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Don Quixote
Bea wrote: "...there is a point at which he tells the neighbor...I know who I am. And, it's implied...'but let me be who I want to be'..."I won't be having any original thoughts myself during this read, but the OYC lecturer talks a lot about how this is a novel of self-invention. DQ isn't guided by divine providence, destined by the gods for greatness as in the stories, but he's also too old to be defined or restricted by his family or lineage (or reality?). At the wizened old age of 50, he's decided to be(come) exactly who he wants.
i took a look at the version i have in my audible library - its the John Ormsey translation - so i'll need to see what i can find out about his
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Are you joining us, Dee?
What happened to Bleak House? Too bleak? lol jk
i may join in after...i'm officially at the halfway point of bleak house...at least time wise...i'm sticking with that sucker until i'm done
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This made me chuckle, CluckingBell, as I am 70 and have reached that point! I mean, my hair color (normal is a mousy brown with white coming in) now has pink and purple highlights!
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Any recommended further reading in that Yale course, Cluckingbell?
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Tien wrote: "Any recommended further reading in that Yale course, Cluckingbell?"These are the other assigned readings. I don't know how much biographical information they contain.
De Cervantes, Miguel. Exemplary Stories. Translated by Leslie Lipson. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
González Echevarría, Roberto, ed. Cervantes' Don Quixote: A Casebook. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Elliott, John Huxtable. Imperial Spain, 1469-1716. New York: Penguin, 2002.
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1. I found it interesting that the portion where the barber and curate were deciding which books to burn included, according the footnotes, actual published books during Cervantes' time as well as one of his own. Some of the comments made about those books (although his own was treated favorably) would be appalling if done by a contemporary author about other books in our own time! Libel laws must have been different in his time.
2. We have the tilting at windmills as the first adventure with DQ and Sancho. This is the most I know of all of DQ's adventures...and onto discover what else he does.
3. I loved the cliffhanger at the end of Chap. 8. I guess, this is not as new a writing device as I had supposed!
Finished last week's portion and onto more adventures this week.
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Just haven't had time or rather I've prioritised other reads lol
I wanted to finish a challenge which I've been doing for nearly 3 years and I've 1.5 books to go so I'll try to read a bit more DQ this weekend :)
Finished chapter X today. It's a slow read. I keep getting distracted by other books!The book burning chapter was interesting for their reasoning.
CluckingBell wrote: "Tien wrote: "Cluckingbell, could you post the Open Yale schedule here? Sounds like a good one to follow...I'm not sure I can link to it directly, but it's at this URL under "Sessions": https://oy..."
Thanks for this link. It's been helpful in places with the writer's intent and the writing styles of that time. A good addition to the reading!
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btw, anyone know of a good sangria recipe ;)
I'd like to match my drink with my reads ;p
Just starting chapter 11. I like the observation that Sancho makes about those "above" him in social standing have so many constraints put upon them, that he (Sancho) would much rather remain a servant to DQ. I would have to agree! I would rather have the freedom of life, too, rather than all the required trappings of wealth or standing.Chapter 15 - Starting to see the humor I had heard was in here!
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I think I may have snorted out loud there... ;p
LynnB wrote: "...Update: Just started the Prologue, where Cervantes says Don Quixote was "born" in his prison days. Yesh, I feel dumb. Guess I should have read further than I did!..."Shouldn't that make you feel clever? Your conjecture was proven insightful and correct almost immediately! :-)
CluckingBell wrote: "LynnB wrote: "...Update: Just started the Prologue, where Cervantes says Don Quixote was "born" in his prison days. Yesh, I feel dumb. Guess I should have read further than I did!..."Shouldn't th..."
Thanks! I guess I didn't think of it that way.
:)
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I think I may have snorted out loud there... ;p"
For me, the LOL part was Chapter 17. Oh, my goodness!
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I think I'm on this week's (ch 23?)
I'm so amazed that DQ is still alive so far...
