A continued introduction to one of the great works of Western literature. Don Quixote is such a long book, so Part I was offered in the Fall of 2023 and Part II now in the Spring of 2024.
DESCRIPTION:
Miguel de Cervantes wrote Part I of Don Quixote in 1605 and it became a true best seller. Many urged Cervantes to write Part II quickly, but he demurred until another author, whose identity has never been discovered, published the second part of the novel in 1614. Cervantes had been writing Part II and was nearing the end when this fake Part II came out. He finished quickly and, in a stroke of genius, incorporated the fake text into his own in order to comment on its weaknesses. Cervantes died only a year after the completion of Part II.
ROLE OF PARTICIPANTS: Since this is a long and complex book, you do not have to do any outside reading unless you wish to. We will be covering some 60 pages of text per session, with two people leading the discussion.
RESOURCES:
We will use the Edith Grossman translation only so our page assignments will all line up.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Nina Scott was a Professor of Spanish at UMass for 34 years and she taught and was an an administrator at Mt. Holyoke and Amherst Colleges.
