are his books. From his readings and studies, he becomes interested, then obsessed, with the codes, deeds, and tales of chivalry—of knights errant on some idealized mission. As his obsession increases, he begins selling his land to buy more books and continue his study. “From little sleep and too much reading his brain dried up and he lost his wits. He decides to become a knight errant and travel through the world with horse and armor in search of adventures” with the purpose of “redressing all manner of wrongs.” First, he gets a rusty suit of armor and renames his old horse Rosinante. Then he changes his own name to Don Quixote of La Mancha, adding a title and region of influence to give himself a sense of nobility. Needing a lady to serve, he imagines an unattractive peasant girl to be the fair maiden Dulcinea del Tobosa. His first adventure results in many disappointments, including seeing his books burned by friends trying to rescue him from his madness. He convinces a laborer named Sancho Panza to be his squire, or servant, for the second adventure. They battle giants and armies—or windmills and flocks of sheep—but are defeated by a concerned friend disguised as another knight. Don Quixote returns home, disillusioned, denounces knighthood and chivalry, and soon dies. Although difficult life lessons are learned along the way, it’s all in the context of a humorous spoof of chilvary.
Translator Edith Grossman says her goal, in a new translation from Spanish for the novel’s 400th anniversary, is to capture the timeless qualities of Cervantes’ writing so successfully that today’s English readers will keep “eagerly turning the pages, smiling a good deal, periodically bursting into laughter, and impatiently waiting for the next synonym, the next mind-bending coincidence, the next variation on the structure of Don Quixote’s adventures, the next incomparable conversation between the knight and his squire.” Take this adventuresome journey and decide for yourself if Don Quixote was sane or insane in his quest to right the wrongs of the world, including putting an end to chivalry.