Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes

Our book club began on a whim with a call to read A Tale of Two Cities. After meeting to discuss that book, we decided to keep it up. The book we chose to read next was Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes. This book is considered the first modern novel. Clocking in at over 900 pages, slogging through it became a tall order. Since it was originally written in Spanish, some of it does not translate well. The translator of my edition, J. M. Cohen, freely admits that although he did his best, the humor does not always come through.

One drawback to this book is that we are missing the context. Apparently Cervantes is reacting to the saturation of his society with really bad books. These other novels tell the fantastical tales of knights and their adventures. The protagonists are over-the-top charicatures and magical contrivances abound. It is into this environment that Cervantes introduces his hero, Don Quixote.

Cervantes writes his tale with an interesting self-awareness. He proclaims himself, not the author of the story, but simply more of an editor of a story he discovered. Using this device gives the adventure the patina of non-fiction. Cervantes is unsure of the hero's real name, but knows he is now called Don Quixote de la Mancha. The old man has become obsessed with the tales of knights errant and fancies himself a member of their community. To the distress of his housekeeper and neice, and his friends the priest and the barber, he sets off to defend the weak and helpless, all for the glory of his lady Dulcinea, whom he has never met, accompanied by a simple-minded villager, Sancho Panza, to whom he promises a governership. 

In his madness, he sees ordinary things transformed into castles and giants. Although Sancho is not similarly endowed with this ability, Quixote feels confident that his interpretation reflects reality. Together, they have many adventures battling "evil" and helping the helpless. None of these exploits actually end well, but in Don Quixote's mind, he is the bravest and most successful knight of the realm. By using this device, seeing both Don Quixote's mind and the reality, Cervantes is making it clear that it is all nonsense and worse. People are actually getting hurt, mostly Sancho, property is being damaged, and the outcomes leave much to be desired. 

Throughout the book, Don Quixote is urged to return home, return to sanity, and burn his abominable books. For a short time after a particularly bruising run-in with a band of merchants whom he mistakes for knights intent on battling him, he does just this. But the madness eventually overcomes him and he and the faithful Sancho return to the road. 

Once again, we find Don Quixote battling shepherds, sheep, innkeepers, and anyone else he chances to meet. Time and again he is disasterously defeated, but each time, he soldiers on, believing himself to be on a sacred mission. With the promise of a governership always before him, Sancho remains a part of the misconceived operation. After being tossed in a blanket in a particulary terrifying spectacle, Sancho makes a statement that seems to reveal why he stays, "... such misfortunes are difficult to prevent, and if they come there's nothing for it but to hunch your shoulders, hold your breath, close your eyes, and let yourself go where fate and the blanket send you." (p. 163)

This seems to be Don Quixote's guiding principle as well. "To go where fate and the blanket send you." Book 1 is full of story after story of misadventure, each full of cringe-inducing tales. It ends with Sancho Panza appealing to Quixote's friends, the priest and the barber, to trick the addled man into returning home. They eventually, through a complicated and contrived plot, kidnap him and return the bruised and defeated old man to his bed. 

The author ends the book with alledged references to his knight errant in ancient manuscripts. The way the author inserts himself into the story is fun trick to distance himself from his own story, offering a simple morality tale he "discovered" and delivers for our consideration.

Apparently Cervantes promised a second book after the success of the first. Yet during his eleven year hiatus, someone else took it upon himself to continue the story. Book 2 opens a month after the first ended with a recognition of the counterfeit book and Cervante's desire to set the record straight. Once again, such a self-aware book is a delight. He repeatedly refers to errors in the previous book as printer errors. In this he shows a bit of Don Quixote in himself - it is never his fault when things go sideways. In the intervening month, while Don Quixote recovered in bed, the first book has made him and his adventures famous. 

The second book takes advantage of this renown. Now Don Quixote is recognized when he, to the disappointment of those around him, returns to the road. A new character is introduced in the person of a scholar, what they call a bachelor. He is fascinated by Don Quixote's exploits, but sees the need to help the crazy, old man. A plan is hatched in which the bachelor will disguise himself as a famous knight. He will challenge Don Quixote in battle and with his inevitable defeat, Don Quixote will promise to return home and give up all efforts at chivalry. Unfortunately the plan goes awry when our hero defeats the "Knight of the Mirrors."

