BSmith 1

to the castle to meet her would-be groom. Don

Don Quixote: A Bridge Quixote’s language imitates that of Fiona. Employing
from the Middle Ages to malapropisms and inappropriate archaisms in his
adventures, he came across a new kind of Spain, one
Modernity that didn’t readily accept him and his fantasies. In
many cases, the people he encountered knew what he
Benjamin Smith, PhD
Minnesota State University Moorhead referred to but they didn’t tolerate him and would
rather throw him over their shoulders like a sack of
In the recent DreamWorks movie, Shrek, potatoes as Shrek did with Fiona and usher him on his
Princess Fiona is rescued from a tower in a castle way.
where she is being held captive by a fire- But Don Quixote will not be disposed of so
breathing dragon. As she is approached by her easily. In 2005, there were celebrations taking place
“knight in shining armor” she declares, world-wide at hundreds of universities and institutions
acknowledging the 400th year since the publication of
But wait, Sir Knight. This be our first meeting. the world’s most popular book aside from the Bible.
Shouldn't it not be a wonderful, romantic We should not be without our celebration. We revere
moment? What are you doing? You know, you Miguel de Cervantes and his contributions and
should sweep me off my feet out yonder window accomplishments here as much as anywhere.
and down a rope onto your valiant steed. Assuming that the majority of my readers are
familiar with Don Quixote to some degree and may
With little regard for her request, the knight have even read the book or part of it at some point in
disposes of the pleasantries and gets down to the the past, most could use some jostling of the memory
business of rescuing. However, when the rescue to reacquaint themselves with the storyline. Therefore
is complete and danger averted he finally has time I will endulge in explaining some details. To begin
to address her concern. She says, “Please. I with, James Parr provides the following brief
would'st look upon the face of my rescuer.” And description of Don Quixote,
the knight responds in an attempt to match her
archaic language, “Oh, no, you wouldn't... tst.” “[Don Quixote] is an extended satire, with
The connection between Shrek and Don elements of novel and romance, originally
Quixote is not so much with Shrek as it is with published in two parts. Part I appeared in
Princess Fiona. She is the one who wanting to 1605, Part II in 1615. The complete 1605 title
live out a fantasy of being rescued by a knight in is El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la
shining armor reaches back linguistically beyond Mancha, and it contains 52 chapters. The title
her grasp. She exemplifies the word “quixotic.” of the 1615 continuation is modified to
She bridges the gap from the age of damsel-in- suggest a promotion in rank for the
distress to an age where this new hero sweeps her protagonist, from hidalgo to caballero, and
off her feet and carries her like a sack of potatoes that volume contains 74 chapters. … The
original pronunciation of "Quixote" was "key-

1
 BSmith 2

SHOW-tay," and it was originally Cervantes likewise impacted Spanish.2

written in Spanish as we now write it in Harold Bloom wrote in his introduction to Edith
English, "Quixote." Today we write it Grossman’s latest translation of the Quixote that
"Quijote" in Spanish and pronounce it Cervantes and Shakespeare are the central western
"key-HO-tay." (Parr 387) authors after Dante. He makes a particular point of
mentioning that he is not the only one that believes this
As a linguist I take particular interest in and that they are not even matched by other potential
this last comment by Parr. To me it is interesting greats such as Tolstoy, Goethe, Dickens, Proust or
that Don Quixote is spelled with an “x” in English Joyce (xxvi).3
and everyone knows that it is not pronounced While reaching back to the oral culture of the
“dawn kwixotti.” There are no other words in Middle Ages and immortalizing the folk wisdom of the
English where the “x” is pronounced as an “h.” I past, Cervantes innovatively created a precedence for
am likewise interested in the unique language of the language that would be used to talk about his book
the book as written by Miguel de Cervantes. I see for centuries to come. People who do not speak
his language as a bridge between the Spanish of Spanish refer to an odd, eccentric as “quixotic.” Others
the Middle Ages and the Spanish spoken today in speak of renegades “tilting at windmills” reducing the
Spain and Latin America. Cervantes used his 1000+ page manuscript to a reference where the
characters to reach back like Shrek’s Fiona to protagonist mistakes common windmills for fantastical
imitate and parody the style of a golden era and at giants. They are ignorant of the fact that the episode to
the same time drew attention to what he
christened as the true Golden Age of Spanish
Literature. them are: addiction, blanket, discontent, cold-blodded,
Spanish is often referred to as the luggage and torture. (as of November 15, 2005)
“language of Cervantes” just as English is 2
Words reported to have come from Cervantes include:
sometimes called the “language of Shakespeare.” venteril (adjetivo de venta o ventero) , escuderil
It is interesting to note that their lives ran (adjetivo de escudero), batanear (verbo de batán),
concurrently. In fact, they both died the same baciyelmo (combinación de bacía y yelmo).
month of April 1616 a little less than 800 miles 3
“In 2002, the book which is widely acclaimed as the
from each other. Both of them had a similar world’s first modern novel was voted the greatest work
impact on the canon of literature in their of fiction of all time in a poll by the Norwegian Nobel
respective countries and subsequently an even Institute. The judges included 100 eminent writers
greater impact on the language. Shakespeare from 54 countries, among them Salman Rushdie,
captured and contributed hundreds of new words Norman Mailer, Milan Kundera, Carlos Fuentes and
and expressions to the English language.1 Nadine Gordimer. Don Quixote polled 50 per cent
more votes than any other book, including the works of
Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Cervantes’ contemporary,
1
About.com claims that there are over 1700 Shakespeare.” Ham, Anthony. “The Impossible Dream
contributions by Shakespeare to English. Among Lives On.” Eureka Street. May 2005.

