Un libro, un personaje, un mito

Abstract

On the basis of the works devoted to Don Quixote in France, this article discusses the history of Cervantes’ novel in that country, seeking to show, from various different angles – translations, adaptations, influence on novelists and Hispanists – how the book maintains its vitality today and is appreciated by all kinds of people who are not necessarily familiar with Spanish literature. This counterpoint traces the discourse of the contributions to Don Quixote in France on the basis of some of the most important translations of the novel and of its enshrinement in illustrations and engravings and in pictorial, theatrical and paratheatrical representations. This review closes with a mention of French Cervantine scholarship, which is and has been highly influential – the purpose of the whole being demonstrate the presence and the significance, at all levels, of Cervantes’ novel in France.

Keywords

• Cervantine scholarship
• Criticism
• Don Quixote
• France
• Hispanism
• Reception