Quixotic Memories

Quixotic Memories explores the complexity of memory through the lens of Miguel de Cervantes and his famous novel Don Quixote.

Julia Dominguez is a professor of Spanish at Iowa State University.

"With her masterful analysis of how Cervantes treats memory throughout Don Quixote, Domínguez has accomplished something quite rare in the world of Cervantine studies, a field populated by new books every month: writing a book that will be remembered."

Frederick A. de Armas, Robert O. Anderson Distinguished Service Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Chicago:

"Quixotic Memories is a truly groundbreaking volume that will shape future research. Julia Domínguez establishes from the very start the importance of memory for any reading of Don Quixote. Memory, she argues, relates to personal experience, social practice, and identity formation. Much more than that, it serves to swerve from the past to modernity. Learned and ingenious, the volume turns with ease from Plato’s innate knowledge to memory overload and from nostalgia for the past to anxieties over recollection. A fascinating read."

Marsha S. Collins, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:

"Julia Domínguez’s Quixotic Memories demonstrates that prevailing concepts and concerns about memory and forgetting are actually inscribed into Cervantes’s Don Quixote and therefore are foundational to the Western novel as a literary genre. Domínguez makes readers aware of how important the theme of memory is in the cultural imaginary of the time and how rich the literature and discussion about this theme was in Spain. The voluminous scholarship, elegant prose, and masterful use of cognitive theory will make this book highly influential while offering readers a valuable way to get at the heart of this great masterpiece."

Edward H. Friedman, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor in the Humanities (Emeritus), Vanderbilt University:

"An exceptional amount of research has gone into this beautifully crafted study. The result is an in-depth survey of the role of memory in Don Quixote and in the broader framework of the early modern period. A brief analysis of forgetfulness offers a superb complement. The volume provides much information, many lessons, and considerable food for thought."