2
 BSmith 3

which they blithely refer in the book occupies Conventions

little more than a page of the original manuscript. One literary convention (rhetorical figures or
The windmill incident is only a page long. We devices) in Medieval literature is auctoritas. This is
would not reduce Shakespeare to Hamlet’s “to be when an author garners credibility for a work by
or not to be” speech or Juliet’s “Wherefore art appealing to the authority of the genre to which the
thou Romeo?” speech. Would we? Cervantes work pertained. Epic poets used to open their poems
could not have conceived of the powerful impact by calling on their muses, orators cited Ciceronian texts
his use of the language would have but I believe on the art of speaking. Historians liked to establish a
he did write powerfully with the intent to make an translatio imperii where they provided a seemingly
impact. unbroken chain of genealogy going back to kings and
So, why celebrate this contribution to founders that lent legitimacy to a history. Miguel de
language? Where does it situate the Chicano, Cervantes, steeped in this tradition, did not leave Don
Latino, Mestizo or Ceceo Spanish of the 21st Quixote out of the custom of auctoritas. Right at the
Century? What does it have to do with the beginning of the book, Cervantes published a number
current canon of literature? How would Don of sonnets and other verses as was the custom, praising
Quixote relate to today’s novels? It is said that the text. It is not much different from today’s books
Don Quixote is the first modern novel. Whether whose back cover quotes authorities in the field
or not that is the case is not my purpose here. expressing how much they enjoyed the book. This is a
What I would rather do is show how Don Quixote very old tradition. Some books even have a
is the bridge over which Spanish literature passed “foreword” written by a friend or mentor of the author.
from the Middle Ages into the renaissance and Cervantes employs this convention by writing
thereby into modernity and a new way of thinking the foreword and all the laudatory verses at the
and perceiving the world. beginning of Don Quixote. They are downright
To speak about this, consider how comical because he wrote them all himself. Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes was acutely conscious of the unabashedly quotes “critics” like “Uganda the
genre he chose for the Don’s adventures. unknown” writing a commendatory verse saying,
Specifically, he was conscious of the literary
conventions associated with the genre, conscious You will recount the advent-
of the critics, conscious of the characters, Of a gentleman from La Manch-
conscious of the language and conscious of the Whose idle reading of nov-
impact of that language. His awareness of these Caused him to lose his reas-:
five features put him in a position to look back Fair maidens, arms, and chiv-
and look forward at the same time. In the Spurred him to imita-
following paragraphs, I will explain with direct Of Orlando Furio-
accounts from the text the relationship between Exemplar of knightly lov-;
Cervantes’ preparation in the past and its impact By feats of his arm so might-
on what was to follow.

