Rated the book
Still, it is not true that modern literature is dying under the weight of endless love vampirats - after reading Cervantes, you understand that it was bending even then, and in ways that we never dreamed of.
Although the book, I must admit, surprised me. Since childhood, stereotypes have been laid in my poor head that Don Quixote is the quintessence of a mad knight, he is all pathetic and suffering, in contrast to the funny plump Sancho, for some reason he destroys windmills and glorifies Dulcinea. In the end, it turned out that he was just a crazy old man, he and his faithful squire made a wonderful couple, Dulcinea does not exist in nature, and he fought with the mills only once, and even then not very successfully. Instead of traveling around Europe, they travel around one small patch of their native province and make noise among the local residents, destroy production equipment and amuse the curious nobility with philosophical conversations.
It’s probably right that I was never able to master this as a child, only getting there in the wake of Long-Term Construction - without the burden of the philology department, half of all the parody moments would have been incomprehensible. Although, to tell the truth, I probably missed a lot even now - I have practically no information about life in Spain at that time. And, you know, this is what shocked me the most. God knows when it was - the beginning of the 17th century, the 1600s! You read and understand that on the one hand nothing has changed, but on the other - it’s almost a different planet! It’s just that such a colossal difference between the way modern authors write about the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and how naturally those who actually live there talk about all this cannot help but be striking. And Cervantes, with deliberate carelessness, scatters these mundane details of life, worldview and psychology, without even noticing it and not realizing that after 400 years this could shake someone to the core. I read all this over and over again at university, but then for some reason it didn’t touch me at all, but now the realization hit me with a terrible shock. Probably, at such moments you understand the value of books and literature. But what are these four centuries next to the ancient Greek heritage, which miraculously did not sink into oblivion? There is even an urge to fill the gaps in education, which are not at all limited to Cervantes.
And going crazy about literature is, of course, a thankless task. I wonder if there are crazy role players nowadays, or is Don Quixote lucky to be the first and the last?
Rated the book
Victory over long-term construction No. 1
Part one.
And now the game of noble and valiant Fighters against long-term construction has already begun. And now I realized that without her I would not overcome this thorny path, for I could not disgrace myself in front of my worthy comrades. And now my mind was subjected to a severe test, because it was not easy for my body to endure 900 pages of medieval pathos. And now I’ve already read about a crazy old man (for 50 years in those days was considered a respectable age), who had an overdose of knightly novels and became mentally weak. And now he set off on his journey and with all his strength began to do good and do good. And now my heart sank with pity for those whom he met on his way, for in everything that moved, he saw giants, sorcerers and wicked people. And now I don’t know when normal speech will return to me, because my brain is still in convulsions. And now I’m ready to water any trash story with copious tears of joy, as long as there isn’t a single “for” in it.
Part two.
The second part of the adventures of Don Quixote came out 10 years after the first (1615). Almost immediately after the publication of the book about the False Don Quixote (attachment to successful literary projects has existed at all times) and a year before the death of Cervantes. In the preface and in the last chapters of the second part, Cervantes venomously sneezed at the unknown author (the book was published under a pseudonym). Everything is correct, because it doesn’t matter. The second book became something scary for me. It had some strange psychedelic properties for me personally. They say that if a cat is shown a rotating two-color circle for 15 minutes, it will fall into a trance. I don't know, I haven't checked. But from the second volume of the adventures of Don Quixote I was in a trance, like that cat. I was consistently knocked out after 15 pages of text. Moreover, it was not even a dream, it was something on the verge of a deep faint with a hangover when returning to earth. During the breaks, I pumped myself with Murakami. He was like an oxygen mask for me.
Epilogue.
I'll be honest - it was hard. Like fish oil. You understand all the necessity and usefulness of this creation of human hands for the body, but you cram it into yourself with great difficulty. However, after page 700 I had some kind of enlightenment and finished reading the book with sincere interest. Miguel wrote about painful issues. Cervantes lamented the state of culture in the country. Stones are flying into Lope De Vega's garden in slender schools. Discussions about mediocre comedies and stupid, monotonous chivalric romances that brought the noble hidalgo to such a deplorable state take up many pages. This is a large-scale satire for its time, but much of it is still relevant today. Such books form the foundation of knowledge, its basis. I am very glad that this “brick” took its place in my head. A difficult but rewarding experience.
Rated the book
This is what I understand - I read the book! Low bow to Cervantes, well done!
The point is that the book has everything. And laugh, and think, and write down aphorisms. But let's talk about everything in order, because we can highlight several of the most important facets, which we should praise, praise, praise.
Book one
It turned out to be easier than the second one. A crazy hidalgo walks around, knights, the reader laughs and scrolls further. But here, too, Cervantes laid down many pitfalls, which I tried my best to avoid.
To begin with, it is worth noting the language. To say that he is beautiful is to say nothing. I can’t imagine what a titanic work the translator did, but it was not in vain. Just as one learns Russian to read Dostoevsky, German for Mann, Italian for Dante, Spanish can be learned for Cervantes, because usually the original is more beautiful than any translation. And I'm afraid to imagine what's in the original.
Because in the Russian version I saw hundreds of proverbs, thousands of fascinating monologues, many detailed descriptions of situations, clothing, people, actions, and all this was written so easily that the narrative did not flow, it flowed like a babbling stream, may they forgive me this vulgarity and banality . These are not words - these are music, a beautiful melody that flows and flows, and you are happy.
Next, I was struck by Cervantes' erudition. At that time, Google was not at hand; he wrote a lot in prison, therefore, almost all references had to be made from memory. And there is an interesting reference and a well-placed quote on every page. How?! It feels like he fought in the War of Words, he was hit by bullets made from quotes, and wounded by book sabers, because this is something completely fantastic. He didn’t even have the conditions that Joyce had!
In the first part, the plot was mainly comedic. The complete absurdities that Don Quixote created, in any case, rather caused a smile; Sancho Panza was a simple and stupid squire, whose wisdom was rather in the fact that he did not suffer from “woe from his mind.” However, already there the same Something was hatching, thanks to which “Don Quixote” became a classic of Spanish and world literature.
