Abstract
This thesis examines the dichotomy of locura/cordura in Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quijote de la Mancha (1605/1615), specifically the nature of the madness of the titular character. Two different aspects of the Quijote are discussed: (1) the dual nature of the personality of Don Quijote/Alonso Quijano as being "sanely insane," that is, that although Don Quijote exhibits symptoms unmistakably indicative of madness, he maintains his sanity underneath this mad façade; the dedicatory sonnets that precede Part 1, the epitaphs that follow the end of Part 1, and the two poems that serve as an epilogue to Part 2 are examined in length in order to show that Don Quijote, and not "Alonso Quijano el Bueno," is the true protagonist of the Quijote; and (2) the roles that the various encantadores play in the Quijote and how they interact with Don Quijote are discussed in order to further explore this dichotomy of locura/cordura.
Degree
MA
College and Department
Humanities; Spanish and Portuguese
Rights
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Schmidt, Paul J., "Madness in the Quijote: Don Quijote as Alonso Quijano's True Self" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 6670.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6670
Date Submitted
2017-12-01
Document Type
Thesis
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd9703
Keywords
Don Quijote, madness, locura/cordura, Cervantes, encantadores
Language
english