3
 BSmith 4

He won the lady of Tobo-.(12)4 the Lone Ranger’s Silver, Roy Rogers’ Trigger and of
course, Woody’s Bullseye.
This Orlando referred to here was the Another literary convention connected to that
famed French captain under Charlemagne and by of auctoritas is the translatio imperii taken from
1605 had at least two famous books written in ancient historians. Don Quixote, in shameless self-
Italian about him – one called Orlando the promotion in Chapter 25 of the first book establishes
Furious and one called Orlando In Love. In his own translatio imperii through Amadís of Gaul,
French they called him “Roland” and in Spanish Don Belianís of Greece, Virgil’s Aeneas and back to
“Roldán” and he actually pens a few lines of Homer’s Ulysses. While admitting that they were all
advice to Don Quixote (not to Cervantes) among described by their just-as-famous authors “not like they
those laudatory verses. This creates a situation were, but as the should have been.” Don Quixote
where one very famous, epic fictional character teaches Sancho and the reader that the knight-errant
speaks to a budding young fictional character that who imitates them most closely will come nearest to
is destined to overshadow him. reaching the perfection of chivalry (193).
Cervantes includes other dedications An amusing story from the first part of Don
from the likes of Amadís of Gaul, a fictional Quixote exemplifies another convention; that of
character from an older Spanish chivalric intertextuality. After having done battle with the
romance, Gandalín, Amadís’ squire, who writes a Basque met in the crossroads and although victorious,
few words of advice to Sancho Panza, and Doña Don Quixote was suffering from a wounded ear.
Oriana, Amadís’ love interest, to Dulcinea del Sancho’s insistence that the ear be treated coaxes a
Toboso. It was a tradition in the Middle Ages for description of Don Quixote of a concoction that when
famous heroes to have horses with regal names. taken will cure all his ills. He tells Sancho,
Bellerophon’s horse was Pegasus, Alexander the
Great had Bucephalus, Amadís of Gaul had …when I prepare it and give it to you, all you
Brillador and El Mío Cid had a horse named need do, when you see in some battle that they
Babieca. This last one, Babieca, also has a have cut my body in two (as is wont to
dialogue with Don Quixote’s horse, Rocinante, in happen), is to pick up the part of my body that
one cleverly written (and rhymed) sonnet in the has fallen to the ground, and very artfully,
prologue. Pointing to the future, the naming of and with great cunning, before the blood
famous knight’s horses did not end there, other congeals, place it on top of the other half still
well-known horses include Napoleon’s Marengo, in the saddle, being careful to fit them
together precisely and exactly. Then you will
give me only two mouthfuls to drink of the
4 balm I have mentioned, and you will see me
All translations are from Grossman (2005). In
this translation of the poem she even imitates the sounder than an apple. (72)
“cabo rato” style of the poem as written by
Cervantes where the last syllable of each line is The balm referred to is called the Balm of
truncated. Fierabrás and is purported to be left over from the

4
 BSmith 5

embalming of Christ. Just like other relics from full of Medieval texts in which he had completely
the time of Christ (e.g. the holy grail, splinters absorbed himself. According to the barber and the
from the cross, water from the River Jordan) the priest, Don Quixote had gone too far and in order to
balm supposedly has miraculous power. Sancho prevent him from incurring further damage to himself
latches on to this Medieval convention believing or others, they set about tossing the books they deemed
it will not only cure him of his current ills but inappropriate. This is an amazing passage as each
make him rich when he returns to town to sell it volume is pulled from the shelf, examined, weighed
for a profit. When Don Quixote finally gets the and judged. It reflects and mocks the censorship of
housemaid of the inn to assist him in its Cervantes age at the same time. 5
preparation, he offers some to Sancho.
Unfortunately, poor Sancho finds out the And the first one that Master Nicolás handed him was
concoction is only one of Don Quixote’s wild The Four Books of Amadís of Gaul, and the priest
imaginative brews and like his master, Sancho is said:
so repelled by the mixture of oil, wine, salt and “This one seems to be a mystery, because I have
rosemary, he vomits violently and ends up worse heard that this was the first book of chivalry printed in
than he was before. By mentioning this episode, Spain, and all the rest found their origin and
Cervantes has turned another Medieval inspiration here, and so it seems to me that as the
convention on its head. Cervantes was aware of proponent of the doctrine of so harmful a sect we
how these intertextual references would be should, without any excuses, condemn it to the flames.”
immediately recognizable to his readers and used “No, Señor,” said the barber, “for I’ve also heard
them as a common point of reference and that it is the best of all the books of this kind ever
opportunity for parody. written, and as a unique example of the art, it should
be pardoned.”
Critics “That’s true,” said the priest, “and so we’ll spare its
Miguel de Cervantes’ consciousness of life for now. Let’s see the one next to it.”
his critics despite his blasé attitude in the “It is,” said the barber, “the Exploits of Esplandián,
prologue shows up near the beginning in Chapter who was the legitimate son of Amadís of Gaul.”
6 of the first book. As the story goes, Don “In truth,” said the priest, “the mercy shown the
Quixote was on his own on his first foray into the father will not help the son. Take it, Señora
wilderness. Before he had even recruited Sancho Housekeeper, open that window, throw it into the
Panza, Don Quixote found himself recovering at corral, and let it be the beginning of the pile that will
home from his initial encounter with misfortune fuel the fire we shall set.” (46)
and injury. While doing so, the maid in the
house, together with his good friends the barber
and the priest commence a cleansing of his
library. It is here that we get a rare glimpse into a 5
See A History of the Inquisition of Spain Volume
relatively new commodity in the beginning of the Three Book 8: Spheres of Action, Chapter 4 on
17th century. Don Quixote had a private library Censorship by Henry Charles Lea.

