Tilting at Tradition : Problems of Genre in the Novels of Miguel de Cervantes and Charles Sorel

ISBN-13: 9789042037090 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 270 str.

Daniel Syrovy

Opis

"Don Quijote" and "Le Berger extravagant" criticize fiction but come in the shape of novels. Far from breaking with their respective traditions, they engage with the chivalric and the pastoral in a creative manner. Genre and imitation are key notions for situating these novels in literary history and in the uvres of Cervantes and Sorel. With emphasis on the continuity of each writer's approach, "Le Berger extravagant" is considered in the context of Sorel's aim to educate readers and avoid romance stereotypes, while the "Quijote" is read as an individual take on the chivalric novel, rejecting the Spanish tradition in favor of the ironic Italian "romanzo cavalleresco." Like Cervantes' "Galatea" and "Persiles," "Don Quijote" reflects a specific tradition which in turn serves to illuminate the famous book. This study offers interpretations of the two novels, but extends its scope toward the authors' other works and additional contemporary sources including Avellaneda's 1614 continuation of "Don Quijote."