Mirror, Mirror

1
Mirror, Mirror

• HUM 2052 Civilization II
• Summer 2009
• Dr. Perdigao
• May 26, 2009

2
Merellos Don Quixotes Melancholy and Don Quixote
http//www.spanishpaintersfromspain.com/
3
Octavio Ocampos Visions of Don Quixote

http//www.visionsfineart.com/ocampo/visions_of_qu
ixote.html
4
Octavio Ocampos Friendship of Don Quixote

http//www.visionsfineart.com/ocampo/friendship_of
_don_quixote.html
5
Don Quixote in Images

• http//www.donquijote.org/vmuseum/paintings/variou
  s/index.asp?pag8

6
Madness or Creativity?

• Part I (1605), Part II (1615)
• Forms at time epic, tragedy, pastoral romance
• As parody, caricature of a literary type (2218)
  
• Appearance vs. reality
• Stagnancy of his existence
• Age 50midlife crisis
• Question of generation and regeneration
• Genesis, Adamic creation, with naming of self,
  horse, love
• Is he crazy from reading novels or does he read
  to prevent going crazy?
• Creates another reality to place himself within

7
Background

• Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)
• Enlisted in Spanish fleet, captured by pirates,
  prisoners at Algiersheld as slave for ransom
• Freed in 1580, then began writing plays, pastoral
  romance Galatea
• Story behind Don Quixote that it was conceived
  while he was in prison in Seville
• Part I (1605), Part II (1615)became popular
  success but only later recognized as an
  important work of literature (2218)
• Forms at time epic, tragedy, pastoral romance
• As parody, caricature of a literary type (2218)
  to satirize the romances of chivalry (2218)
• Text presents an individual deciding to live by
  the standards of that world in a modern and
  realistic context (2218)

8
Perspectives

• Madness compels him to lifenot out
• New life is richer than his present existence
• Ways in which reality changes to beholder
• Radical objectivity
• Don Quixotes real existence
• The books existencepreceding this text, as
  original text (in romance tradition)
• Part IIcomment on the existence of the self
• Hall of mirrors within the text, like Velasquezs
  painting
• Psychology of DQ places you in and out of self

9
Mirroring Ourselves

• Objective vs. subjective
• Identification with DQbest and worst in human
  nature
• All epics as questsDQ as new form of the epic
• Chivalry as an ideal, searching in life is
  defining spiritual
• Theological and spiritual quest of DQ
• Picaresque novel corrupt society, hero from
  lower class
• Earthiness
• Idealism
• Nobleness, higher notion of chivalry

10
Precursor to Postmodernism?

• Alienation within textreminder it is only a
  textnot trapped in illusionsaesthetic,
  emotional, rhetorical distances vital to reading
• Prologue about not writing a prologue
• Self-referential world
• Traps reader in text, with language traps
• We have worlds by language and literature
• Through madness, he goes sane
• All the worlds a stage and we are merely
  players

11
Merely Players?

• Illusion
• conjuring image
• Allusion
• referring to something
• Elusion
• escaping
• All is play-acting, caught in understanding
• Enchantmentdisenchantment
• Illusiondisillusion
• How does one reach realitythrough illusion?
• What is real?

12
Merely Players?

• I know who I am and who I may be, if I choose
  (2244)
• La Mancha
• Alonso Quejana
• Rocinante
• Dulcinea del Toboso
• Episodes
• Innkeeper
• Andres/Juan Haldudo
• Housekeeper, niece, curate, barber problem with
  books
• Sancho Panza, promise
• Windmills (2247)
• Friars, Biscayan
• Chapters 8-9 loses historical account, missing
  pieces

