The forbearance of Miguel de Cervantes, Don quixote and what I plan to do with it.
Jan 20, 2025
We are currently reading Don Quixote as part of our reading plan which you can follow on The Formidable Cervantes and Don Quixote
The forbearance of Miguel de Cervantes, Don quixote and what I plan to do with it.
Jan 20, 2025
We are currently reading Don Quixote as part of our reading plan which you can follow on
publication.
What makes Don Quixote one of the greatest novels of all time? And how can its magic resonate with modern readers? As part of my reading plan, I’ve embarked on this journey to understand the humor, humanity, and depth of Cervantes’ magnum opus. But I don’t just want to read it—I want to share it.
Miguel De Cervantes: Brief Biography
Before we get into Don Quixote, I want to talk a little bit about the author Cervantes. His life was full of adventures, struggles, and sacrifices, just like the protagonist of his most popular book. He was born at Alcalá de Henares and baptized in the church of Santa Maria Mayor on the 9th of October, 1547. He obtained his education most likely in the University of Salamanca. Cervantes later worked as a chamberlain in the office related to the pope himself. The post would no doubt have led to advancement at the Papal Court had Cervantes retained it, but in the summer of 1570 he resigned it and enlisted as a private soldier in Captain Diego Urbina’s company, belonging to Don Miguel de Moncada’s regiment, but at that time forming a part of the command of Marc Antony Colonna. What impelled him to this step we know not, whether it was distaste for the career before him, or purely military enthusiasm.
He was one of those who sailed from Messina, in September 1571, under the command of Don John of Austria; but on the morning of the 7th of October, when the Turkish fleet was sighted, he was lying below ill with fever. At the news that the enemy was in sight he rose, and, in spite of the remonstrances of his comrades and superiors, insisted on taking his post, saying he preferred death in the service of God and the King to health. His galley, the Marquesa, was in the thick of the fight, and before it was over he had received three gunshot wounds, two in the breast and one in the left arm.How severely Cervantes was wounded may be inferred from the fact, that with youth, a vigorous frame, and as cheerful and buoyant a temperament as ever invalid had, he was seven months in hospital at Messina before he was discharged. He came out with his left hand permanently disabled;
This, however, did not absolutely unfit him for service, and in April 1572 he joined Manuel Ponce de León’s company of Lope de Figueroa’s regiment, in which, it seems probable, his brother Rodrigo was serving, and shared in the operations of the next three years, including the capture of the Goletta and Tunis. Taking advantage of the lull that followed the recapture of these places by the Turks, he obtained leave to return to Spain, and sailed from Naples in September 1575 on board the Sun galley. He was furnished with letters from Don John of Austria and the Duke of Sesa, the Viceroy of Sicily, recommending him to the King for the command of a company, on account of his services. unfortunately, on the 26th they fell in with a squadron of Algerine galleys, and after a stout resistance were overpowered and carried into Algiers ( Algeria ).
Cervantes was, however, of formidable spirits, when in captivity, he would often devise plans along with his fellow inmates to escape from the hostile place but he was caught always in these escapades. Whenever caught, Cervantes would take the blame for the planning and execution upon himself to save his fellow captives, a true selfless hero. He was finally rescued from captivity after 5 years by conceding a handsome amount for his ransom. After being rescued, he tried to write stage plays and novels for years without having any success and barely making a living. Then he finally published Don Quixote which would make him a literary superstar for centuries.
It is important to know the background of this author because Don Quixote is not the work of someone who was glued to his desk for hours and wrote his imaginative ramblings on paper, it was inspired by the experience of someone who has lived through the alleyways and vast plains of Spain, someone who has seen the Human nature at its most glorified as well as its most repulsive. So Don Quixote is a living and breathing representation of life in 15th-century Spain with all its adventures.
Don Quixote: The Book
I have read the book so far till the chapter 5 and I can see a common theme that is emerging, the book chronicles the journey of a deluded man named Don Quixote who believe in fairy tales, in every chapter 1 or 2 quirky incidents or encounters are noted. The journey for Quixote seems to be filled with these encounters which seem to be the major proponent of the novel. However, there are some challenges that I have encountered in my reading so far, the translation that I am using contains language and references that are archaic and would have no semblance to anything in our generation. The novel also has proverbs and citations which would mostly be unfamiliar to the reader hence, neutralizing some of the humour that remains undelivered.
Key Takeaway:
Don Quixote is a huge work, and finishing it might take months, I don’t want to skim through a classic novel of such magnanimous stature, so I want to be able to make sure that my reading is productive and I will have something to take away from this reading which will be useful for me in the future as well.
I plan to document the episodes of Don Quixote’s adventures in bite-sized articles, capturing the humor and magic of the novel while making it accessible to a modern audience. My goal is to share the essence of this magnum opus without requiring readers to tackle all 1,000 pages. Through this journey, I hope to bridge the gap between Cervantes’ timeless work and contemporary readers.
