Professor Wey-Gómez said something wonderful in class today.
He asked the young future leaders at Caltech: What makes a scientist trustworthy? What propels that person into becoming an expert in their field? One of the students suggested having one's papers cited; while another suggested it is when their work is particularly trusted or relied upon. Good answers, he said, and then Professor reminded them that scientists are engaged in activities that aim to create paradigms which are good at making predictions. We tentatively call these models "true"--but in the end they are models used to describe observational or theoretical results.
He went on to suggest that we do this in so many aspects of our lives--create narratives on which we then order our lives. And Don Quixote, professor said, is telling us that we must be careful about the narratives we pick up and make our own.
++
UCLA scholar Carroll B Johnson wrote a short introduction to Don Quixote that I like a lot, called Don Quixote: The Quest for Modern Fiction. Calling the famous prologue, "revolutionary," Johnson tells us--and he insists about this point-- that we are being challenged.
That's for sure! I have to say that it is indeed the most directly challenging prologue to a novel I have ever read.
Such a surprising book on so many levels and this becomes quickly apparent n the famous prologue.
Addressed to the idle reader (and what reader is more idle than I am?), Cervantes tells us that not only are we completely free to come up with our own interpretation of this book that we now hold in our hands, but we are challenged to do just that; for even though most authors consider their books to be their "babies," this author is different. At most, he says, Don Quixote is his step child. And he goes on to tell us that it is an ugly and inferior stepchild at that! Asking us to forgive him these faults, he reminds us of the old adage: "Under the cloaks of our coats, we can kill the king!"
And by the end of the first paragraph, an idle reader will be smiling and appreciating why this book held Borges enthrall and wonder at its magic at anticipating Michel Foucault centuries ahead of its time!
So, let's get this straight: we are free to think what we want about this book.
A revolutionary concept indeed at the time of the Inquisition and lists of banned books.
Cervantes also insists that this is not a romance; for Don Quixote is "a history."
And a serious one at that.
But there are no footnotes --nor is there a bibliography. What to do? All serious books need quotes and sources... And yet Cervantes has none. Luckily, he tells us, a friend suggested that he should just make some up! Latin is especially good for this. Horace, for example. Even better than allusions to classical authors in Latin and Greek is Holy Scripture; and if you need a real authority--none is as esteemed as that of Prester John or the Emperor of Trebizond. The prologue is then followed by a series of sonnets--a refined custom that was thought to lend gravitas to books back then.
But wait!
These sonnets are quite strange. Sonnets written by characters from novels? There is Orlando speaking to Don Quixote and the witch Urganda casting her spells-- and there is even a sonnet written by Don Quixote's horse to the horse of the glorious El Cid. It is a dazzling performance!
Comments