The Substance of Cervantes

A 1986 examination of the foundation upon which Cervantes constructed his works from La Galatea (1585) to Persiles y Sigismunda (1617).

John G. Weiger (Author)

9780521168342, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 9 December 2010

306 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.45 kg

There have been many interpretations of Cervantes' works over the centuries. In this 1986 book, John G. Weiger examines what he considers to be the 'substance' of Cervantes: the writer's attitude toward originality, his concern for the reader's visualization of the action and the setting, his understanding of optical illusion, his use of the commonplace, and his view of himself in relation to his contemporaries. Weiger explores Cervantes' use of these and related elements, such as imitation, parody, and the reading process, in Don Quixote, the Exemplary Tales, La Galatea, Persiles y Sigismunda, and some of his theatrical works. Of interest to students as well as scholars of Spanish and world literature, this book offers more than exegetical explication. Rather, it is an examination of the foundation upon which Cervantes constructed his works, from the early La Galatea (1585) to the posthumously published Persiles y Sigismunda (1617).

Preface
1. Don Quixote: the comedy in spite of itself
2. Gilt o'erdusted: the problem of originality
3. The reality of illusion
4. The illusion of reality
5. The faculties of the soul
6. From happy age of gold to detestable age of iron
7. Phases of substance
8. Sum and substance
Notes
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers [DSK]