To be honest, I did not see Christ, and I was not going to look for the images imposed on me. But on the other hand, I saw an Artist, and if not an artist, then certainly a man for whom the world is beautiful even when he was beaten, and he lies suffering for his mistress Dulcinea. And “the world is beautiful” not in the classical sense. Imagine that you find yourself in a world where you have a beautiful spear in your hand, a powerful horse beneath you, and instead of any inns there are magnificent castles. Yes, he lived in a fairy tale. He changed this world in a very original way, but he did it, he realized his dream.
Book two
And here, from a certain point, Cervantes hits us over the head with a butt. That's it, guys. The giggling is over. Maybe I have something of a sense of humor, but I didn’t smile even once during the second part. And this is not a reproach to the brilliant author, this is, so to speak, my understanding of what is happening there. So hit me with redoubled force, because I not only admit all this, but I also consider it not entirely correct, but very much has a right to exist.
Don Quixote is not a clown who does more or less random things, he is a purposeful madman. Sancho Panza went so far into simplicity that he began to come out with really smart things, and every time he wasn’t being ridiculed by the author. But what is most striking is that this couple began to be perceived even closer to each other, but no longer as two strange people who add flavor to each other, but as a couple with chivalrous romances against the whole world.
And if at first everything goes more or less smoothly, this is relatively the same Don Quixote, then from the moment of the meeting with the Duke and Duchess everything went to hell. At first their pranks were pranks. But then it was impossible to turn a blind eye to how strong the Tragedy was becoming. That's right, with a capital letter. This theater created a fictional world for the main characters, and it flew away into complete absurdity, taking with it the main characters, the conscience of the theater organizers, and everything in general. Since the last days of the governorship of Sancho Panza, I have not let go of a feeling of some kind of sticky horror. The world of the book had really gone crazy, and only Don Quixote and his faithful squire were normal.
If the book didn't have a second part, I wouldn't have loved this book as much. But how high Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra soared, starting from satire and from chivalric romances in general, will not even allow you to think about any shortcomings of this book. From a certain point you forget interpretations; it no longer matters whether Don Quixote is an artist or Christ. You enjoy the fact that he not only created his own reality and began to live in a fairy tale. He forced everyone else to organize this fairy tale. So if he is Christ, then not only in terms of enthusiasm. He is also another hypostasis of God, he is the Creator who created the world for himself. So there is no need to question the genius of this book. Here.
Current page: 1 (book has 38 pages in total)
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Don Quixote
© Edition in Russian, design. "Eksmo Publishing House", 2014
All rights reserved. No part of the electronic version of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet or corporate networks, for private or public use without the written permission of the copyright owner.
©The electronic version of the book was prepared by liters
Chapter 1, which tells who Don Quixote of La Mancha was
In a modest village in the province of La Mancha 1
La Mancha - district of New Castile - name La Mancha comes from the Arabic word Manxa, meaning "dry land".
Once upon a time there lived a hidalgo 2
Hidalgo is a small landed nobleman. The petty nobility, which played an important role in the life of Spain during the era of the struggle against the Moors (XI-XIV centuries), by the end of the 15th century had lost a large share of its importance. In the time of Cervantes, the impoverished hidalgo, who had lost his last piece of land, represented a characteristic figure of Spanish life.
Named Don Kehana. Like any nobleman, he was proud of his noble origin, sacredly guarded the ancient shield and ancestral spear, and kept a skinny nag and a greyhound dog in his yard. Three-quarters of his income was spent on the vegetable and beef stew and vinaigrette he served for dinner; On Fridays he fasted, content with a plate of lentils boiled in water, but on Sundays he feasted on roasted pigeon. On holidays, Don Kehana wore a caftan made of fine cloth, velvet trousers and morocco shoes, and on weekdays he wore a suit made of rough homemade cloth. In his house lived a housekeeper, who was over forty years old, a niece, who was not yet twenty, and an old, decrepit servant. The hidalgo himself was about fifty years old; he was as thin as a skeleton - skin and bones, but, despite his terrible thinness, he was distinguished by great endurance.
All his free time, and Don Kehana was free around the clock, he devoted to reading chivalric novels. He indulged in this activity with delight and passion; For his sake, he abandoned hunting and farming. His passion reached the point that he, without hesitation, sold a decent piece of arable land in order to buy himself books of knighthood.
In the novels, our hidalgo especially liked pompous love letters and solemn challenges to fights, where the following phrases often came across: “The rightness with which you are so wrong about my rights makes my rightness so powerless that I have no right to complain about your rightness...” or: “...the high heavens, which with their stars divinely strengthen our divinity and honor all the virtues worthy of your greatness...”. It happened that the poor caballero spent whole nights trying to unravel the meaning of these phrases, which made his head cloudy and his mind wandered. He was also confused by other inconsistencies that kept appearing in his favorite novels. For example, it was difficult for him to believe that the famous knight Belyanis could inflict and receive so many terrible wounds; it seemed to him that, despite all the skill of the doctors who treated this knight, his face and body should be covered with ugly scars. Meanwhile, in the novel, Belyanis always appeared as a handsome young man without any scars or flaws.
However, all this did not stop Don Kehana from being carried away to the point of oblivion by descriptions of the countless adventures and exploits of the valiant heroes of the novels. He always really wanted to know their future fate, and he was delighted if the author on the last page of the book promised to continue his never-ending story in the next volume. Often our caballero would have long disputes with his friend, the priest, about whose valor was greater: Palmerin of England or Amadis of Gaul 3
Amadis of Gaul is the hero of a chivalric romance, extremely popular in Spain in the 16th century. The content of this novel is absolutely fantastic. The English princess Elisena gave birth to a son. Ashamed of her illegitimate child, the mother threw him into the sea. An unknown knight saved the child and took him to Scotland. When Amadis grew up, he fell in love with the incomparable beauty Oriana, daughter of King Lizuart. To win her love, Amadis travels throughout Europe, finds himself in mysterious magical lands, fights giants, sorcerers and magicians, and performs thousands of other entertaining feats. The novel ends with the triumph of Amadis, who finally marries the lady of his heart, the beautiful Oriana.
