Masterpiece
ALVADOR DE MADARIAGA on Don Quixote was more than another competent Great Books talk; it was a moving experience. This eminent Spanish scholar did not emphasise the national aspects of Cervantes’ genius, but set out to describe the universal quality
of his masterpiece and to account for its universal appeal. His inspiring discussion of the symbolising in Don Quixote of man’s mind transcending the "reality" of the predetermined world
by challenging the thing without and saying "Thou shall not be what thou art, but what I dream thee to be" opened up fields for thought on the nature of reality and the power of man’s spirit, He convinced us, too, of the comprehensiveness of Cervantes’ picture of 16th Century Spain, his love of all humanity and his ripe wisdom, born of experience and suffering. Particularly revealing was his description of Sancho Panza, not as the antithesis of the knight, but as another incarnation of him, in whom the struggle is inwardthe squire against the peasant. And, having suffered for years from the false pedantry of those who pronounce "Don Quixote" in what they imagine the Spanish manner, I was delighted to hear this Spanish authority unashamedly using the traditional English pronunciation.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19490826.2.21.3
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 21, Issue 531, 26 August 1949, Page 11
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202Masterpiece New Zealand Listener, Volume 21, Issue 531, 26 August 1949, Page 11
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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