5
 BSmith 6

This scene, while hilarious on the he is not present at first as Don Quixote assembles all
surface is laced with references to actual the crucial elements of his fictitious persona. Sancho is
decisions being made in Spain on the merit of sought out and convinced to come along with the
certain types of literature. Cervantes is certainly promise that within six days Don Quixote will be
building a bridge to future generations bringing successful and Sancho will be governor of an island.
into the light a scathing parody of the book While this would not motivate other squires, to a man
burning bent of the Inquisition. The futility of like Sancho fully ensconced in the feudal mindset, the
this exercise is found in the fact that Don idea of governorship is better than promising him gold
Quixote, upon awaking and discovering the rape or flocks or herds because ultimately, it would not be
of his library, is not deterred in his quest and sets his, he would have to pay tribute on his gains to
out again on his adventures. Cervantes’ implicit someone higher. As governor of an island however, he
message to his critics is: “Here is a book whose would be able to enjoy his own dominion without
message cannot be erased by burning.” In deference to an immediate superior authority. By the
essence he has their number and is not afraid to second book, Cervantes ends up granting this fantasy to
publish it to the world. When Don Quixote sets Sancho, but not in the way one would expect. Sancho
out this second time, he heads straight to the is fooled into believing he is governor of an island and
house of Sancho Panza. all the subjects are told to treat him as such. The
carnivalesque element of putting this common laborer
Characters in as governor upsets the power dynamic of the middle
Sancho Panza is a critical element in ages. Cervantes parodies the social system by not only
Don Quixote. Sancho’s presence sets up a giving Sancho this honor but by making him successful
necessary and crucial dichotomy between the at it. Sancho’s folk wisdom is found to be helpful, sage
educated eccentric and the grounded simpleton. advice for those approaching his judgment seat. In the
Sancho is the sine qua non of the book’s success. end it is Sancho who by his own realization, backs out
Even if all other elements were present, if the of this role, too uncomfortable with the lofty treatment
interplay between the protagonist and his sidekick and ‘rich cuisine.’ From here on there is a precedent
were absent, the book would fall flat on its for the dolt who acts as the duke and the leadership is
proverbial face. As with Shrek and his talkative, made to look trivial and uninformed. Cervantes’
folksy companion, this pattern of a hero and a awareness of the genius of Sancho’s character keys in
sidekick or gracioso, has been repeated over and on the book’s success.
over in successful literature. The other characters in the story tied to its
In Don Quixote, Sancho is the folk success are women. Both those silent and those who
linguist. He is full of folk wisdom and spouts speak out find their voice here. The presence of
refrains faster than Don Quixote can imitate women is a highly bold move, one that gives them an
Medieval verb conjugations.6 As stated before, audience they would not have had otherwise.
Cervantes includes the whores and the upper class, the
runaway and the socially imprisoned, all finding their
6 voice. Few books before this time allowed for such
See Young 2000.