Don Kehana stood for Amadis, the priest for Palmerin 4
The novel “Palmerin of England” is perhaps the most brilliant of all imitations of “Amadis of Gaul.” Palmerin is the son of Don Duerte (Eduard), King of England. Together with his brother Florian, the ideal of a gallant gentleman, he performs countless feats for the glory of the lady of his heart, defeats the mighty sorcerer Deliant, ends up on a magical island, etc., etc.
And the local barber, Master Nicholas, argued that none of them could compare with the knight of Phoebus, who, in his opinion, surpassed the cutesy Amadis in endurance and courage, and Palmerin in courage and dexterity.
Gradually, the good hidalgo became so addicted to reading that he read from dawn to dusk and from dusk to dawn. He abandoned all his affairs, almost lost sleep and often forgot about lunch. His head was full of all sorts of absurd stories read in books of knights, and in reality he raved about bloody battles, knightly duels, love affairs, kidnappings, evil magicians and good wizards. Little by little, he completely ceased to distinguish truth from fiction, and it seemed to him that in the whole world there was nothing more reliable than these stories. He talked with such fervor about the heroes of various novels, as if they were his best friends and acquaintances.
He agreed that Cid Ruy Diaz 5
Cid Ruy Diaz (“sid” - from the Arabic “lord”, “lord”) is a semi-legendary hero of Spain who lived in the second half of the 11th century. Sid became especially famous in the war with the Moors; many legends arose around his name, which have come down to us in the form of countless romances and poems.
He was a valiant knight, but he added that he was far from the knight of the Flaming Sword, who with one blow cut two mighty giants in half. He ranked Bernard de Carpio somewhat higher, who defeated the invincible Roland in the Roncesvalles Gorge 6
Battle of the Roncesvalles Gorge. When Charlemagne was returning from the Spanish campaign (778), the rearguard of his army was caught by the enemy in the Roncesvalles Gorge and almost completely destroyed. In this battle, one of Charles’s associates, Hruadland (Roland), died. This event is sung in the famous work of the French epic - “The Song of Roland”.
He spoke very flatteringly about the giant Morgantha, who - unlike other giants - was distinguished by his courtesy and politeness. But most of all he praised Reynaldo of Montalban, the glorious thief of the golden idol of Mohammed and the hero of countless road adventures.
In the end, from eternal sitting within four walls, sleepless nights and continuous reading, the poor hidalgo went completely crazy. And then such a strange thought came into his head that no madman in the world had ever had before. Our caballero decided that he himself was obliged to join the ranks of knights errant. For the sake of his own glory, for the benefit of his native country, he, Don Kehana, must arm himself, mount a horse and go around the world to look for adventures, protect the offended, punish the evil, and restore trampled justice. Inflamed by dreams of the great feats that he was about to accomplish, the hidalgo hastened to carry out his decision. First of all, he cleaned the armor that belonged to his great-grandfathers and was lying somewhere in the attic, covered with centuries-old rust and dust; sorting through them, he, to his deep chagrin, saw that only one bump remained from the helmet. To improve matters, the hidalgo had to call upon all his ingenuity to help. He cut out a visor and headphones from cardboard and attached them to the bump. In the end he managed to make something like a real helmet. Then he wanted to test whether this helmet could withstand a battle. He pulled out his sword, swung it and struck it twice on the helmet. From the very first blow, the visor shattered into pieces, and all his painstaking work was in vain. Hidalgo was very upset by this outcome of the matter. He set to work again, but now for strength he placed iron plates under the cardboard. This precaution seemed to him quite sufficient, and he considered it unnecessary to subject his helmet to a second test. Without difficulty, he convinced himself that he had a real helmet with a visor of the finest workmanship.
Don Kehana then went to the stable and carefully examined his horse. It was an old, sick nag; in truth, she was only good for carrying water. However, our caballero was quite pleased with her appearance and decided that not even the mighty Bucephalus of Alexander the Great could compare with her. 7
Bucephalus, the horse of Alexander the Great, was distinguished by its ferocity, terrible strength and endurance; He served his master for a long time and faithfully until he was killed in one of the bloody battles. Alexander gave his horse a magnificent funeral and founded an entire city on the site of his grave, named Bucephalia in his honor.
Nor the fleet-footed Babieka Sida 8
Babieka Sida - Sida's horse, like Bucephalus, was distinguished by extraordinary speed, strength and endurance and more than once saved its owner in fights and battles with the Moors.
It took him four whole days to find a sonorous and beautiful name for his war horse, because he believed that since the owner exchanged his modest life in the wilderness of the village for the stormy field of a knight errant, then his horse should change its village name to a new one, nice and big name. He suffered for a long time, inventing various nicknames, comparing them, discussing and weighing them. Finally he settled on the name Rocinante. This name seemed sonorous and sublime to him. Moreover, it contained an indication of what the horse was before, for Don Kehana composed it from two words: rocin (nag) and antes (formerly), so that it meant: “former nag.”
Having given such a successful nickname to his horse, he decided that now he needed to come up with a suitable name for himself. A week passed in these thoughts, but finally he had a brilliant idea: he simply changed his modest name Kehana into a more sonorous one - Don Quixote 9
Quijote is a word meaning "gaiter" in Spanish.
But then our caballero remembered that the brave Amadis, wanting the name of his homeland to be glorified along with his own name, always called himself not just Amadis, but Amadis of Gaul. Don Quixote decided to follow the example of this valiant knight and henceforth call himself Don Quixote of La Mancha. Now everything was fine: it was immediately clear who he was and where he came from, so that his native country could share with him the glory of his exploits.