Don Quixote believes it is time to finally meet his Dulcinea. Sancho is supposed to have visited her earlier, so he is to lead his master to the object of love. But Sancho lied and has no idea who she is. When he points to a random, ugly peasant girl as the damsel, Don Quixote is convinced she's been bewitched by nefarious forces. For the rest of the book, he is obsessed with disenchanting her and returning her into the glorious visage of which he believes her to be. 

Returning to the road, Don Quixote chances upon some wealthy fans of his feats of derring, a local Duke and Duchess. They indulge his fantasies for their own entertainment. They create increasingly complex scenarios in which Don Quixote can prove his mettle. Unfortunately they know he's insane, and they toy with him as their personal entertainment. This leads to some cruelty as they devise painful and complicated ways for Don Quixote to relieve Dulcinea of her enchantment. 

To sweeten the incentive to proceed through their gauntlet, the Duke gives Sancho the long hoped-for governorship. But his lackeys work hard to make it a miserable commission for the simple-minded companion. Nonetheless, Panza's uncomplicated folk wisdom serves him well, and he does a surprisingly good job in his duties. Yet the toll it takes on him brings him no happiness, and he eventually renounces his position.

Following that debacle, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza leave the home of the Duke and Duchess for the road once again. Similar adventures as before befall them, ending with a duel with the famous "Knight of the White Moon." The bachelor has recovered from his previous defeat and has set up the same challenge. A defeat means Don Quixote must return home and renounce knight errantry. This time, Don Quixote is soundly conquered, and complies with his promise. 

Depressed, Don Quixote returns home, but not without a few more adventures along the way. He begins to dream of a simple shepherd's life. His friends indulge this hopeless delusion. 

Finally in the last chapter, Don Quixote recognizes the error of his ways. In a rare moment of clarity, he renounces the books and stories that led to his delusions. In preparing his will, he requires that his neice marry a man wholly unfamiliar with the detrimental tales. On the last page, he quietly succumbs to a life marred by misadventure and sadness knowing he wasted much of his time on earth. He dies in his bed.

Cervantes story is somewhere between a fable and a chronicle. On the one hand it is a fantastical tale, stretched beyond all credulity. On the other hand, he presents Don Quixote's story as a morality play, to exhort us not to fall into the same trap. So while he tries to a present a slightly fictionalized account of what COULD happen to one immersed in the silly novels of his day, it seems highly unlikely. 

I believe at the core, Don Quixote is searching for meaning. Like all mortals, we want to know we were placed on this earth for a purpose. Don Quixote's error is in assuming his purpose to be that of a knight errant. What is standing in his way is reality. He is not a knight errant. No one is. The stories of the day are make-believe. He never overcomes this obstacle because unfortunately, reality is a b-word. 

While I sympathize somewhat with Don Quixote, the reader is supposed to relate to the niece and friends of Don Quixote who love him and want him to return to sanity. It's unclear why they hold him so dear. He clearly doesn't care about their opinions. Because his actions lead to the abuse of his faithful squire, Sanchez Panza, it's hard to muster up the requisite sympathy for our knight. 

I believe Cervantes is making the argument that a life devoted to silliness is a life wasted. I think this is true. However, because Quixote doesn't learn his lesson until the very last pages of a 900-page book, I don't believe the message is adequately communicated. Instead the common takeaway is that of silly stories of a crazy man "tilting at windmills." Cervantes' novel becomes what he opposes — the silly, fantastical tale of a knight errant and his lady love. 

However, I think it is true that we all need purpose in life. I think it's also true that some waste their lives on meaninglessness. Sometimes the source is obvious, whether it's pleasure-seaking or fame. But sometimes it's less obvious. We can waste our lives on things that seem to have value but often are just at ephemeral and meaningless, and ultimately, worthless. I think of those who seek to do good and in reality hurt their own cause. Women who march in disjointed "women's marches" declaiming non-existent oppression waste valuable time and resources. Saving the planet gives many that sense of meaning they crave, but it's a fool's errand. Many of these kinds of focuses provide, not meaning and true purpose, but a false idol.

I believe our ultimate purpose is to glorify God in whatever position He has placed us. In my case, I am a wife and mother. My job is to work at those tasks to the best of my abilities. Supporting my husband and raising my children glorifies God as I follow His Word in carrying out my duties. I have no need for an alternate purpose, no need to save the planet or fight for ephemeral "justice." I put my trust in Him and ask my family to do the same. 