Finished chapter 21 finally. Tomorrow I'll start the next section. This story isn't quite what I expected ... though I'm not sure what I did expect!
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Ditto!
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I'm so amazed that DQ is still alive so far..."
Me, too. And, poor Sanchez!
Last night as the book fell out of my hands (no, of course I hadn't dozed off again!), I had this sudden feeling that I knew this theme. I have a son and come equipped with a preponderance of male cousins, nephews, and brothers. (Sympathy to my cousin with 6 boys and many, many grandsons.) It dawned on me that so far the tales involve a lot of farting and "bathroom" humor and males who are doing stupid things just because it sounds funny or interesting to try out. Does this mean that we are looking at the fact that after 400 years guys really haven't changed much? Or am I looking at this wrong? Ha!! What a joke that would be! Anybody else noticing this?
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I believe you could be right there... boys will be boys and they just don't ever change ;p
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I am distressed that my man Sancho is now infected by the DQ virus...and is actively involved in DQ's fantasy of the emperor/king variety.
It seems like anyone who spends too much time with him comes up with wildly outlandish scenarios of their own. Even when they burned his books to bring him back to reality and he's all "I could've sworn I left my library RIGHT HERE," his niece tells him a sorcerer stole it. Way to bring him back down to earth!Some people are playing along with his delusions out of expediency, because it moves him where they want him or it's just the best way to avoid a violent outburst, but they get way too into it. Most people would like to believe in magic and heroes, and maybe it takes them out of their humdrum or unhappy existences for a little. Maybe more people were reading chivalric romances than were prepared to admit it. (And a few don't recognize the line between fact and fiction themselves.)
Sancho, though, has faith. He trusts Don Quixote has wider experience of the world and the ways of nobility, so while he constantly expresses apprehension and skepticism, his worries are repeatedly assuaged, or at least suppressed, in deference to his master's confident reasoning and his own desire for social advancement. Because his faith rests largely on hope rather than belief, the foundation is unstable. I wonder how long it will last.
Just finished Book I, mostly because I'd had some trouble downloading the OYC lectures last week, so I skipped those and kept going on the book. Now I can take a week or two off to come to Book II a little fresher; it feels like there should be a break, given they were published 10 years apart. I'll try to get caught up on the lectures during that time, too.Sancho is still a hard character for me to get a handle on. He's been (I don't think this is really a spoiler, but I can't remember what happened in which chapters, so I'm tagging it) (view spoiler). I get the feeling he's just happy to be out of the house, no matter how much he worries and complains.
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It feels like there are a lot of stories with story with DQ and I must say that I'm not particularly keen for these. Maybe because I really didn't like the last ones I've just finished (Cordinia-Dorotea-Don Fernando-Luscinda). If this was a book on its own, I would have avoided it at all cost...
Tien wrote: "I thought I must be far behind but I don't think I am... I don't have my book with me but I'm about page 334 or something like that so I think I've only got 1 week's read to catch up on to be 'on s..."I think I'm behind you a bit on the reading (p. 305). I have to get to work on catching up. I think I would've quit already if it weren't a Buddy Read. It's just not my kind of story.
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I just finished a story within a story that was several chapters long, which bothered me - Anselmo, Lotario, Camilia. It was almost a relief to get back to the regular antics of DQ and Sancho.
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I just finished a story within a story that was several chapters long, which bothered me - Anselmo, Lotario, Camilia. ..."
I read that last night too and yes, another story that I truly could not appreciate and would have done my best to avoid.
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I've caught up to you, CluckingBell. Finished Book 1 last night.
Been thinking about Sancho and I agree that it's really incomprehensible why he keeps following DQ seeing all he got from his loyalty is pain and more pain. Other characters also wondered the same thing about Sancho... I wonder if he's just that simple and, like DQ, prefer to dream grandiose dream. Still... his persistence is puzzling.
I am soooo far behind on this. I hope to catch up between now and the end of the weekend. How is everyone else doing?