And so, when the weapon was cleaned, the helmet and visor were repaired, the nag received a new nickname and he himself changed his name, all that remained for him was to find himself a lady of his heart, for it is known that a knight errant without a lady of his heart is like a tree without leaves and fruits. Don Quixote said about himself: “If, by the will of fate, I meet a giant (and this often happens with knights-errant) and in the first fight I throw him to the ground and force him to beg for mercy, then according to the laws of chivalry I will have to send him to my lady . He will come to my tender mistress, fall to his knees and humbly and obediently say: “I am the giant Caraculiambro, king of the island of Malindrania. I was defeated in a duel by the worthy knight Don Quixote of La Mancha. He ordered me to appear before your honor, so that your highness may dispose of me as he pleases...” Oh! - exclaimed the hidalgo, - I must certainly have a lady of my heart: only she alone can worthily reward the valor of a knight. But where can I find it? And Don Quixote plunged into gloomy thought. But suddenly a happy thought illuminated his mind. He remembered a pretty peasant girl from a neighboring village, her name was Aldonza Lorenzo; It was her that our knight decided to reward with the title of the lady of his heart. Looking for a name for her that would not be too different from her own, but at the same time would resemble the name of some princess or noble lady, he decided to christen her Dulcinea of Toboso, since she was from Toboso. This name seemed to him expressive and melodic and quite worthy of the person for whose glory he was to perform his deeds.
Chapter 2, which tells about Don Quixote's first departure from his possessions
When all these preparations were completed, Don Quixote decided, without delay, to leave his home and set out in search of knightly adventures. It seemed to him that in such a matter any delay is a great sin against humanity: how many offended are waiting for revenge, how many disadvantaged are waiting for protection, how many oppressed are waiting for liberation! And then one fine summer day he rose before dawn, put on his armor, put a wretched helmet on his head, pulled his green strings tighter, jumped on Rocinante, grabbed a shield, took a spear in his hands and, secretly from everyone, rode out through the back gate of the barnyard. in the field, rejoicing that he was finally able to begin such a glorious task. But before he had time to get out onto the road, a thought came to him, so terrible that he almost returned home. Don Quixote suddenly remembered that he had not yet been knighted and that, according to the laws of chivalry, he could not and did not dare to engage in battle with any knight. And even if he had been initiated, he was supposed to wear white armor for the first time and not put any motto on his shield, so that everyone could immediately see that he was still a novice in knighthood. Don Quixote stood for a long time, not knowing what to decide, but the passionate desire to immediately set off on the road prevailed over all his doubts. He decided that he would ask the first knight he met along the way to ordain him to the rank of knight. At least that’s what many of the heroes of those novels did, the reading of which brought our hidalgo to such a deplorable state. And as for the white armor, he promised himself to polish his armor so that it would become whiter than ermine. Having made this decision, he calmed down and continued on his way, completely surrendering to the will of the horse: this is how, in his opinion, a knight errant should travel.
Rocinante trudged along, and our caballero could calmly give himself up to his thoughts.
“When the future historian of my exploits,” Don Quixote said to himself, “begins to describe my first trip, he will probably begin his story like this: the barely blond Phoebus 10
Phoebus is the god of the sun and light among the ancient Greeks.
He spread the golden threads of his beautiful hair over the face of the earth, as soon as the colorful birds greeted the appearance of Aurora with the gentle harmony of their melodious voices, when the famous knight Don Quixote of La Mancha jumped on his glorious horse Rocinante and set off across the ancient Montiel plain.
Then he added:
“Happy will be the age when, finally, my glorious deeds will be written down on paper, depicted on canvas, imprinted on marble.” But whoever you are, wise wizard, my chronicler, I ask you, do not forget about my good Rocinante.
Then he remembered about his lady love:
- O Princess Dulcinea, mistress of my captive heart! You caused me a bitter insult by expelling me and, with stern inflexibility, commanding me not to show myself to your incomparable beauty. May it please you, senora, to remember your obedient knight, who, out of love for you, is ready to endure the greatest torment.
Quite a lot of time passed in these outpourings and dreams. Don Quixote drove slowly along the dusty road. The sun had already risen high and was soaring with such force that it could melt even those pitiful remnants of the brain that still remained in the poor fellow’s head. He drove like this all day without meeting anything remarkable. This drove him into complete despair, because he wanted to meet some adventure as soon as possible and test the strength of his mighty hand. By evening both he and his nag were exhausted and dying of hunger. Don Quixote began to look in all directions in the hope of seeing some castle or shepherd's hut where he could rest and refresh himself. His hope did not deceive him: not far from the road he noticed an inn; our knight spurred Rocinante and drove up to the inn just at the moment when it began to get dark. Let’s not forget that to the imagination of our adventurer, everything around us was not presented as it was in reality, but as our favorite knightly novels depicted it. Therefore, when he saw the inn, he immediately decided that it was a castle with four towers and roofs of shining silver, with a drawbridge and a deep moat. He approached this imaginary castle and stopped Rocinante a few steps from the gate, expecting that some dwarf would appear between the battlements of the tower and blow a trumpet, announcing the arrival of the knight. Just at that moment, a swineherd, gathering his herd, blew his horn, and Don Quixote decided that this dwarf was announcing his arrival.
Don Quixote knocked on the gate of the inn with a spear, and the owner, a very fat man and therefore very peace-loving, came out to answer the knock. Looking at the strange horseman in outlandish weapons, the owner almost burst out laughing. However, the formidable appearance of Don Quixote’s military armor inspired him with respect, and he said extremely politely:
“If your honor, lord knight, would like to stay here, you will find with us everything you want, except a comfortable bed: there is not a single free bed in our hotel.”
Hearing how respectfully the commandant of the castle spoke to him, Don Quixote replied:
“Whatever you offer me, Senor Castellan, I will be satisfied with everything, because, as they say:
My outfit is my armor,
And my rest is a hot battle 11
An excerpt from an ancient Spanish romance.
“So, for your worship, a hard stone serves as a bed, and constant wakefulness is a dream?” If so, then deign to get off your horse and be sure that you will find everything you need with me and you will be able to spend without sleep not only one night, but even a whole year.
