Cervantes and Genre

In Don Quixote I.47 and 48, Cervantes sets out his most sustained exposition of literary theory. This chapter points out that the dialogue staged in these chapters between the canon from Toledo and the priest from Don Quixote’s village contains in embryonic form the primary tensions that infuse Cervantes’s attitude toward literary genre as revealed in his fiction. The critical exchange is divided into two parts: the canon’s critique of the romances of chivalry that have caused Don Quixote’s insanity, and the priest’s appraisal of the state of contemporary popular theatre. In both cases, which are complementary, the characters’ criticisms are harsh without being completely uncompromising. Also, in both cases, the artistic precepts expounded accurately describe Cervantes’s actual practice of composing literary fiction, with the non-trivial caveat that they also contain important limitations.