The Aeneid by Virgil

The next "Great Book" in the Hillsdale "Great Books 101" course was the Aeneid by Virgil. While reading this, I followed Susan Wise Bauer's directions in The Well Educated Mind.

Grammar Stage:

Cast of main characters:
Juno - wife of Zeus. Loves Carthage and already hates those who will someday destroy it.
Aeneas - the hero. Son of Venus. Already bemoaning his fate, wishing he had died at Troy.
Achates - Aeneas’ best friend and right-hand man.
Dido - widow queen of Carthage who welcomes Aeneas and his men to Carthage
Ascanius - Aeneas’ son and only heir
Creusa - Aeneas’ wife who dies trying to leave Troy as it falls.
Anchises - Aeneas’ father whom he rescues from Troy, only to see him die on their journey.
King Latinus - king of the Latins, father to Lavinia
Lavinia - daughter of Latinus. Was not to be wed to a Latin.
King Evander - King of Arcadia. Offspring of Troy. Friend of Anchises. Son is Pallas

Aeneas knows the plans fate has in store for him. While running from the fallen Troy, he tells his men, “Through so many crises and calamities we make for Latium, where fates have promised a peaceful settlement. It is decreed that there the realm of Troy will rise again.” (Bk. I, 284). Yet he is knocked off course and washes up on the shores of Carthage with his men. Queen Dido welcomes him. At Venus’ urging, Cupid shoots her with an arrow to make her fall madly in love with him. She does this to protect her son, Aeneas, from any harm Dido might have in store for him.

At Dido’s urging, Aeneas tells the story of their woe. A young Greek was left behind, apparently rejected by his fellow Greeks. He tells the Trojans to take the giant wooden horse into their town and offer it to the gods. Once inside, the warriors hidden in its belly attack. Aeneas fights, but finally, resigned to the fall, rescues his father, son and wife. But she gets separated on the way out and killed. He joins up with other refugees, and they make their way to safety.

Aeneas tells Dido of the many adventures they had prior to coming to Carthage. He includes his visit with Andromache and Helenus. They try to convince him to stay in their refashioned version of Troy. But he knows he is destined for Latium. Right as he reaches Carthage, his father dies aboard their ship. He is blindsided by the death of Anchises.

Aeneas soon weds Dido and begins to make a home in Carthage. But Mercury is sent to remind him of his fate. “Are you now laying the foundation of high Carthage, as a servant to a woman, building her a splendid city here? Are you forgetful of what is your own kingdom, your own fate?” (Bk. IV, 353). Repentant, he feels compelled to to take his ships and men and set sail for Latium. Upon hearing this, Dido soon kills herself. She curses his city-to-be, setting up the eternal conflict between Rome and Carthage.

On their way, they make a stop on Sicily. There, Aeneas’ father has been buried for the last year. They use the anniversary of his death to celebrate the funeral games. After this time of celebration, they set off once again for Latium. But Aeneas pilot is knocked into the sea and drowns. Nevertheless, they make it to Italy, but he feels this is a bad omen.

Once they reach the land, a prophetess tells Aeneas, “O you who are done, at last, with those great dangers that lie upon the sea — worse wait on land — the sons of Dardanus [Trojans] will reach Lavinium’s kingdom (for you can now be sure of that) and yet shall wish that they had never come. I see wars, horrid wars, the Tiber foaming with much blood… Nor will Juno fail anywhere to hound the Teucrians [Trojans], while you, a beggar in your need, implore the towns, the tribes through all of Italy!” (Bk. VI, 117) Aeneas takes this opportunity with an immortal to ask for a chance to visit his father in the underworld. Anchises meets him there and tells him of his great progeny-to-be, including Caesar.

Aeneas then arrives at the kingdom of King Latinus. He makes an easy peace with him. Latinus at once recognizes that this is the foreigner his daughter is destined to wed. But Juno is determined to make Aeneas life a hard one. Recognizing that she cannot stop fate, she says, “I cannot keep him from the Latin kingdoms: so be it, let Lavinia be his wife, as fates have fixed. But I can still hold off that moment and delay these great events, can still strike down the nations of both kings. Then let the son- and father-in-law pay for peace with their own people’s death. Virgin, your dowry will be Latin blood…” (Bk. Vii, 414). She stirs up the original suitor, Turnus, to make war with Aeneas.

