The novel “ Don Quixote” has a magic, power and significance for people today, said a Vanderbilt University professor in Tuesday’s forum.

“I hope to spark your interest in things Quixotic,” said Edward Friedman, professor of Spanish and comparative literature.

Friedman described the novel’s author, Miguel de Cervantes, detailing his adventurous life, including experiences as a war soldier and a pirate hostage. Cervantes penned his literary works with these experiences in mind. “Don Quixote” was written in Madrid, as the author lived a life of hardship and challenge.

“Though he did not consider it his masterpiece, it is ‘Don Quixote’ that makes Cervantes immortal,” Friedman said. “It is a prime example of meta-fiction, a story that is aware of its literary function.”

Part of this literary function is to tell a story — in this case the tale of an unfortunate young man who assumes the identity of a knight, Don Quixote. This colorful protagonist is seemingly unhinged and eccentric, though he performs such noble acts as saving a whipping boy from death. But the novel is more than just a story, Friedman said. It is historia, mixing both story and history.

During the era “Don Quixote” was written, authority in Europe was challenged on many levels. Conflicts, disputes and religious wars were at the forefront of society. Helping the reader understand these realities is at the heart of “Don Quixote.”

“As citizens, we perceive reality from a distance, and literature helps us understand,” Friedman said. “Literature is not so much a mirror to reality as it is a conduit.”

He also said it is up to the reader to interpret reality in the end. And as “Don Quixote” exemplifies, reality can be incorporated in literature.

“The magic of the novel is that it unites reality and fiction by refusing to label them as mutually exclusive,” Friedman said.

Portions of the novel are based on actual characters and events, including the economic trends of the era, he said. But in the end, it is up to readers to make their own interpretations.

“Cervantes wisely over-encodes the narrative, leaving readers to come to their own conclusions,” Friedman said. “He fictionalizes history and historicizes literature.”

Overall, it is the human decency of the protagonist that endears “Don Quixote “ to its readers, Friedman said. That is why the novel remains famous after 400 years.

“We care about Don Quixote because, behind all the literary trappings, he has a heart,” Friedman said. “I hope this will encourage those of you who haven’t done so to read it.”



Copyright Brigham Young University 19 Oct 2005