With these words he held the stirrup, and Don Quixote dismounted with great difficulty and effort, for he had not eaten anything all day.
He then asked the owner to take special care of Rocinante, adding that she was the best of all barley-eating animals. Looking at Rocinante, the owner did not find him at all as wonderful as Don Quixote said, but he was careful not to express his opinion out loud, took the horse by the bridle and led him to the stable. Meanwhile, Don Quixote began to take off his armor. In this difficult and complex task, two maids approached him and helped him. It goes without saying that Don Quixote took them for noble ladies, the owners of the castle. With their joint efforts they managed to remove the armor, but the knots of the green ribbons with which the helmet was tied around the neck were so tight that it was impossible to untie them. All that remained was to cut the ribbons. However, Don Quixote did not agree to this, deciding it would be better to suffer all night in a helmet. While the women were pulling off his armor, Don Quixote solemnly ranted about his future exploits, about the glorious horse Rocinante, about his immense gratitude to the graceful ladies, and with feeling he recited absurd poems of his own composition:
– Never so tenderly ladies
Didn't care about the paladin 12
Paladin. Paladins were originally called noble associates of Charlemagne, who lived with him in his palace and accompanied the emperor on campaigns. Later, any noble and valiant knight began to be called a paladin.,
How they cared about Don Quixote,
Arriving from their lands:
The maids of honor serve him,
I'll give him his mount - the countess 13
Don Quixote applies an old Spanish romance to himself here.
that is, Rocinante, for that is the name of my horse, noble lords, and my name is Don Quixote of La Mancha. True, I did not want to reveal my name until great deeds glorified it throughout the world. But to conceal it would be impolite towards you, my lords. However, the time will soon come when the valor of my hand will show how ardently I want to serve you.
The embarrassed maids did not know how to respond to such speeches, and therefore remained modestly silent.
Meanwhile, the owner, returning from the stable, asked Don Quixote if he wanted anything.
“I would gladly have a bite,” replied the hidalgo, “for I need to strengthen my strength.”
As luck would have it, it was Friday, and in the entire hotel there was nothing else to be found except salted fish.
The owner brought Don Quixote boiled cod and a piece of bread, as black and moldy as the knight’s armor. It was difficult not to laugh, seeing with what pain Don Quixote ate: the stupid helmet prevented him from reaching his mouth with a spoon. He himself could not bring a piece to his lips; it was necessary for someone to put food directly into his mouth. But it was completely impossible to give him something to drink if the owner had not brought a reed; He inserted one end of the reed into Don Quixote's mouth, and poured wine through the other. Don Quixote endured all this with great patience, just so as not to cut the strings of his helmet. At this time, a peasant who happened to enter the inn began to play his reed pipe. This was enough for Don Quixote to finally believe that he was in some magnificent castle, that music was playing at the feast, that the salted cod was the freshest trout, that the gray bread was a white loaf, and that the owner of the inn was the owner of the castle. Therefore, he was delighted with his first trip. The only thing that bothered him was that he had not yet been knighted and could be declared an impostor at any time.
Chapter 3, which tells how Don Quixote was knighted
Dejected by these thoughts, Don Quixote hastened to finish his meager dinner. Rising from the table, he called the owner aside, led him to the stable and, throwing himself there on his knees in front of him, began like this:
“O valiant knight, I will not rise from my place until your kindness deigns to fulfill my request.” What I am about to ask of you will serve to your glory and to the benefit of the human race.
Seeing that the guest was kneeling and hearing strange speeches, the owner at first was completely confused and, with his mouth open, looked at Don Quixote, not knowing what to do or what to say. Having recovered from his amazement, he began to beg Don Quixote to get up, but he never wanted to get up until, finally, the owner promised to fulfill his request.
“I was sure, senor, that due to your boundless nobility you would not refuse to fulfill my request,” said Don Quixote. “I ask you as a favor that tomorrow at dawn you knight me.” All this night I will watch over the weapon in the chapel of your castle, and at dawn you will perform the rite of passage over me 14
Knighting. Cervantes parodies the actual rite of knighting. The initiate spent the night before initiation in the church guarding the weapon. In the morning, this weapon was consecrated, and the new knight made a solemn promise over it to observe the laws and rules of chivalry. Then some noble and experienced knight, taking a sword, struck the initiate three times on the left shoulder, saying: “I knight you.” The initiate was girded with a sword, golden spurs were fastened on him, and all those present went to a feast in honor of the new knight.
Then I will finally receive all the rights of a knight errant and set off in search of adventure. My weapon will serve the cause of establishing truth and justice on earth, for this is the purpose of that great knightly order to which I belong and whose exploits are glorified throughout the world.
Here the owner, who had previously suspected that Don Quixote was crazy, was finally convinced of this and, in order to have a good time, decided to indulge his extravagance. Therefore, he answered Don Quixote that his desire and request were quite reasonable, that, judging by his proud appearance and manners, he must be a noble knight and that such an intention was quite worthy of his title. “I myself,” added the owner, “was engaged in this honorable craft in my youth. In search of adventure, I wandered all over Spain, visited Seville, Grenada, Cordoba, Toledo 15
All these places were known at that time as dens of thieves and robbers.
And in many other cities: I got involved in various pranks, scandals and fights, so that I became famous in all the courts and prisons of Spain. But in my declining days I calmed down: I live calmly in this castle and receive all the knights-errant, no matter what their rank and condition. I do this solely out of my great love for them, but, of course, on the condition that, as a reward for my kind attitude, they share their property with me.” The owner then said that there was no chapel in the castle where one could spend the night watching over weapons. But he knows that, if necessary, the laws of chivalry allow him to spend the night before initiation anywhere. Therefore, Don Quixote can stand guard over the weapons in the courtyard of the castle, and tomorrow, God willing, he will be knighted with all the necessary ceremonies, and even knighted such as has never been seen in the world.
