—120→
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
About fourteen years ago, in the late fall of 1968, I began to compile material for an annotated bibliography on Don Quixote.138 At that time I made the erroneous assumption that the criticism of Cervantes' masterpiece had been rather well taken care of up to the end of the nineteenth century, since Leopoldo Rius' three large volumes contained such a wealth of excerpts of Cervantine criticism up to that time. For that reason, my procedure was to gather only critical material written after about 1893.
Experience has since convinced me that while Rius' works are invaluable, they do not put Quixote criticism in a proper chronological or ideological perspective. To correct this error in part, Paolo Cherchi has recently (1977) drawn upon Rius' work and other sources in producing his study of the reception of the Quixote from its publication up to the year 1790 (Capitoli di critica cervantina [1605-1790], Rome: Bulzoni).
Thus at this time we have a mass of gathered material since the end of the nineteenth century, and a comprehensive study up to 1790. It appears, therefore, that one serious gap in Quixote criticism is the time-span 1790-1895. This is not to say that there have not been various attempts to outline this critical era, as well as detailed studies of individual Cervantine movements in the nineteenth century: romanticism, socio-political idealism, krausismo, etc. However, as we all —121→ know, in the period from 1790 to 1895 one finds the source of many important interpretations of the Quixote, or if not actually the source, at least the time-span in which these interpretations reached their true development. Thus my first recommendation is that Cherchi's admirable work be followed up by a serious study of the nineteenth-century interpretations. This is an area in which those of you with Ph.D. candidates could be of immense assistance, for several dissertations on the various Cervantine movements in that century could lead to the publication of an overall work on Don Quixote criticism, 1790-1895. Even the mere compilation of a list of significant works written on the Quixote during that era would be of the highest practical value. When the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries have been studied, and the material properly arranged and analyzed, we will find ourselves in a position to undertake a thorough study of the past eighty-five years.
Now let me move to a second large gap in Cervantine bibliography. When I began to compile and arrange the critical material on the Quixote I decided that, as a general rule, I would omit critical works which dealt only with one episode. Exceptions were made, of course, especially with regard to the first chapter of the 1605 Quixote, the «Cave of Montesinos» adventure, the death of Don Quixote, and a few other episodes. There are many excellent works on a given episode of Cervantes' masterpiece. In fact, the major portion of Quixote criticism appears to be of this type. What I would propose is that the membership of the Cervantes Society of America undertake the project of an «episodic» bibliography of the Quixote. Many of you have written on a given episode and thus already have an essential working bibliography of a particular episode, or of several episodes. With a modicum of effort your bibliographies could be brought up to date. What I contemplate is that these individual bibliographies could be published individually in Cervantes, not necessarily in chronological order at first. These could be accompanied by brief narrative accounts of the principal problems involved in the interpretation of a given episode. When the individual bibliographies have been completed, they could be compiled and edited in one volume.
A third gap exists in the area of Cervantes' so-called «minor» works. As you know, my original specialty was the Novelas ejemplares, and my first effort was an annotated (or «critical») bibliography on these twelve stories. That 1968 work had several serious shortcomings: —122→ it was repetitious and was not organized as it should have been. I am happy to announce that the second, revised, and updated version of the 1968 effort has now appeared: Cervantes' «Novelas ejemplares». A Selective, Annotated Bibliography (New York: Garland, 1981). This new volume, after a section dealing with general works on the Novelas ejemplares, deals with each story separately. It is my belief that this second edition will be of much more practical value to you all.
The Persiles was bibliographically examined by Tilbert Diego Stegmann in 1971, in a very able way: Cervantes Musterroman «Persiles» (Hamburg: Hartmut Lüdke Verlag). In addition, Cervantes' dramatic works are the subject of an unpublished bibliographical study by George Ray Pappas, in 1973. It would be most helpful if this work were put into print. The Galatea and the Viaje del Parnaso have not received the necessary bibliographical attention. In the area of minor works, we again have the problem of keeping the bibliographical material up to date. I am quite willing to be personally responsible for maintaining the Novelas ejemplares on a current basis. Let me suggest, therefore, that another worthy project would be a bibliographical dissertation on the Galatea and on the Viaje del Parnaso, and that individual members of our Society be placed in charge of keeping the bibliographical material on the Persiles, the Viaje, La Galatea, and the dramatic works up to date.
Now that I have got you all working, I will make a brief report on what I am attempting in the area of the Quixote at the moment. As you know, Volume III of the Quixote bibliography appeared in June, 1981, published by Garland. It deals almost entirely with the reception of Cervantes' masterpiece by later novelists, playwrights, poets, and script writers. It contains over five hundred items. After a general section on the overall importance of the Quixote in later literature the material is arranged geographically. As many of you are no doubt aware, Ernesto Giménez Caballero published an excellent work in 1979 on the same theme: Don Quixote ante el mundo (y ante mí) (San Juan: Inter-American University Press). This work is interestingly written and contains a multitude of references to adaptations of the Quixote. To a certain extent, his work and my effort involve duplication. However each contains a significant amount of material not found in the other. In the area of the influence of the Quixote on later writers I am again willing to attempt to keep the bibliography up to date.
The other large project which I have before me is the fourth and I —123→ hope final volume of the criticism of the Quixote since 1893. It will include a wide variety of studies, and will be arranged according to subject matter: Cervantes and his times; the Quixote figure; psychological and psychiatric studies of the Don; philosophical interpretations; socio-political studies of Cervantes' masterpiece; the themes in the Quixote, etc. This project is being undertaken with the kind help of Professor Frederick Viña of the University of Texas, Arlington, who is especially well qualified in Latin American criticism of the Quixote. My estimate is that this fourth volume will be ready for submission to the publisher in the late fall of 1981.
There is one final problem in Cervantine research that has been a source of annoyance to us all -there is at least a nine-month time lag in the appearance of recent bibliographical material on Cervantes. This is so in spite of the very conscientious work of the MLA bibliographers, who must assemble, edit, and double-check all the items and then await publication. I have contacted Professor Oliver T. Myers of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, the MLA bibliographer, regarding obtaining of Cervantes items early -in late February instead of September of a given year. Professor Myers has been kind enough to suggest a mutual exchange of items. It would of course be to our great advantage to obtain such items as early as possible. However, in order for this procedure to be agreeable to Dr. Myers, our membership must be willing to give quid pro quo.
It is not within the means of any one member of our Society to undertake the preparation of a list of Cervantine items similar to that of the Modern Language Association. Consequently I am now in the process of developing for our members a system which I hope will provide us a constantly up-dated bibliographical compilation; we would hope to exchange our compilations with the bibliographers of the MLA. Not only will this take some time, but it will probably require some subsequent refinement among the contributors. However, I anticipate that it will result in a most useful tool for all of us.
The Constitution of our Society provides for a standing Committee on Bibliography, and I am pleased to announce that Professors Frederick Viña and Hensley Woodbridge will be working with me on the committee.