Aeneas leaves his men to guard their camp and ships while he goes off to find allies. He approaches King Evander of Arcadia, a friend of his father’s, to ask for help. The king sends his army, headed by his beloved son, Pallas. Meanwhile, Aeneas’ mother, Venus, has her husband, Volcan form armor for Aeneas. On it, Volcan fashions the story of what would become Rome, thereby restating the prophecy  given many times over of Aeneas destiny.

With Aeneas away, Turnus decides to attack the camp. He is able to kill many of Aeneas’ men before Aeneas can return. Once he arrives, he furiously battles back Turnus’ forces, killing many in the process. King Evander’s son, Pallas, is killed by Turnus at this time. Finally, Turnus is lured away by a goddess and escapes the carnage.

Turnus returns and will not admit defeat. He teams up with Diana’s favorite, Camilla, and they go to war once again. After she dies and his forces are routed, he meets up with Aeneas and they decide to settle their fight one-on-one.

King Latinus knows that battling Aeneas was always a mistake. He tells Turnus, “It was not right for me to give my daughter to any of her former suitors; all — both gods and men — had told us this. And yet, too overcome by love for you, by our related blood, and by my sad wife’s tears, I broke all of these curbs; I snatched my daughter back from her promised husband; I took up unholy arms. For Turnus, you see what disasters hunt me down from that day on, what evils you, above all, had to suffer. Twice-beaten in great battles, we can hardly keep Italy’s hopes safe within our city; and even now our blood still warms the Tiber; the giant plains are still white with our bones.” (Bk. XII, 36). And he begs Turnus not to face Aeneas. He is ready to sue for peace and give his promised daughter to Aeneas.

But Turnus will not turn back. As Jupiter and Juno look on, they begin to reconcile over the fight they had had over Aeneas’ fate. He tells his wife, “… the Ausonians [Italians] will keep their homeland’s words and ways; their name will stay; the body of the Teucrians [Trojans] will merge with Latins, and their name will fall away. But I shall add their rituals and customs to the Ausonians’, and make them all — and with one language — Latins. You will see a race arise from this that, mingled with the blood of the Ausonians, will be past men, even past gods, in piety; no other nation will pay you such honor.” (Bk. XII, 1106). Jupiter's compromise with his wife is to erase from memory the culture and heritage of the Trojans, rising them up us as Romans instead. This way, it is not the Trojans who become famous for their empire.

Although they are supposed to battle only each other, their friends jump into the fray. Finally Aeneas corners Turnus. He almost offers him mercy, but he sees poor Pallas' belt on Turnus as a trophy of war. Furious, Aeneas brutally kills Turnus. 

Logic Stage:

This novel is a fable. It tells of a mystical beginning to the Roman Empire playing on the demise of Troy after the Trojan War. The intent was to create a mythical beginning in order to give the newly forming Roman Empire a link to Ancient Greece. In addition, it was written to tie Augustus to the “founder” Aeneas. It is a cautionary tale as well as a moral tale. It was written to help guide Augustus as he set out to re-found the Roman people. Virgil wanted to show him as a man on a mission against all odds who would not be sidetracked or delayed by diversions. Aeneas was pious and faithful even when it would have been easy to give up. But he had to be careful not to let his bloodlust overtake him. 

The central character Aeneas just wants a new home for his family and his people. His old Troy has been destroyed. His wife is dead. He has managed to save his son, but his father has died along the journey as well. He want to settle and recreate the glory that was Troy. The biggest thing initially standing in his way was the temptation to settle for less than the gods had promised. He could live in the “Little Troy” built by Andromache and Helenus, or he could marry Dido of Carthage and make that his home. But he knew his destiny was the Italian coast. Breaking Dido’s heart, he departs towards his destiny. Once there, he face a brutal battle waged by the former suitor of his betrothed, Turnus. He did not give up, but warred brilliantly, eventually killing Turnus in a cold-blooded act of revenge.

Usually a narrator of some sort is telling the story, but occasionally the epic lapses into first-person when Aeneas tells his story to others. It is unclear whether the narrator got his information from those on the journey. He seems to be somewhat omniscient because he knows what the gods are saying and doing and their motivations.  The tale is set on the Mediterranean between Troy, Carthage, and Rome, as well as the surrounding islands. The writer uses complex sentences and archaic language as he is purposely mimicking Homer’s Odyssey and the Iliad. He uses very descriptive language because in copying Homer, the story is assumed to be told aloud. Therefore it would included many descriptive passages that set the scene and the mood and tone of the story. He also references many related stories and characters because one of the main points is to tie Rome to Greece. Therefore he needs to reference the ancient Greeks. Flames are a recurring image and metaphor. Troy is burning. Dido kills herself on a fire and Aeneas sees it as he is sailing away. I think it recalls a type of madness and out of control emotions. All Aeneas dreams can go up in flames if he is not careful to continue to be pious and follow the dictates of the gods.

