Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Quixote of Contemporary Spain: Miguel de Unamuno

1934; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 49; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/458182

1938-1530

José A. Balseiro,

History of Education in Spain

In his essay on Hamlet and Don Quixote , Ivan Tourguéniev stated that no man aspires to be called a Quixote. The Russian novelist did not presurmise the dream of Miguel de Unamuno. If the Knight-Errant makes clear that his duty binds him to protect the weak, relieve the oppressed, and punish the bad, Unamuno accepts and practices his creed. But Unamuno, being by far more quixotic, than Cervantes, interprets the psychology of his hero, adapting it to his own way of feeling and thinking. In his work Del sentimiento trágico de la vida , he says, in relation to another of his masterpieces, Vida de Don Quijote y Sancho : Escribí aquel libro para repensar el Quijote contra cervantistas y eruditos, para hacer obra de vida de lo que era y sigue siendo para los más letra muerta. ¿Qué me importa lo que Cervantes quiso o no quiso poner allí y lo que realmente puso? Lo vivo es lo que yo allí descubro, pusiéralo o no Cervantes, lo que yo allí pongo y sobrepongo y sotopongo, y lo que ponemos allí todos. Quise allí rastrear nuestra filosofía.