I'll be starting Book II soon. I think I'm giving up on the lectures for now. Too many hours to commit to in addition to the rather hefty book itself.It's funny, I was thinking about Sancho's motivation, and I thought, "He just likes Don Quixote, in spite of everything." And then I remembered there's a whole song in The Man of La Mancha where Sancho's repeatedly asked WHY do you stay with this weirdo, and all he can come up with is, "I like him. I really like him." Though the negative consequences of hanging out with DQ are played down in the musical, as I recall. :-)
CluckingBell wrote: "It's funny, I was thinking about Sancho's motivation, and I thought, "He just likes Don Quixote, in spite of everything."I think you're right, but I can't figure out why when he's treated so badly by DQ.
Didn't he say something about with luck his wife would be dead by the time they returned and then he could marry DQ's queen's lady-in-waiting? I don't think he has a great home life. DQ gives him an excuse to get out of the house, meet new people, have aspirations....even if it ends dismally every time, it probably feels like a manly pursuit. DQ doesn't allow himself to be trapped within the mundane, so at least Sancho is never bored around him. A lot of friendships are sustained by that never-a-dull-moment dynamic, it seems.ETA: Plus, DQ isn't mean-spirited. He's just guided by a different set of rules than everyone else, and Sancho is trying to understand them as a path to advancement.
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I am enjoying this book more than I thought I would. I feel for Sancho, but, even he is trying my patience with his refusal to stick with reality and buying into the islands and all.
Sancho seems to be so taken with the idea that DQ will reward him and that he will no longer need to work for his living that he buys into DQ's fantastical world. I know at times I would be tempted to do the same, but I think that the reality of the blows and hardship would have me abandoning DQ in a hurry!
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Hopefully, will start Week 7 reading tonight. I've prepped for some Sangria for tonight's reading ;)
Sorry to say that I'm not particularly enjoying this book. Except for the first adventure of DQ (first time is funny but whatever repeat is just. not.) Keen to finish since I'm past halfway.
Sorry, group. I am giving this one up. It hasn't kept my attention and, in fact, each time I look at it sitting there, I reach for a different book. I started March 17 and still am only 1/3 of the way through. I admire the determination you all have in getting this read!
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Aw, Lynn, I understand... It's not the most engaging book I've read that's for sure. In fact, I'm wondering why I'm reading it, I don't feel like I'm getting anything... except another tick for a big book classic :p
I did buy my pretty book and haven't much to go (430 pages left or so). I'm determined to read approx 30 pages per night and get it done and over it. 30 pages takes me less than an hour to read so doable, I think...
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I do think the repetitiveness and therefore the predictability of each of the adventures is a bit boring. However, this apparently was a popular book when written. Maybe it gives an insight into the thinking of that time. And, I seem to remember that it was a satire of the books of chivalry of the time?
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That, I could probably understand but reading the translator's note about how 'popular' this book is - that a lot of translators out there want to tackle this book... I don't get that... maybe I'm remembering incorrectly.
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I'm keen to finish sooner than later so I may just keep going (for evenings I have time to read anyway) because if I stop, I may not pick it back up and I'm so close!
To your point of repetitiveness, Bea... all the stories of beautiful women and heartbreaks, Aaarrggghhh!!! They drive me crazy! It could be satire on gothic novels as well but basically ALL the stories have some heartbreaks which drive someone mad and I just...
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Books mentioned in this topic
Exemplary Stories (other topics)Cervantes' Don Quixote: A Casebook (other topics)
Imperial Spain, 1469 - 1716 (other topics)
A Perfect Spy (other topics)
Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: A Graphic Novel, Book 1 (other topics)
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I agree that DQ's worldview has made his shabby world more elegant and interesting. And, I am sure he knew his helmet still was not good...but did not want proof that it would fail. Easier to believe in the improvements when it hasn't been proven wrong.
In the chapters I read today, there is a point at which he tells the neighbor...I know who I am. And, it's implied..."but let me be who I want to be"...afterwards the neighbor joins in with the charade.