Cervantes’ Narrative Works: From Pastoral to Picaresque
Cervantes’ Narrative Works
5.1 The Galatea (1585)
This pastoral novel, with a simple love plot, is set in a limited space. Interpolated stories, poems, and debates add complexity to the narrative schema. It remains unfinished, with unresolved storylines.
5.2 Exemplary Novels
These novels blend realism and idealism, incorporating various narrative models and folk material. They lack a common framework but explore themes of friendship, love, hypocrisy, and deceit through complex narratives.
Rinconete y Cortadillo
This picaresque novel, divided into two parts, follows the fortunes of two young protagonists. Set in the criminal underworld, it features humor, vivid descriptions of customs, and the jargon of criminals through engaging dialogue.
5.3 Don Quixote
Publication
This celebrated Spanish novel was published in two parts: Part I (1605) with a prologue, poems, and 52 chapters; and Part II (1615) with a prologue and 64 chapters. A false and insulting sequel by Avellaneda appeared in 1614.
Sources and Preface
Influenced by various narrative models and an anonymous 16th-century interlude, the novel’s initial purpose, as stated in the preface, was to critique books of chivalry.
Structure
Alonso Quijano, driven mad by reading chivalric romances, becomes Don Quixote and embarks on quests for fame and the love of Dulcinea.
- Three Exits: Don Quixote leaves home three times, accompanied by Sancho Panza on the latter two. His distorted perception of reality leads to comical misadventures.
- Adventure Series: Don Quixote confronts reality, often with disastrous results. In the third exit, his perception is accurate, but others distort reality.
- Return to Village: Each exit concludes with Don Quixote’s return home, the last time to his death. Along the way, he encounters people from all social strata.
Time and Space: The narrative is chronological and linear, with scarce and inconsistent temporal references. The setting shifts from La Mancha to Sierra Morena, and in Part II, to Aragon and Catalonia.
Characters
Don Quixote’s diverse characters represent all social categories. The main characters are:
- Don Quixote: A tall, thin, old, educated bachelor, driven mad by his reading.
- Sancho Panza: A short, paunchy, prudent farmer who becomes Don Quixote’s squire.
- Dulcinea: A figment of Don Quixote’s imagination, based on a real, less-than-ideal villager.
Themes and Meaning
Initially seen as a comic satire, Don Quixote explores the conflict between reality and ideal. Other interpretations highlight its realism and perspectivism. Key themes include idealism, freedom, love, and the importance of literature.
- Critical: The novel offers critical judgments on literary works and theories.
- Reading: The novel itself engages with literature through reading.
- Writing: Don Quixote is a work of literature that reflects on the act of writing.
Narrative and Narrators
The novel features a principal omniscient narrator, various fictional authors and narrators, and characters who tell stories within the story. Don Quixote’s language is archaic and chivalrous, while Sancho’s speech is marked by proverbs and occasional attempts at formal language.