6
 BSmith 7

free expression. Here Cervantes opens the door recognize that the word is indeed sharper than the
to a new role for women in literature. Many of sword. The reader wants to participate in the story and
these women are hurting and vengeful. They are react, “It’s not her fault, he’s the one to blame for
right in their own sphere and the reader seems to placing on her unrealistic expectations!” But the
be the only one aware. The stereotypical goatherds are still poised to place an epitaph on his
assumption is that Dulcinea is the only female grave declaring the cruel untimely death at the hands of
presence (actually absence) in the text. While a wench who disdained and ignored him. Even Don
perhaps the most famous, because her name is Quixote, while moved, responds superficially and
constantly on Don Quixote’s lips, she is by no reflects his own prejudice.
means the only nor the most representative of the She has shown with clear and sufficient
role of women crossing the bridge from the reasons that she bears little or no blame in the
middle ages to modernity. death of Grisóstomo, and she has also shown
Marcela is a classic example of the how- how far she is from acquiescing to the desires
did-Cervantes-get-away-with-that kind of woman. of any of who love her, and therefore it is just
As Don Quixote and Sancho come across a that rather than being followed and
number of goatherds in the hill country they come persecuted, she should be honored and
to find out that the following morning they will esteemed by all good people in the world, for
attend a funeral for a colleague of theirs who fell she has shown herself to be the only woman in
victim to a young lady’s charms. The young lady it who lives with so virtuous a desire. (101)
turns out to be Marcela. Don Quixote and Sancho
are spared no detail of Marcela’s cruelty for Don Quixote still believes that what he saw
spurning Grisóstomo’s love. By the next and heard was an exception to the eloquence of women
morning, there is no doubt in any of their minds and not the norm. Yet Marcela is the norm for women
that she is the incontrovertible assassin. In true in this book. They are strong, independent, decision
Medieval fashion, Marcela comes to see the makers, wearing the pants in the family as it were.
funeral and is presented by the goatherds as a type Their characterizations create a bridge to modernity in
of Nero coming to watch Rome burn or “to see if novels by subsequent authors taking tips from these
with [her] presence blood spurts from the wounds feminine models.
of [the] wretched man whose life was taken by
[her] cruelty” (98). According to Medieval Language
legend, the dead victim would begin to bleed The language of Cervantes’ masterpiece is the
again in the presence of their assassin. cornerstone of its foundation. The reader’s principle
Marcela brushes this all to the side and impression of Don Quixote comes through his
cuts to the chase. Her carefully constructed language. The entertainment value of the
response to the accusations of the murder of characterization of his squire comes from Sancho’s
Grisóstomo is more than just a diatribe against abundant use of sayings and proverbs many times
men by a loose canon. It is a rhetorically rich misapplied. The banter between the two is peppered
invective, spoken eloquently helping the reader with double entendres and witticisms that fly by so

7
 BSmith 8

fast, the reader has to return again and again to would seem a bit hyperbolic, Don Quixote has lost the
fully appreciate them all. Of particular mention ability to discern between the possible and the
in their banter appear several archaisms and impossible. Just like Lancelot, he had unrealistic
malapropisms as follows. expectations of his own. Don Quixote adopts in the
same loftiness the language of his heroes. Granted, the
Archaisms language is all in Spanish and a lot of it cannot be
Don Quixote was written as a reaction to translated directly. The language functions on its own.
the Medieval chivalric romances. Some of them For example, the phrase, “quiero guardarme de ser
are: Amadís of Gaul, The Cabellero of Zifar, Don ferido ni de ferir a nadie” (209) shows how Don
Belianís of Greece, Roland the Furious, and Quixote likes to talk as though he just stepped out of a
others. Alonso Quijano, had worked himself into bygone age.8 The word ferir even in Cervantes’ day
a frenzy from reading so many of these books. In would have evolved to herir. There is no equivalent in
the beginning of the book it is even said that his English for certain puns like this. English speakers
brain simply “dried up” (21). It wasn’t just these take many of these for granted in their own language.
books either. He also had in his library the classic They are special to English and some are special to
stories of Aeneas and Ulysses. So, when Don regional dialects of English. Don Quixote’s Spanish
Quixote dons his armor, chooses his steed and was unique to the region of Spain known as La
confronts the enemy, he does so imitating these Mancha and then with his own knack for archaic
knights of old, whose fictional descriptions are as marking, his language becomes a bridge from the old
ridiculous as the description of Lancelot in the language to the new.
story of Camelot.7 While such a description This concept of translatability may be more
understandable with some examples of “archaisms” in
English. How do you translate “let bygones be
7
Lancelot describes the ideal knight in a song bygones” or “comeuppance” into another language?
from the 1960 Broadway musical, Camelot. “A The utility of these particular expressions relies on the
knight of the Table Round should be invincible, compression of English words and phrases that cannot
succeed where a less fantastic man would fail. be combined in any other language for a similar
Climb a wall no one else can climb, cleave a meaning. These examples illustrate the difficulty of
dragon in record time, swim a moat in coat of rendering an accurate picture of Don Quixote’s and
heavy iron mail. No matter the pain, he ought to Sancho’s artistic use of the language. Some of their
be unwinceable, impossible deeds should be his sayings, “cual más, cuál menos, todos ellos son una
daily fare…the soul of a knight should be a thing mesma cosa” (501), “Llegué, vila y vencíla” (654),
remarkable, his heart and his mind as pure as “tropezando aquí, cayendo allí, levantándose acullá,
morning dew. With a will and a sef-restraint, tornando a caer acá” (410) “cepos quedos” (733) and
that’s the envy of every saint, he could easily
work a miracle or two. To love and desire he
8
ought to be unsparkable, the ways of the flesh Examples in Spanish are from the 1992 Riquer
should offer no allure.” edition of Don Quixote.

