Overview

Quixotic Memories explores the complexity of memory through the lens of Miguel de Cervantes and his famous novel Don Quixote. The work of Miguel de Cervantes one of the most influential writers in early modern Europe is a reflection of the rich culture of memory in which it was created. More than a theme, memory is a system of understanding in Cervantes' world, resulting from the major social, religious, and economic changes that epitomized Renaissance humanist culture and that informed the transition to modernity. Quixotic Memories offers insight into the plurality and complexity of memory and demonstrates how it plays an exceptionally critical role in Cervantes' Don Quixote. It acknowledges Cervantes' transition into modernity as he engaged with theories of memory that were developed in classical antiquity and adapted to the specific circumstances of his own time. Julia Dominguez explores the many spaces that memory created for itself in early modern Spain, particularly in the fields of philosophy, medicine, rhetoric, mnemotechnics, the visual arts, and pedagogy. Engaging with primary and archival sources, Quixotic Memories provides a new reading of Cervantes' famous novel by tracing the socio-historical and cultural prominence of memory throughout the author's lifetime.

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9781487543921

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Quixotic Memories is a truly groundbreaking volume that will shape future research. Julia Dominguez establishes from the very start the importance of memory for any reading of Don Quixote. Memory, she argues, relates to personal experience, social practice, and identity formation. Much more than that, it serves to swerve from the past to modernity. Learned and ingenious, the volume turns with ease from Plato's innate knowledge to memory overload and from nostalgia for the past to anxieties over recollection. A fascinating read. - Frederick A. de Armas, Robert O. Anderson Distinguished Service Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Chicago An exceptional amount of research has gone into this beautifully crafted study. The result is an in-depth survey of the role of memory in Don Quixote and in the broader framework of the early modern period. A brief analysis of forgetfulness offers a superb complement. The volume provides much information, many lessons, and considerable food for thought. - Edward H. Friedman, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor in the Humanities (Emeritus), Vanderbilt University Julia Dominguez's Quixotic Memories demonstrates that prevailing concepts and concerns about memory and forgetting are actually inscribed into Cervantes's Don Quixote and therefore are foundational to the Western novel as a literary genre. Dominguez makes readers aware of how important the theme of memory is in the cultural imaginary of the time and how rich the literature and discussion about this theme was in Spain. The voluminous scholarship, elegant prose, and masterful use of cognitive theory will make this book highly influential while offering readers a valuable way to get at the heart of this great masterpiece. - Marsha S. Collins, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Author Information

Julia Dominguez is a professor of Spanish at Iowa State University.

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