Don Quixote Part I - Chapters XXXVI-LII Analysis - Lecture 10

Delve into a comprehensive lecture on Cervantes' Don Quixote, focusing on chapters XXXVI-LII of Part I. Explore the intricate narrative structure, including character returns and incident repetitions that add depth to the fiction. Examine Don Quixote's insanity and its implications on societal norms and laws. Analyze the intersection of literature and history, particularly in the captive's tale. Discover how Cervantes creates the first important novelistic protagonist drawn from legal archives, positioning Don Quixote as both a "highway robber" and an agent of Providence. The lecture, part of Yale University's SPAN 300 course, covers five main chapters: Returns and Repetitions, The Postprandial Speech, The Captive's Tale, A Very Strange Episode, and Remarks about the End of Part I.