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Deep Analysis of Don Quixote: Searching for an Insula (Pt.2 Ch.1-10) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-09-15 15:27:04
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Ten years have elapsed since Cervantes published the first part of Don Quixote.

The world went wild, with a plagiarised copy waking Miguel from his aesthetic slumber.

Now lovable squire and quixotic knight errant are reunited and learning to deal with their new-found fame.

In this video, we're covering the first ten chapters of part two, which leads to discussions on patronage, self-reliance, staying faithful to one's truth, Aristotelian friendship, the psychology of idealisation, the Cervantine reversal, the dangers of over interpretation, and much more.

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 the history of patronage in literature
  • 3:00 did Cervantes know Shakespeare?
  • 5:00 the plagiarised part two
  • 9:00 the first chapter of part two
  • 10:00 "I shall die a knight errant"
  • 13:00 self-reliance and living one's own truth
  • 18:00 the reunion of Sancho and Don Quixote
  • 20:00 Sancho trying to rise above his station
  • 23:00 Aristotelian friendship/Platonic love
  • 28:00 how the characters became famous
  • 32:00 "The most perceptive character is the fool"
  • 37:00 Sancho talking with his wife
  • 41:00 the Cervantine reversal of meaning
  • 48:00 the psychology of idealisation 
  • 49:00 the most famous sentence in Don Quixote
  • 52:00 we are all actors playing roles
  • 55:00 the Knight of Mirrors
  • 57:00 characters as free artists of themselves

Let us know any thoughts, meditations, or impressions about Don Quixote thus far!

Our next lecture will see us plumb the depths of the Cave of Montesinos as we approach the end of this epic tale.

Happy reading!

Files

Previews only

Deep Analysis of Don Quixote: Searching for an Insula (Pt.2 Ch.1-10)

0:00 the history of patronage in literature 3:00 did Cervantes know Shakespeare? 5:00 the plagiarised part two 9:00 the first chapter of part two 10:00 "I shall die a knight errant" 13:00 self-reliance and living one's own truth 18:00 the reunion of Sancho and Don Quixote 20:00 Sancho trying to rise above his station 23:00 Aristotelian friendship/Platonic love 28:00 how the characters became famous 32:00 "The most perceptive character is the fool" 37:00 Sancho talking with his wife 41:00 the Cervantine reversal of meaning 48:00 the psychology of idealisation 49:00 the most famous sentence in Don Quixote 52:00 we are all actors playing roles 55:00 the Knight of Mirrors 57:00 characters as free artists of themselves

Comments

Caroline P

Ohhhhh Don Quixote and Sancho… how I love you both. I do little illustrations and doodle people in my diary. Every so often a face appears that feels like a person with a whole personality..then I know I can do a little story with that person. I mention this because I feel that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza must have been real people for Cervantes, not just fictional people that he conjured up knowingly. They must have walked around with him. So to have some other person try and steal them and use them for another book must have been so shockingly inappropriate and false and just wrong. Anyway, what an excellent video as always. I like section two more than section one. I did love section one very much but section two seems more developed and thoughtful. The pair seem to have grown so much. When I read the bit where Sancho comes to Don Quixote despite being held back I was reading faster and faster willing them to be together again. It was wonderful.

hardcoreliterature
>>68010394

That's an incredible point. I strongly believe that Sancho and Don Quixote gave Cervantes comfort during some very tough times, so you're absolutely right - he most likely felt personally offended that someone would have their way with his creations. I do wonder if this Avellaneda plagiarised maliciously for profit, or if he too loved the characters and wished to breathe life into them - after all, we have droves of fan fiction, and I've been saddened at the end of a series when faced with the prospect that the characters are no more. I'm glad to hear you liked section two more that the first! They definitely have grown together. And part two is still not without its absurdities. Rereading the puppet scene in anticipation for the next lecture had me in stitches!

