12/3 Summary

WE FINISHED PART ONE!!!!! Although we did not talk explicitly about anxieties we had approaching this monumental text, I wonder how many of us felt that was an impossible dream that we could finish Don Quixote when we picked up our copies.

Our conversation revolved around how Cervantes brings the “second part” of Don Quixote, penned by someone else, into his own Part Two. He addresses the “fake part two” by playing around with reality and real imposters. The fake text becomes fictionalized in his Part Two, and its author becomes a character.

It certainly does not strike us as strange that an author would resist someone taking over a story they have originated. As someone mentioned, J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment went to court to keep someone from publishing a book set within the universe Rowling had built.

Part Two ends with a phrase from Orlando furioso, and is translated by Grossman as follows: “Perhaps another will sing in a better style.” We know that an academic has been studying the adventures of Don Quixote in hopes of writing another tale. This raised a question for us about whether Cervantes wanted someone else to take over telling Don Quixote’s story. In some way, re-tellings--fan fiction, if you will--are tributes to the enduring life of one’s characters. But, given the way Cervantes treats the imposter version of Don Quixote in Part Two, he doesn’t seem pleased with the version her did not write.

The quotation is puzzling. There are certainly stories and documents that depend on continued interpretation. Two examples would be the United States Constitution and the Star Wars saga, which includes movies and books written by multiple authors (although recently the books in the expanded universe have been rendered “non-canon” with the production of a new film).

Sometimes re-tellings seem to be positive. One example raised by a participant was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. The book for the show was re-written by the 2013 Broadway debut, and Cinderella has been given much more agency. Disney’s Brave and Mulan also seem to be different kinds of princess tales. Re-tellings can also be dangerous, however, when they lose important context that is needed to understand the original tale.

We have come to expect much from Cervantes, but he also expects much from us. Despite the comparisons made between the readers of popular fiction and a “mob” in previous chapters, in Chapter 52 Cervantes talks to his “judicious readers,” or in other translations, to “intelligent persons” or “intelligent men.” We are not unreflective consumers, but participants with Cervantes in the creation and interpretation of Don Quixote. The richness of the charge from Cervantes makes us, collectively, a little sad at the turn one participant has noticed in high schools. There, the focus has shifted to teaching more nonfiction than fiction.

We had a good time with the authors of the sonnets and epitaphs written in honor of Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, Rocinante, and Dulcinea. We wondered if the names were given a Latin-ate flair to make them sound more academic. The meanings of these words, however, undermines any attempt at serious stature! It may also be worth mentioning that there was no university in Argamasilla (see chapter 52, p. 446).

We have “Ignoramus.” We have “The Fawner,” or in other translations “Toady.” The third poem is by “Capricious,” or in other translations “Crotchety.” The best translated name, according to our Spanish reader, is “Ticktock” (Ding-Dong in another translation), which best captures the sound and meaning of the original word. Here is a testament to the difficulties of translation. Though the names are always humorous, the tone of the name varies in severity. After our meeting, I looked up these names in J. M. Cohen’s 1947 translation: Mumbo Jumbo, The Good Companion, Whimsical Will, The Joker, The Hobgoblin, and Ding-Dong.

A special thanks to all of our participants! And a thank you to everyone who brought such lovely treats for us to share. We missed those who had holiday parties or European travels. And of course, errant attendees are always welcome back when we resume on January 21 to begin Part Two. We will read the prologue through chapter 9 for that meeting.