Do let me know your thoughts,
Best Regards,
Faizan
What makes Don Quixote one of the greatest novels of all time? And how can its magic resonate with modern readers? As part of my reading plan, I’ve embarked on this journey to understand the humor, humanity, and depth of Cervantes’ magnum opus. But I don’t just want to read it—I want to share it.
Miguel De Cervantes: Brief Biography
Before we get into Don Quixote, I want to talk a little bit about the author Cervantes. His life was full of adventures, struggles, and sacrifices, just like the protagonist of his most popular book. He was born at Alcalá de Henares and baptized in the church of Santa Maria Mayor on the 9th of October, 1547. He obtained his education most likely in the University of Salamanca. Cervantes later worked as a chamberlain in the office related to the pope himself. The post would no doubt have led to advancement at the Papal Court had Cervantes retained it, but in the summer of 1570 he resigned it and enlisted as a private soldier in Captain Diego Urbina’s company, belonging to Don Miguel de Moncada’s regiment, but at that time forming a part of the command of Marc Antony Colonna. What impelled him to this step we know not, whether it was distaste for the career before him, or purely military enthusiasm.
He was one of those who sailed from Messina, in September 1571, under the command of Don John of Austria; but on the morning of the 7th of October, when the Turkish fleet was sighted, he was lying below ill with fever. At the news that the enemy was in sight he rose, and, in spite of the remonstrances of his comrades and superiors, insisted on taking his post, saying he preferred death in the service of God and the King to health. His galley, the Marquesa, was in the thick of the fight, and before it was over he had received three gunshot wounds, two in the breast and one in the left arm.How severely Cervantes was wounded may be inferred from the fact, that with youth, a vigorous frame, and as cheerful and buoyant a temperament as ever invalid had, he was seven months in hospital at Messina before he was discharged. He came out with his left hand permanently disabled;
This, however, did not absolutely unfit him for service, and in April 1572 he joined Manuel Ponce de León’s company of Lope de Figueroa’s regiment, in which, it seems probable, his brother Rodrigo was serving, and shared in the operations of the next three years, including the capture of the Goletta and Tunis. Taking advantage of the lull that followed the recapture of these places by the Turks, he obtained leave to return to Spain, and sailed from Naples in September 1575 on board the Sun galley. He was furnished with letters from Don John of Austria and the Duke of Sesa, the Viceroy of Sicily, recommending him to the King for the command of a company, on account of his services. unfortunately, on the 26th they fell in with a squadron of Algerine galleys, and after a stout resistance were overpowered and carried into Algiers ( Algeria ).
Cervantes was, however, of formidable spirits, when in captivity, he would often devise plans along with his fellow inmates to escape from the hostile place but he was caught always in these escapades. Whenever caught, Cervantes would take the blame for the planning and execution upon himself to save his fellow captives, a true selfless hero. He was finally rescued from captivity after 5 years by conceding a handsome amount for his ransom. After being rescued, he tried to write stage plays and novels for years without having any success and barely making a living. Then he finally published Don Quixote which would make him a literary superstar for centuries.
It is important to know the background of this author because Don Quixote is not the work of someone who was glued to his desk for hours and wrote his imaginative ramblings on paper, it was inspired by the experience of someone who has lived through the alleyways and vast plains of Spain, someone who has seen the Human nature at its most glorified as well as its most repulsive. So Don Quixote is a living and breathing representation of life in 15th-century Spain with all its adventures.
Don Quixote: The Book
I have read the book so far till the chapter 5 and I can see a common theme that is emerging, the book chronicles the journey of a deluded man named Don Quixote who believe in fairy tales, in every chapter 1 or 2 quirky incidents or encounters are noted. The journey for Quixote seems to be filled with these encounters which seem to be the major proponent of the novel. However, there are some challenges that I have encountered in my reading so far, the translation that I am using contains language and references that are archaic and would have no semblance to anything in our generation. The novel also has proverbs and citations which would mostly be unfamiliar to the reader hence, neutralizing some of the humour that remains undelivered.
Key Takeaway:
Don Quixote is a huge work, and finishing it might take months, I don’t want to skim through a classic novel of such magnanimous stature, so I want to be able to make sure that my reading is productive and I will have something to take away from this reading which will be useful for me in the future as well.
I plan to document the episodes of Don Quixote’s adventures in bite-sized articles, capturing the humor and magic of the novel while making it accessible to a modern audience. My goal is to share the essence of this magnum opus without requiring readers to tackle all 1,000 pages. Through this journey, I hope to bridge the gap between Cervantes’ timeless work and contemporary readers.
Do let me know your thoughts,
Best Regards,
Faizan
Knock nock 
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