8
 BSmith 9

“siquiera me hiera, siquiera me mate” (734) are even more freely the more comfortable Sancho was
all unique expressions. 9 They only make sense in with Don Quixote’s company.10
Spanish. Attempts to translate them only leave the Again, many of these cannot be rendered
hearer more confused. The main difference accurately in English. It must be positively maddening
between these phrases in Spanish and the ones for any translator of the Quixote to wrestle with these.
from English is that Don Quixote’s language is a A few examples are: “Quien a buen a!rbol se arrima,
good 100 years past its time. It is difficult to buena sombra le cobija”11 or “dime con quien andas y
conceive of someone speaking with the same decirte he quien eres” (733 Rico) ‘tell me who your
linguistic traits of the early 20th century now. So friends are and I’ll tell you who you are’ 12 or some
much of Don Quixote was archaic that Riquer even used by Don Quixote, “buenas son mangas
refers to him as an “archaísmo vivente” – a living después de Pascua,” ‘The tips are best at Easter’ (335
archaism – wearing 100 year-old armor and Rico) 13.
adopting the speech to match (37). Grossman acknowledges the difficulty of
Even Cervantes, in the narration of the translating the wordplay in which Cervantes engages at
story employs archaisms to bridge the gap from several points. For example, there is one occasion, as
books where quoting phrases in Latin added depth Sancho defends his master before the duke where he
and credibility to the text. Cervantes, peppers the states, “there’s no more Sorrowful Face or Figure”
prose with phrases like “tantum ossa et pellis fuit” (657). In the footnote on the same page, she clarifies
(38) just for fun and for no credible justification her own attempt to get as close to the original as
other than to intersperse Latin or Latinate phrases possible by the following disclaimer, “there is an
throughout the story. untranslatable wordplay involving figura (“face”) and
Sancho’s folk wisdom in the form of figuro (a nonexistent masculine form).”
proverbs bridges the gap from the oral culture of To get a better idea of the awkwardness of the
the middle ages to the literate culture of translation of idiomatic phrases, James Parr points to a
modernity. In the second book when Sancho
becomes a governor he gets a certain degree of
recognition for this hidden treasure of knowledge.
His wisdom is not in the form of astute 10
Benjamin Disraeli, a prominent political leader in
observation or insightful judgments, but in his 19th Century England and frequently quoted for his
ability to recall literally thousands of pithy words of wisdom, defended his use of refrains from the
sayings that made Don Quixote irate with ancients by saying, “Proverbs were bright shafts in the
frustration. Sometimes the refrains came so fast it Greek and Latin quivers” insinuating that successful
was as if they were cascading and they flowed scholars should employ them wisely (Blake).
11
Translated by Grossman as, “Lean against a sturdy
trunk if you want good shade.” (667)
9 12
For more examples of phrases that present “birds of a feather flock together.” (610 Grossman)
13
similar translating difficulties, see Eisenberg “but it is never the wrong time for a gift” (260
1984. Grossman)