At the end, the innkeeper asked if Don Quixote had money on him. He replied that he did not have a penny, since he had never read in any novel that knights-errant carried money with them. To this the owner objected that Don Quixote was mistaken. They don’t write about this in novels only because it is obvious. He knows from reliable sources that knights-errant are required to carry with them, just in case, not only a tightly stuffed wallet, but also clean shirts and a jar of healing ointment for wounds. After all, you can’t always count on the help of a kind wizard who will send a bottle of miraculous balm to a wounded man with some dwarf or maiden. It is much better to rely on yourself. And the owner advised Don Quixote never to set off on a journey without money and the necessary supplies. The knight will see for himself how all this will be useful to him on his travels.
Don Quixote promised to follow his advice exactly and immediately began to prepare to spend the night before the dedication in the courtyard of the inn. He collected all his armor and put it on a block from which he watered the cattle; then he armed himself with a spear and shield and began to walk importantly around the deck. It was already completely dark when he began this walk.
And the owner returned to the hotel and told the guests about the crazy hidalgo, who was now watching over his weapon, waiting to be knighted. The guests, interested in such a strange madness, ran out into the yard to look at the eccentric. Don Quixote walked rhythmically back and forth with a majestic air. Sometimes he stopped and, leaning on his spear, looked at his armor for a long time. The moon shone so brightly that the spectators from afar could see everything that our knight awaiting initiation was doing.
Probably, everything would have turned out calmly and peacefully, but, unfortunately, one of the drivers who spent the night at the hotel decided to water his mules. Suspecting nothing, he calmly walked towards the well. Hearing his steps, Don Quixote exclaimed:
“Whoever you are, daring knight, stretching out his hands to the armor of the most valiant of all knights-errant, think first of what you are doing!” Do not touch them, otherwise you will pay dearly for your insolence.
The driver didn’t bat an eye. Approaching the deck, he grabbed the armor by the straps and threw it far to the side. Seeing this, Don Quixote raised his eyes to the sky and, turning mentally to his lady Dulcinea, said:
- Help me, my lord, to take revenge for the first insult inflicted on the valiant heart you enslaved: do not deprive me of your mercy and support in this first test.
With these words, he put his shield aside, raised his spear with both hands and grabbed the driver with such force that he lay unconscious on the ground. And Don Quixote picked up the armor, put it on the block and again began to walk around the well with such a calm expression, as if nothing had happened. After some time, the second driver came out. Knowing nothing about the sad fate of his comrade, he also intended to throw the ill-fated armor off the deck. But Don Quixote prevented his attempt. Without saying a word, he raised his spear again and struck the poor fellow on the head with such a blow that the second driver fell to the ground. All the inhabitants of the hotel, led by the owner, came running to the noise. At the sight of this crowd, Don Quixote grabbed his shield, drew his sword and proudly exclaimed:
– O royal beauty, the stronghold of my soul and my heart! The hour has come when your greatness must turn its gaze to the knight you have captured, entering the great battle.
These words, which sounded like a prayer, awakened such courage in the heart of our hidalgo that even if all the drivers of the world had attacked him, he would not have retreated. He stood firmly under the hail of stones that his angry comrades showered on the wounded from afar; he only covered himself with a shield, but did not leave a single step from the deck where his armor lay. There was a desperate noise in the yard. The drivers shouted and cursed. The frightened owner begged them to stop the fight. And Don Quixote shouted at the top of his voice:
- Vile and low slaves! I despise you! Throw stones, approach, approach, attack! You will now receive a reward for your arrogance and madness!
There was so much courage and rage in these exclamations of Don Quixote that the attackers were seized with great fear. Little by little they calmed down and stopped throwing stones. Then Don Quixote allowed the wounded to be removed and again began to guard the armor with the same importance and calm.
However, the owner did not like this story, and he decided to immediately initiate the guest into this damned knightly order, before a new misfortune happened. Respectfully approaching Don Quixote, he said:
– Don’t be angry, Your Grace, with these impudent servants. I promise you to roughly punish her for her insolence. Now isn’t it time for us to begin performing the sacred rite? Usually, being awake over a weapon lasts no more than two hours, but you stood guard for more than four. I have already reported to you that I do not have a chapel in my castle. However, we can safely do without it. The main thing in initiation is a blow to the back of the head with a hand and a blow to the left shoulder with a sword. And this can be done in the middle of an open field. So, let's not waste precious time.
Our knight blindly believed the words of his master and replied that he was ready to obey.
“I ask you only one thing,” he added, “to hurry up with the ritual.” For when I am dedicated and someone decides to attack me again, I will not leave a single living soul in the castle. Out of respect for you, venerable owner of the castle, I will only spare those for whom you stand up.
These words of the knight only strengthened the owner’s desire to quickly get rid of the restless guest.
A resourceful and dexterous man, he immediately brought a thick book in which he wrote down how much barley and straw was given to the drovers; then, accompanied by two maids and a boy carrying a candle stub, he approached Don Quixote, ordered him to kneel down and, pretending to be reading some kind of pious prayer from a book, raised his hand and slapped him on the neck with all his might, then , continuing to mutter some psalm under his breath, grabbed him on the shoulder with his own sword. Following this, he ordered one of the maids to gird the initiate with a sword, which she did with great dexterity. True, she almost died laughing, but the feats performed before her eyes by the knight forced her to contain her gaiety. Fastening the sword to Don Quixote's belt, the good lady said:
- God send your grace happiness in knightly affairs and good luck in battles.
Don Quixote asked her name, for he wanted to know to what lady he owed such great favor, so that in time he could share with her the honors that he would win by the strength of his hand. She answered with great humility that her name was Tolosa, that she was the daughter of a shoemaker from Toledo and that she was always ready to serve him faithfully. Don Quixote asked her, out of love for him, to be called Doña Tolosa from now on. 16
In Spain, the particle “don” is the title of nobles, and “donya” is the title of Spanish ladies.