13
Pastoral Romance

• Epic, tragedy, pastoral romance as conventional
  genres DQ crosses boundaries as
• modern text, satirizing conventions of chivalric
  romance
• Deciding to live by the standards of that world
  in modern and realistic context,
• revitalizing the chivalric code in modern times
• Reality and illusion reason and imagination
  (2219-2220)
• The Ballad that Antonio Sang (2263-2264) as
  metafictional text
• Shattered his illusions (2273)tale told by
  Ambrosioend the tragedy
• Grisóstomos story as parallel Grisóstomos
  Song (2275-2277) Marcelas story
• As pastoral in Part Iwith songs telling DQs
  story in another context
• The Life of Gines de Pasamonteunfinished textas
  life (2290)
• Turns against Catholic faith (2295)

14
Shattering the Illusion

• Book within the book 2301
• Knight of the Wood (2307 Pt. II, Chapter
  12)then Chapter 15, Knight of the
  Mirrorsintroduces Casildea de Vandalia (his
  version of Dulcinea), squire (2310)
• Play with self-referentiality, the text within
  the text as characters discuss their stories with
  their mirrors
• Don Quixote says to Sancho holding up a mirror
  for us at each step that we take, wherein we may
  observe, vividly depicted, all the varied aspects
  of human life and I may add that there is
  nothing that shows us more clearly, by
  similitude, what we are and what we ought to be
  than do plays and players (2307).
• Transform the Knight of the Mirrors to Sansón
  Carrascolike windmill adversary, under
  enchantment but really Tomé Cecial (Sanchos
  neighbor) with him (2322) 2324-2325
• In response to Tomé, Sansón says, the one who
  cannot help being crazy will be so always, while
  the one who is a madman by choice can leave off
  being one whenever he so desires (2324). Story
  of plot to bring Don Quixote back revealed (2324)
• Sir Knight of the Mournful Countenance
  (2328)histories and devotional works, not
• chivalric romances
• Break in the story (2335) mirror wherein all
  the valiant of the world may behold
• themselvesrelating the story of his death, then
  return to action, play

15
Denouement

• Sancho brokenhearted because all this was
  something that was happening in a dream and that
  everything was the result of magic (2341) own
  hopes whirled away
• Now Knight of the White MoonSansón Carrasco,
  seeking return of DQ whose
• madness and absurdities inspire pity in all of
  us (2341)after defeat, DQ must return
• home for a year
• Sansón composing pastoral or courtly verses or
  whatever may come to mind, by way
• of a diversion for us (2344)
• Finally, presence of Godhis sins (2347), returns
  to self like Sansón but Sansón
• encourages illusion
• he is a sane man (2348)
• I was Don Quixote de la Mancha, and now I am, as
  I have said, Alonso Quijano the
• Good (2348)
• Apology to Cervantes with disavowal of the story,
  to author of false sequel

16
The Sense of an Ending

• Dying and living well, as in Montaignes
  philosophies
• for it seems to me that what we actually see in
  these nations surpasses not only all the pictures
  in which poets have idealized the golden age and
  all their inventions in imagining a happy state
  of man, but also the conceptions and the very
  desire of philosophy (Montaigne, Of Cannibals
  2193)
• Denouement as spiritual conversion, from
  knight-errantry to Christianity (Perceval?)
• Happy ending in spiritual sense
• No reason for his death except his melancholy
• DQ ultimately realizes who he is and denies all
  doings on deathbed as illusions,
• dies a Christian death
• Quixote is not mad but sane and artistically
  cruel, enjoying the madness he
• creates, play-acts for power
• Is conversion play-acting? (connection to
  Hamlet)

17
Last Act(s)

• Is society or the individual insane?
• Is quixotic quest inherent to human condition,
  thus showing us the flaws in
• ourselves?
• Dulcinea in center of piece like Velasquezs king
  and queen, but never seen
• play with inside and outside
• For Montaigne, illusion finally breaks
  downquestion of Who am I?
• remains the greatest madness man can be guilty
  of in his life is to die without
• good reason (2348).
• Sancho and Quixote in process of education, to
  teach each other
• Denounces books but returns with one last heroic
  tale in final verses
• Last reference to Cid Hamete Benengeli as
  original author