9
 BSmith 10

specific translation problem in Don Quixote using left. In a sort of Looney-toons moment, just as Sancho
Burton Raffel’s translation as an example: practically sticks his face in Don Quixote’s mouth to
There are other occasions, curiously enough, count his teeth, Don Quixote is overcome and vomits
when Raffel is painfully literal, as when he on his squire. As you can imagine, this upsets Sancho
translates "ponerme la mano en la horcadura" and he vomits in return on his master (180).
(I.30) as "[to] stick your hand into my crotch," Examining this account metaphorically, the
which it could be taken to say, if one cares to be vomit is almost like the profusion of feigned wisdom
perversely punctilious, but that rendering makes constantly pouring from Don Quixote’s mouth and just
no sense. The meaning is clearly "to show me as repulsive to Sancho. Sancho’s vomiting back is
disrespect." This is said metaphorically by Don symbolic of his proverbial loquacity falling on Don
Quixote, addressing Sancho in anger. …this an Quixote’s ears. The two are not so much repulsed by
expression associated with acrobats or tumblers, the other as they are fed up with having to spend so
who would assist one another in certain spinning much time together that these kinds of things would
movements by placing a hand on the partner's annoy them. The interplay of language between
upper thigh to facilitate the flip or rotation. What Sancho and Don Quixote is such a pivotal aspect in
it means here specifically is to show untoward how the novel works that Cervantes’ use of this visual
familiarity, but I hardly think "stick[ing] your image cannot be underestimated.
hand into my crotch" captures that. It is a
tasteless translation at best. The old axiom of Malapropisms
traduttore, traditore is well illustrated in instances Another feature of language important in this
like this one. (392-93) linguistic program is the use of malapropisms. A
malapropism is the inappropriate use of a word that
While this is a good example of the kind sounds similar to the word one intends to use. For
of language the reader has to contend with in Don example, it is reported that a Sanchoesque vice
Quixote, Cervantes employs another, perhaps president Dan Quayle once said, "Republicans
even more striking visual image to depict the kind understand the importance of bondage between a
of interaction between knight and squire. Not mother and child." 14 The public had to understand that
very far into the narration, Don Quixote perceives he meant bonding instead of bondage. While bonding
two herds of sheep crossing in a valley. is close to bondage morphologically, the socio-cultural
Believing them to be two armies meeting on the meanings of the words differ significantly. Bonding is
battlefield, he goads on Sancho and charges into the buzzword that reinforces a cornerstone Republican
the crowd to attack the animals. The shepherds, platform of family values. Bondage on the other hand,
alarmed at his actions, attack him and beat him so is related to slavery and more modernly includes
badly that he is left semi-conscious on the ground references to sadomasochistic behavior. These kinds
begging Sancho to take care of him. Some of the
beatings were to the mouth and face and knocked
out some of his teeth and so he asks Sancho to 14
Reported to have said in a speech in Hawaii,
look in his mouth to see how many teeth he has September 1989.