Sergey Taranenko

Don Quixote’s conversation with the Barber and the Priest once again highlights his willful ‘madness’, or rather idealism. He strives towards an ideal, not necessarily contemplating its truthfulness, but as a way of life. It kind of reminds me of my friend’s—who is simultaneously an agnostic and a Christian—explanation of his belief in God. He told me that the first believers were likely more eager to find relief from the mental and physical anguish of their daily lives than immerse themselves in theology. The obsession of Jewish society with sin, redemption, and penance played a big part in Christianity’s spread. People were essentially constantly suffering on both fronts. On the one hand, the hardship of their routine and labor was taking a toll on their bodies. On the other hand, the obsession with sinning, even in the form of a thought, was burdening their minds. Christianity offered a spiritual relief (by providing a Messiah figure who redeems all sins for example) from both types of anguish. Thus, the benefits on the individual, communal, and societal level of having faith were always the primary goal. For Christians who seek out religion for these reasons, internal inconsistencies such as the question of theodicy (how a good god permits evil) or conflicts with scientific findings are absolutely irrelevant. All these problems with religion, he told me, are problems only for the non-believer sceptics. In a similar fashion, all of these unrealistic depictions of chivalry are not an issue for Don Quixote, but only for those around him, the people that are blind to his ideal. Sancho’s constant oscillations in regard to Don Quixote’s view of the world are also really curious to me. He seems to be completely aware of his master’s madness and even makes attempts to manipulate it at times (as in the Dulcinea part). At the same time, he often losses himself in DQ’s fantasies and becomes fully immersed. In my opinion, although Sancho sees through everything, he prefers DQ’s world to his own prior existence. This might be due to the promise of class mobility, desire to escape the boring life, affinity for his master, or a subconscious love of adventure. Probably it is a combination of all these. The contrast we see between Sancho and his wife is a timeless classic. It is a manifestation of the variety of Asian proverbs that sound something like this: “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.” Or the Greek story about “cutting down the tall poppy.” DQ’s idealism infuses and elevates Sancho, makes him an independent actor in his own life. This is viewed as dangerous and unnatural by people that are too entrapped in the crowd, represented by Sancho’s wife. I think that you bringing up Emerson’s ‘Self-reliance’ in this lecture is incredibly fitting; Don Quixote is practically an embodiment of that principle. I’d also like to comment on the idealization of Dulcinea. I don’t think that this kind of romantic fantasy is necessarily a feature of the mentally ill, rather, it is an extension of our natural tendency to experience the world through the medium of imagination. Our overly developed consciousness complicates the simple biological urge of reproduction to unfathomable extents. This was briefly touched upon by Freud, but I think he only scraped the surface. No matter who the person of choice is, we never fully separate the ‘real’ him or her from our fantasy. Firstly, we view each person through our own prism, the information our senses receive is rarely passed down objectively. Secondly, we overlay our desired ideal on top of what we perceive, and only then do we form the final conception of our lover. Therefore, idealization is inherent to all of us, and it’s not necessarily bad unless it is too divorced from reality and unreasonable. It helps both of us grow spiritually, it is an expression of Emersonian self-reliance, it enriches our life. Returning to what I wrote about Christianity, it is not the collection of internal inconsistencies that is important, but what faith/idealism/idealization ultimately makes us feel.

Scott W
>>68010394

Hello Past-Caroline and Past-Ben. :) I'm nearing the end of Part Two as I write this. I feel the two parts have a very different feel, and agree Don Quixote and Sancho have grown, in themselves and as friends, so much since Part One. The first half of this great novel has an Arcadian feel to me for some reason. Perhaps it's the shepherds. And I love the frame stories; Cardenio! Part Two is funnier, I think. For hundreds of pages I had the opinion that DQ was practising some sort of zen-like perspectivism and was nowhere near as mad as people thought. Then.. the puppet show. I just couldn't believe it. I think the fact Cervantes never tells us for sure if DQ is 'mad' or not makes us question what that really means anyway in such a more interesting and sustaining and enlightening way, than if he'd told us, DQ is mad, or he is not. When Sancho tells the Duchess and her maidens, 'Look.. he's mad, raving mad.. so yes I made that whole Dulcinea thing up'.. and it's like Sancho is revealing a secret to you and you realise all these hundreds of pages Sancho has been hiding something from you as the reader! How can it feel like *a fictional character* has been *hiding* something from *the reader*!? They're not alive, are they!? :) Genius. 150 pages to go for me..

Caroline P
>>68010394

Haha.. I am not Past Caroline but very Present Caroline. I will just say, whoever said these two are just fictional characters was blinded… these two are real! My husband has just sold his business and is retiring.. he asked where to start with reading and I knew it had to be DQ. My only problem with the book is when am I going to be able to pick it up and read it again. Looking forward to it.