Cervantes's Novel of Modern Times: A New Reading of Don Quijote

by David Quint

This book offers a radically new reading of Don Quijote, understanding it as a whole much greater than the sum of its famous parts. David Quint discovers a unified narrative and deliberate thematic design in a novel long taught as the very definition of the picaresque and as a rambling succession of individual episodes. Quint shows how repeated motifs and verbal details link the episodes, often in surprising and heretofore unnoticed ways. Don Quijote emerges as a work that charts and reflects upon the historical transition from feudalism to the modern times of a moneyed, commercial society. In Part One of the novel, this change is measured in a shift in the nature of erotic desire, and we find Don Quijote torn between his love for Dulcinea and his hopes to wed for wealth and social advancement. In Part Two, Don Quijote himself changes from anarchic madman to a gentler, wiser hero--a member of a middle class in the making. Throughout, Cervantes meditates on the literary form that he is inventing as a response to modernity, questioning the novel's relationship to other genres and the place of heroism and imagination within stories of everyday life.


A new and coherent guide through the maze-like structure of Don Quijote, this book invites readers to appreciate the perennial modernity of Cervantes's masterpiece---a novel that confronts times not so distant from our own.

Hardcover

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Random Anonymous Pseudonym*]

I like David Quint's work and I consider him to be a talented and astute literary critic who has produced important contributions to literary studies. I especially admire his justly influential "Epic and Empire", as well as his more recent books on Milton and Virgil. Great stuff! But even Homer sometimes nods... And I am sorry to write that "Cervantes's Novel of Modern Times" is not a particularly notable addition to the Quint catalogue. Although it does contain some insightful, perceptive and useful discussions on specific chapters from "Don Quijote", I find the central ideas to be rather weak, simplistic, and underdeveloped. In a usual Quint way, the book argues for the overall coherence and artistic unity of the novel, and connects the novel's structure to historical developments, such as the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of a money-dominated world. These points are interesting, but they are not nearly as "new" as the subtitle of the book makes them out to be. Unfortunately, Quint misses important nuances in the novel and often makes uninspired points (Sancho Panza is connected to his appetitive instincts because his surname is Panza, meaning belly... Thanks a lot, David! Never saw that one coming!). I also felt that the prose lacks the virtuoso quality of some of Quint's better books. Overall, I am unable to give a favorable review to this study. It could have been a groundbreaking piece of work on one of the greatest novels in the history of literature written by one of the best literary critics working today. But alas... it feels like a missed opportunity. As I say, I do not take this as an indictment on the quality of Quint's work. We all have our hits and misses. I think the general scholarly reception of this book confirms my assessment. "Cervantes's Novel of Modern Times" did not have a big impact on the field, unlike some of Quint's other works. Quint fights giants but they turn out to be windmills.