She promised. Then another lady put spurs on him, and with her he had the same conversation as with the one who girded him with a sword. He asked her name, and she replied that her name was Molinera and that she was the daughter of an honest miller from Antequera; Don Quixote asked her to add the title of dona to his name; at the same time, he showered her with countless thanks. When all these ceremonies were completed, Don Quixote hurried to mount his horse: he was very impatient to go in search of adventure. He saddled Rocinante, jumped on him and began to thank his owner for the dedication in such extraordinary terms that there is no way to convey them. And the owner, delighted that he had finally gotten rid of the knight, responded to his speeches with shorter, but no less pompous phrases and, without taking anything from him for the night, he released him in good health.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra(Spanish: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra; September 29, 1547, Alcala de Henares, Castile - April 23, 1616, Madrid) - world famous Spanish writer and soldier.
Born in Alcala de Henares (Province of Madrid). His father, hidalgo Rodrigo de Cervantes (the origin of Cervantes’s second surname, “Saavedra,” on the titles of his books, has not been established), was a modest surgeon, a nobleman by blood, his mother was Dona Leonor de Cortina; their large family constantly lived in poverty, which did not leave the future writer throughout his sorrowful life. Very little is known about the early stages of his life. Since the 1970s In Spain, there is a widespread version about the Jewish origin of Cervantes, which influenced his work; probably, his mother came from a family of baptized Jews.
Cervantes's family often moved from city to city, so the future writer was not able to receive a systematic education. In 1566-1569, Miguel studied at the Madrid city school with the famous humanist grammarian Juan Lopez de Hoyos, a follower of Erasmus of Rotterdam.
Miguel made his debut in literature with four poems published in Madrid under the patronage of his teacher Lopez de Hoyos.
In 1569, after a street skirmish that ended with the injury of one of its participants, Cervantes fled to Italy, where he served in Rome in the retinue of Cardinal Acquaviva, and then enlisted as a soldier. On October 7, 1571, he took part in the naval battle of Lepanto and was wounded in the forearm (his left hand remained inactive for the rest of his life).
Miguel Cervantes participated in military campaigns in Italy (he was in Naples), Navarino (1572), Portugal, and also carried out service trips to Oran (1580s); served in Seville. He also took part in a number of sea expeditions, including to Tunisia. In 1575, carrying a letter of recommendation (lost by Miguel during captivity) from Juan of Austria, commander-in-chief of the Spanish army in Italy, he sailed from Italy to Spain. The galley carrying Cervantes and his younger brother Rodrigo was attacked by Algerian pirates. He spent five years in captivity. He tried to escape four times, but each time he failed, he was only miraculously not executed, and in captivity he was subjected to various tortures. In the end he was ransomed from captivity by the monks of the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity and returned to Madrid.
In 1585, he married Catalina de Salazar and published a pastoral novel, La Galatea. At the same time, his plays began to be staged in Madrid theaters, the vast majority of which, unfortunately, have not survived to this day. Of Cervantes' early dramatic experiments, the tragedy "Numancia" and the "comedy" "Algerian Manners" have been preserved.
Two years later, he moved from the capital to Andalusia, where for ten years he first served as a supplier to the “Great Armada” and then as a tax collector. For financial shortfalls in 1597 (In 1597 he was imprisoned in a Seville prison for a period of seven months on charges of embezzlement of government money (the bank in which Cervantes kept the collected taxes burst) was imprisoned in a Seville prison, where he began writing a novel " The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote de La Mancha" ("Del ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de La Mancha").
In 1605 he was released, and in the same year the first part of Don Quixote was published, which immediately became incredibly popular.
In 1607, Cervantes arrived in Madrid, where he spent the last nine years of his life. In 1613 he published the collection “Edifying Stories” (“Novelas ejemplares”), and in 1615 the second part of “Don Quixote”. In 1614 - in the midst of Cervantes's work on it - a false continuation of the novel appeared, written by an anonymous person hiding under the pseudonym "Alonso Fernandez de Avellaneda". The Prologue to “The False Quixote” contained rude attacks personally against Cervantes, and its content demonstrated a complete lack of understanding by the author (or authors?) of the forgery of the full complexity of the original’s plan. “The False Quixote” contains a number of episodes that plotally coincide with episodes from the second part of Cervantes’s novel. The dispute among researchers about the priority of Cervantes or the anonymous author cannot be resolved definitively. Most likely, Miguel Cervantes specifically included revised episodes from Avellaneda’s work in the second part of Don Quixote in order to once again demonstrate his ability to transform artistically unimportant texts into art (similar to his treatment of knightly epics).
“The second part of the cunning caballero Don Quixote of La Mancha” was published in 1615 in Madrid in the same printing house as the “Don Quixote” edition of 1605. For the first time, both parts of “Don Quixote” were published under the same cover in 1637.
Cervantes finished his last book, “The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismunda” (“Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda”), a love adventure novel in the style of the ancient novel “Ethiopica”, just three days before his death on April 23, 1616; This book was published by the writer's widow in 1617.
A few days before his death, he became a monk. His grave remained lost for a long time, since there was not even an inscription on his tomb (in one of the churches). A monument to him was erected in Madrid only in 1835; on the pedestal there is a Latin inscription: “To Michael Cervantes Saavedra, king of the Spanish poets.” A crater on Mercury is named after Cervantes.
According to the latest data, the first Russian translator of Cervantes is N. I. Oznobishin, who translated the short story “Cornelia” in 1761.
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The main character lived in the village of La Mancha, he had small property - a spear, a shield, an old horse and a dog. His last name was Kehana. The hero's age was approaching fifty years. He was fond of reading knightly novels and gradually imagined himself as a traveling knight. He polished his old armor, gave the horse the prouder name of Rosiant, called himself Don Quixote and set off on his travels. According to all the rules of knighthood, he chose the lady of his heart - Aldonza Lorenzo, for himself he began to call her Dulcinea.
