Here is an interesting article from a 2005 NYT about the history of Moors in Spain and Cervantes' attitude towards them.
There is some wonderful Moorish architecture in Spain, not least the famed Alhambra and its gardens in Granada and the Mezquita mosque in Cordoba. (In May, during Holy Week, the people of Cordoba have a Patio Festival and their balconies and yards are filled with a superb array of flowers. In the same month there is also a Festival of the May Crosses when crosses are decorated and paraded through the streets. May is an excellent month to visit Spain - there is a guitar festival too!)
I like the idea of Woodstock being a modern pastoral retreat although perhaps Thoreau's Walden is nearer the mark
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bdNM wrote:In these chapters we get letters from Teresa Pancha to the Duchess and to her husband that tell us something more about Sancho's wife -- she seems such a woman that I'm surprised Sancho was willing to go on the adventures.
We also get the story of Dona Rodriguez about her daughter, that Don Quixote promises to avenge.
Sancho's governorship comes to a quick end -- of course, it was all a joke to the Duke, but it showed Sancho pretty capable. And he seems pretty good at accepting its loss, something that the Duke is not likely capable of.
We also see something of Sancho's generosity regarding the Moor, Ricote, whom Sancho knows from his village. Sancho does not betray the Moor's trust, nor does he try to take advantage of the situation. With the Moor, we also see something, perhaps, of Cervantes' own problems with the treatment of the Moors.
When Don Quixote and Sancho hit the road, they meet with some women playing at being shepherdesses (this seems to be a common theme going back to the pastoral poetry of Vergil and Theocritus in the ancient world -- the idea that one can play at living the simple life and that somehow effects a magical change on one's life (Woodstock might be a more contemporary instance).
Sancho and Don Quixote meet some people in an inn who are discussing an unauthorized Part II, and Cervantes uses the time to attack this unauthorized version ironically.
Finally, the Don and Sancho encounter a gentleman robber, Roque Ginart -- apparently there was such a person, though I have no way of knowing how close Cervantes' robber is to the real person.
and Cervantes quite liberal attitudes towards them.
Thanks for the link -- my consideration of Woodstock as fitting in with the pastoral tradition had more to do with the mood of the hippies -- dropping out as an alternative to conforming to society (and that idea being rather naive) and, as someone who did not go to Woodstock, my first connection to the place was probably the Joni Mitchell song, "Woodstock," made more popular by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young -- there the image of Woodstock as "the Garden" (of Eden, I'm thinking) is stressed. Poking fun of this "back to nature" kick, as a likely alternative to "modern life" occurs in Shakespeare as well, in As You Like It, where we have the country as an idealized alternative to the court (that's the tone that the exiled Duke takes), but we also have figures poking fun at all that naive gush -- Jacques and Touchstone serve as a counter to that, making snide comments about the country and country bumpkins.
PPoChoisya wrote:
Here is an interesting article from a 2005 NYT about the history of Moors in Spain and Cervantes' attitude towards them.
There is some wonderful Moorish architecture in Spain, not least the famed Alhambra and its gardens in Granada and the Mezquita mosque in Cordoba. (In May, during Holy Week, the people of Cordoba have a Patio Festival and their balconies and yards are filled with a superb array of flowers. In the same month there is also a Festival of the May Crosses when crosses are decorated and paraded through the streets. May is an excellent month to visit Spain - there is a guitar festival too!)
I like the idea of Woodstock being a modern pastoral retreat although perhaps Thoreau's Walden is nearer the mark
bdNM wrote:
In these chapters we get letters from Teresa Pancha to the Duchess and to her husband that tell us something more about Sancho's wife -- she seems such a woman that I'm surprised Sancho was willing to go on the adventures.
We also get the story of Dona Rodriguez about her daughter, that Don Quixote promises to avenge.
Sancho's governorship comes to a quick end -- of course, it was all a joke to the Duke, but it showed Sancho pretty capable. And he seems pretty good at accepting its loss, something that the Duke is not likely capable of.
We also see something of Sancho's generosity regarding the Moor, Ricote, whom Sancho knows from his village. Sancho does not betray the Moor's trust, nor does he try to take advantage of the situation. With the Moor, we also see something, perhaps, of Cervantes' own problems with the treatment of the Moors.
When Don Quixote and Sancho hit the road, they meet with some women playing at being shepherdesses (this seems to be a common theme going back to the pastoral poetry of Vergil and Theocritus in the ancient world -- the idea that one can play at living the simple life and that somehow effects a magical change on one's life (Woodstock might be a more contemporary instance).
Sancho and Don Quixote meet some people in an inn who are discussing an unauthorized Part II, and Cervantes uses the time to attack this unauthorized version ironically.
Finally, the Don and Sancho encounter a gentleman robber, Roque Ginart -- apparently there was such a person, though I have no way of knowing how close Cervantes' robber is to the real person.
and Cervantes quite liberal attitudes towards them.
Choisya wrote:Here is an interesting article from a 2005 NYT about the history of Moors in Spain and Cervantes' attitude towards them.
There is some wonderful Moorish architecture in Spain, not least the famed Alhambra and its gardens in Granada and the Mezquita mosque in Cordoba. (In May, during Holy Week, the people of Cordoba have a Patio Festival and their balconies and yards are filled with a superb array of flowers. In the same month there is also a Festival of the May Crosses when crosses are decorated and paraded through the streets. May is an excellent month to visit Spain - there is a guitar festival too!)
I like the idea of Woodstock being a modern pastoral retreat although perhaps Thoreau's Walden is nearer the mark
bdNM wrote:In these chapters we get letters from Teresa Pancha to the Duchess and to her husband that tell us something more about Sancho's wife -- she seems such a woman that I'm surprised Sancho was willing to go on the adventures.
We also get the story of Dona Rodriguez about her daughter, that Don Quixote promises to avenge.
Sancho's governorship comes to a quick end -- of course, it was all a joke to the Duke, but it showed Sancho pretty capable. And he seems pretty good at accepting its loss, something that the Duke is not likely capable of.
We also see something of Sancho's generosity regarding the Moor, Ricote, whom Sancho knows from his village. Sancho does not betray the Moor's trust, nor does he try to take advantage of the situation. With the Moor, we also see something, perhaps, of Cervantes' own problems with the treatment of the Moors.
When Don Quixote and Sancho hit the road, they meet with some women playing at being shepherdesses (this seems to be a common theme going back to the pastoral poetry of Vergil and Theocritus in the ancient world -- the idea that one can play at living the simple life and that somehow effects a magical change on one's life (Woodstock might be a more contemporary instance).
Sancho and Don Quixote meet some people in an inn who are discussing an unauthorized Part II, and Cervantes uses the time to attack this unauthorized version ironically.
Finally, the Don and Sancho encounter a gentleman robber, Roque Ginart -- apparently there was such a person, though I have no way of knowing how close Cervantes' robber is to the real person.
and Cervantes quite liberal attitudes towards them.
