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Reviewing Edith Grossman's recent translation of Don Quixote for the Weekly Standard, Algis Valiunas notes that Cervantes' parody of chivalry contains within it some veiled assaults on Christianity: "in destroying the fancies of chivalric romance stories, Cervantes simultaneously mounts a sneak attack on Christianity itself, chipping subtly away at the faith based on yet another book EThe Book. Indeed, Don Quixote insists on the literal truth of the Bible with the same force that he insists on the literal truth of the knightly adventures of romance literature. People disagree on whether giants ever walked the earth, he states, but Holy Scripture, 'which cannot deviate an iota from the truth,' proves they did, in the story of Goliath." Beneath the naive fundamentalism is a sly jab at biblical literalism. Valiunas also points to Cervantes' favorable treatment of Islam as evidence of his skepticism about Christian claims.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Friday, May 21, 2004 at 02:56 PM
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