10
 BSmith 11

of statements are ubiquitous in Don Quixote and communicate with others of his time as a bridge that
more often than not, proceed from the mouth of somehow brings them nostalgiacally closer to a former
Sancho Panza. golden age. This act and the resulting text
Sancho’s malapropisms are another simultaneously create a golden age out of his own
symbol of the bridge from the middle ages to times.15
modernity. At one point, Sancho tries his hand at Cervantes created a golden opportunity to
quoting a phrase in Latin he thinks he knows, bridge the middle ages and modernity in molding a
“Whoever’s in hell…nulla es retencio” (198). character that is both crazy and believed to be mentally
The actual saying in Latin is, QUIA IN INFERNO, ill by most of the characters with whom he associates.
NULLA EST REDEMPTIO. But Sancho just quotes Don Quixote’s illness turns out to be his unwavering
the phrase, knowing what the whole should mean, belief in the infallibility of the written word. The cure
but not knowing the constituent parts. Don to his illness is found in his confrontation with the
Quixote is left wondering what Sancho is talking fallibility of the written word. When Sancho mentions
about and yet continues on in their conversation. the “other” book, he seizes the opportunity to expound
One very popular malapropism crops up on the details that begin to shake up Don Quixote’s
as Sancho misunderstands Don Quixote’s use of world. This inversion of literature and reality leads Don
the word “homicidio” (homicide) thinking it is the Quixote to believe more what was written and discount
word, “omecillo” (meaning rancor or hatred) the reality clearly in front of him. Coming up against
(107). Just a few pages later, Don Quixote finds his own story in literature greatly disturbed him. He
himself unable to sit through a story without couldn’t deal with that “reality.” Then he comes across
correcting the storyteller as he stumbles through his own “history” in literature that he has to discount
several malapropisms (“cris” for “eclipse”, “éstil” because of its blatant, arrogant affront on his character.
for “estéril”, and “sarna” for “sarra”) (121-22). Up until then his motivation for what he did was in
These passages serve as reminders for “making true” what was in the Books of Chivalry –
contemporary readers of correct forms for words after coming up against the Avellaneda version of Don
that were commonly mistaken. In some cases, as Quixote, he now had to disprove / “make false” what
with the word, “sarra,” the word formed part of a was found there. (e.g. going to Barcelona instead of
well-known, but misquoted saying: “Más vieja Zaragoza).
que Sarra.” Cervantes awareness of these slips in Awareness of the impact of the language is
the language and awareness of the story as a 9/10 of the battle. Cervantes hand picked rhetorical
means to educate his readers, made his prose conventions from a rich literary tradition. His life up to
particularly rich.

Impact of the Language 15

Don Quixote himself states in Chapter 20 of the first
Cervantes’ consciousness of the impact book, “Sancho, my friend, know that I was born, by the
of the language is reflected in the work as a whole will of heaven, in this our iron age, to revive the one of
rather than in sound bytes. He sees Don gold, or the Golden Age. I am he for whom are
Quixote’s language and his ability to reserved dangers, great deeds, valiant feats…” (150)

11
 BSmith 12

that point had given him ample opportunity to Works Cited

draw comparisons and point out discrepancies
between the way the world functioned for epic Blake, Robert. Disraeli. Routledge,an imprint of
heroes and the way it worked in reality. Taylor & Francis Books Ltd., 1969.
Cervantes had more than a little experience with Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quixote. Francisco Rico,
critics and rejection and therefore handily dealt ed. Clásicos Universales Planeta: Madrid,
with celebrity backing by shameless self 1992.
promotion and fictional endorsements. His innate Eisenberg, Daniel. “Teaching Don Quixote as a Funny
talents lie without question in his clever use of the Book.” Approaches to Teaching Don
language, but it was his confidence and his Quixote, ed. Richard Bjornson (New York:
awareness of the possibilities of the genre that Modern Language Association of America,
propelled this work to success. 1984, 62-68.
In sum, despite the episodic narrative, Lea, Henry Charles. History of the Inquisition of
Cervantes remained focused on the principle Spain. The Online Library of Iberian
storyline and the protagonist’s purpose in life in Resources. (11/9/05).
every episode. Not far from the saying in Loewe, Frederick and Alan Jay Lerner. Camelot.
English, “I have places to be and people to see” Chappell & Co., Inc., 1960.
the motif of Don Quixote’s primary purpose is Parr, James A. “Don Quixote: Translation and
repeated throughout the novel. He had “wrongs Interpretation” Philosophy and Literature
he intended to right, grievances to redress, 24.2, 2000, 387-405
injustices to repair, abuses to remove, and duties Riquer, Martín de. “Introducción al Quixote” in Don
to discharge” (40). Crafting a world of needs Quixote, ed. by Francisco Rico, 1992, pp.
merely because he said it was so was enough to XVIII-LXXXIV.
get Sancho to follow him and be faithful to his Wood, James. “The Sacred Profanity of Don Quixote.”
cause. Perhaps to some degree it was his The New Yorker. 12/22/2003
command of the older language that resonated Young, Howard. “Game of Circles: Conversations
with authority to Sancho. The words from the Between Don Quixote and Sancho.”
texts of the Middle Ages became the flesh of Don Philosophy and Literature. Vol. 24, No. 2,
Quixote in his deeds and speeches. Subsequently, October 2000, 377-78.
his experiences became the words of stories,
plays, music and art that has followed. Our
modern world owes a great deal of how we think,
react, interact, read and speak to the Ingenioso
Hidalgo de la Mancha.

12