Don Quixote rode all day. Tired, he decided to stop at an inn. The hero asked the owner to knight him; the initiation consisted of a slap on the head and a blow to the back with a sword. When the owner of the inn asked the knight if he had money, Don Quixote replied that there was nothing about money in the novels, so he did not take it with him. But, nevertheless, the newly made knight decided to return home to stock up on money and clothes.
Along the way, the hero showed nobility and stood up for the boy who was offended by the villager. Don Quixote decided to find himself a squire and offered this position to the farmer Sancho Panza. At night they set off on their journey again. They came across windmills, which seemed like giants to Don Quixote. He rushed to fight them. The wing of the mill threw the knight to the ground, his spear broke into splinters. Don Quixote mistook a herd of sheep for the enemy army. For this he suffered greatly from the shepherds, who threw stones at him.
Sancho Panse began to call the hero the Knight of the Sorrowful Image because of the sad face of Don Quixote. In the mountains, travelers managed to find a suitcase with gold coins and some clothes. Don Quixote gave the money to the squire. Then Don Quixote writes several letters, one of them is a love letter to Dulcinea, the other to his niece. According to the knight's idea, they were to be delivered by Sancho Panza.
But he went to the village without them. Returning, the squire lied to Don Quixote that Dulcinea wanted to meet with him. But the knight replied that he must first become worthy and accomplish even more feats. The travelers continued their journey and stopped at an inn. All night in his sleep, Don Quixote fought with his enemies. The next morning, one of the guards staying at the inn recognized Don Quixote as the wanted intruder.
It turned out that the knight was being sought for the release of escaped convicts. At first they wanted to take Don Quixote to the city prison, but then they released him along with Sancho Panse to his native village. Don Quixote fell ill for a whole month. Then he learned from his squire that a real book had been invented about their adventures, which everyone was reading.
The comrades set off on a new journey. This time to the city of Toboso, where Dulcinea lived. It turned out that Don Quixote not only did not know the address of his beloved, but had never seen her in person. Sancho Panse guessed about this and decided to marry a simple peasant woman to Dulcinea. Don Quixote regarded the appearance of a rude, ugly peasant woman as the work of evil forces.
One day, in a green meadow, Don Quixote witnessed a ducal hunt. The Duchess was reading a novel about Don Quixote. The knight was greeted with respect and invited to the castle. Soon the Duke and his retinue sent Sancho Panse to one of the towns. There the squire was given the title of lifelong governor of Barataria. There he had to establish his own rules, as well as protect the city from the enemy. But soon Sancho Panza got tired of these ten days of governorship and he, mounting a donkey, hurried to return to Don Quixote. The knight was also tired of the duke's quiet life.
The comrades hit the road again. After traveling a little more, the wanderers returned to their native village. Don Quixote became a shepherd. Before his death, the hero remembered his real name - Alonso Quijano. He blamed it all on the chivalric romances that clouded his mind. He died as an ordinary man, and not as a knight errant.
The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha Miguel Cervantes
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Title: The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha
Author: Miguel Cervantes
Year: 1615
Genre: European ancient literature, Foreign ancient literature
About the book “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” Miguel Cervantes
To be honest, my first acquaintance with Miguel Cervantes’s book “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” was almost tragic: for the test paper, which asked the question “Does the world of today need Don Quixotes,” I got the first three in my diary. And all because in the fifth grade it is extremely difficult to understand the meaning of this work. And, to be honest, during the summer holidays I never managed to read the book in full. It was boring, hard, I didn’t want to... Then I didn’t like Don Quixote. And my answer to the test question was approximately this: they say, a weak-minded old man who indiscriminately read chivalric novels began to perform “feats”, although he himself was ridiculous. Now I understand how justified the teacher’s assessment was...
Today, returning to Cervantes’s novel, I think differently. Still, this work is not just considered a classic of both Spanish and world literature. "Don Quixote" also refers to. However, this fact does not make this work easier to understand. And, to be honest, it’s difficult to read.
If you have not yet read the book “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” by Miguel Cervantes, then it’s time to get acquainted with it.
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The first part of the book is somewhat reminiscent of a comedy. Don Quixote's strange, sometimes even funny behavior sometimes makes you smile. Yes, the main character really went crazy from reading romance novels; Now he perceives all male representatives exclusively as knights, but sheep and wineskins as vile opponents with whom he must fight. But with every page, what at first seemed like a comedy turns into a tragedy.
Cervantes managed to create the Creator, the Artist, God. You can call Don Quixote whatever you want, but he lived in his own world. The one in which he felt good even after the bullying and cruelty of the people who beat him. He had Dulcinea - more imaginary than real, but this did not make her any less charming for the lover. Not only did Don Quixote create this world, he also forced everyone else to take part in its organization.
The book “Don Quixote” by Miguel Cervantes is a powerful satire of both his and our time. Now I think that our world really needs such idealists, dreamers and enthusiasts! They can - I believe - save him from an inevitable catastrophe, a worldwide tragedy known back in 1615...
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Quotes from the book “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” by Miguel Cervantes
Horses taught people fidelity.
And the best medicine will not help the patient if he refuses to take it.
The wheel of fate turns faster than the wings of a mill, and those that were at the top yesterday are today thrown into the dust.
No woman will believe that poems are dedicated to her if her name is not clearly and distinctly indicated in them.
From animals, people received many lessons and learned many important things: for example, storks taught us to use an enema, dogs - vomiting and gratitude, cranes - vigilance, ants - foresight, elephants - modesty, and a horse - fidelity.
Senor, if I could portray her stateliness and slenderness, you would be amazed, but this is impossible, because she is all hunched over and bent, and her knees rest on her chin, and, however, anyone looking at her will say that If only she could straighten up, she would reach her head to the ceiling.
If ever the rod of justice bends in your hands, then let it happen not under the weight of gifts, but under the pressure of compassion.
Yes, he loved, but he was neglected, he adored - and deserved contempt
In separation, a person is afraid of everything and everything causes him pain.
I’m simply not a fan of keeping anything inside myself for a long time: you keep it and keep it, and lo and behold, it’s already gone rancid - that’s what I’m afraid of.
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