The story begins in media res with a note about Aeneas sailing on the sea. "I sing of arms and of a man: his fate had made him fugitive; he was the first to journey from the coasts of Troy as far as Italy and the Lavinian shores. Across the lands and waters he was battered beneath the violence of High Ones..." (Bk. I, 1-6) We are not given a lot of information about him or how he got there, but are instantly treated to Juno’s wrath with him. I believe it starts like this because Virgil is telling the tale as a bit of an allegory for Augustus who is also starting in media res when it comes to the Roman Empire. Augustus is similarly floating towards an unknown destination with an unknown ending. Because Virgil died before he considered the book complete we are not sure how he intended to end it. That being said, he ends it with Aeneas violently killing his rival Turnus, despite his pleas for mercy. 

Rhetoric Stage:

I sympathize with Aeneas. He is clearly a good man trying to find a home for himself and his family. He is desperate to build something but is tempted to take the easy way out and rest on other’s accomplishments. Yet he is driven by fate in a way I don’t feel. I’m a strong believer in free will. I believe there is a plan for our lives, but I believe it intersects with free will in a way that is impossible to explain. Virgil clearly implies that for Aeneas to rest with Andromache and Helenus or Dido would have been a “sin” and going against the prophecy of fate over him. I don’t believe the plan for our lives works like that. I think as we exercise our free will, we naturally move in a direction we are called to. I believe God makes use of our gifts and talents and desires to lead us towards a destination He has planned for us. 

Virgil sees the human condition as man guided by forces far beyond his control, and yet he has free will. He can NOT do what he has been predestined to do. But that will result in horrific consequences. On the other hand, being pious is no recipe for peace and prosperity. There is simply too much going on that we have no part in. Yet the job of humans is to do what they know is the right thing to do despite the consequences. It is the exact opposite of a utilitarian belief. Good is not the goal. Nor is happiness. The goal is to please the gods and do the “right” thing as they have laid out.

Because it ends so abruptly I don’t see it as self-reflective. I think it is supposed to be. Clearly Augustus was supposed to compare himself to Aeneas, but it ends in a brutal murder. I don’t believe this was Virgil’s advice to the emperor. I think he wanted the reader to see where Aeneas was tempted to defy the gods and give up on his destined mission. I think Virgil wants us to similarly press on through difficult decisions and circumstances, constantly pushing forward towards our destiny. But the unfinished poem does not allow us to see if Aeneas ultimately succeeded.

The time in which the author is writing absolutely impacts him and his story. He is writing to influence an Emperor. There is no need to construct a mythical beginning of Rome except to allegorize their current situation.

 The argument in this book is that there is a right way to live, and it may at times be very hard to stay on that path. There will be twists and turns and temptations and bitterly disappointing setbacks, but we must push forward nonetheless. I think this is true to a point. We do not all have a clearly spelled out destination before us. But it is true that life offers many twists, turns, and temptations to distract us from what we know the right thing to do is. We are often dealt devastating setbacks and, like Aeneas, we must push on. But towards what is not as clear as it was with Aeneas.

Discussion questions from the course:

1. How does Aeneas’s romance with Dido illustrate the idea that private acts can have public consequences?
   While Aeneas private act of a marriage with Dido seems to be his own business, his decision meant all those following him would remain in Carthage, never to create their own glorious homeland. In addition, Aeneas giving his love to Dido tied her to him in such a powerful way that upon his departure, she kills herself. She feels unbearably guilty for betraying her vow to her dead husband. This also impacts her sister who is last seen in deep mourning for Dido.
2. In what ways does the Aeneid show Aeneas overcoming personal loss and doing his public duty?
   Even though he has lost Troy, his wife, his father, his opportunity to settle in "Little Troy", and Dido, Aeneas presses on. He feels he must. He has no choice to follow the dictates of the gods.
   
   
3. What lessons does the Aeneid have to teach us today?
   We, too, must do the right thing despite some of the consequences. We must not be turned by the temptations to give up or settle. We must move on towards the plan for our lives. To settle is to potentially hurt others and deny them the plan for their lives.