Mirror, Mirror

1
Mirror, Mirror

• HUM 2052 Civilization II
• Spring 2009
• Dr. Perdigao
• January 23, 2009

2
Merellos Don Quixotes Melancholy and Don Quixote
http//www.spanishpaintersfromspain.com/
3
Octavio Ocampos Visions of Don Quixote

http//www.visionsfineart.com/ocampo/visions_of_qu
ixote.html
4
Octavio Ocampos Friendship of Don Quixote

http//www.visionsfineart.com/ocampo/friendship_of
_don_quixote.html
5
Don Quixote in Images

• http//www.donquijote.org/vmuseum/paintings/variou
  s/index.asp?pag8

6
Madness or Creativity?

• Appearance vs. reality
• Stagnancy of his existence
• Age 50midlife crisis
• Question of generation and regeneration
• Genesis, Adamic creation, with naming of self,
  horse, love
• Is he crazy from reading novels or does he read
  to prevent going crazy?
• Creates another reality to place himself within
• Windmill jousts his inner needs to impose
  concerns on external reality

7
Perspectives

• Madness compels him to lifenot out
• New life is richer than his present existence
• Ways in which reality changes to beholder
• Radical objectivity
• Don Quixotes real existence
• The books existencepreceding this text, as
  original text (in romance tradition)
• Part IIcomment on the existence of the self
• Hall of mirrors within the text, like Velasquezs
  painting
• Psychology of DQ places you in and out of self

8
Mirroring Ourselves

• Objective vs. subjective
• Identification with DQbest and worst in human
  nature
• All epics as questsDQ as new form of the epic
• Chivalry as an ideal, searching in life is
  defining spiritual
• Theological and spiritual quest of DQ
• Picaresque novel corrupt society, hero from
  lower class
• Earthiness
• Idealism
• Nobleness, higher notion of chivalry