Hamlet and Don Quixote Author(s): Ivan Turgenev and Moshe

Hamlet and Don Quixote
Author(s): Ivan Turgenev and Moshe Spiegel
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Chicago Review, Vol. 17, No. 4 (1965), pp. 92-109
Published by: Chicago Review
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25293952 .
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IVANTURGENEV
HAMLETAND DON QUIXOTE*
(Translated
from the Russian
by
moshe
spiegel)
Hamlet
and the first
first edition of Shakespeare's
tragedy
same year,
Don
in
of
Cervantes'
novel
the
Quixote
part
appeared
at the very
of
seventeenth
the
century.
beginning
concurrence
seems momentous.
The
of time in
This
proximity
of a whole
series of events.
this instance induces a consideration
a
"must
"He who would
maintained,
comprehend
poet," Goethe
enter that
And though one who
is not a poet
environment."
poet's
himself has no right to demand, he can nevertheless
hope that his
The
*
Speech
benefit
of
92
delivered
the
Society
on
for
the 10th
the Aid
of
January,
of
Indigent
I860,
Writers
at a
public
reading
and Scientists.
for
the
will
him on his
share his
accompany
wanderings?will
tour of
exploration.
be
in their
Some of my views may perchance
puzzling
uniqueness.
created by the genius of
But the poetic masterpieces
superior minds,
as well:
and endowed with an eternal vitality, have this peculiarity
of them, as of life in general, may
differ
that one's conceptions
even be
from one another's, may
diametrically
opposed,
greatly
same time be valid.
yet at the
on Hamlet
comment
Much
has already come forth, and much
more
have
varied conclusions
is still to come. What
already been
this char
reached by the numerous
scholars, who have scrutinized
as an
on the
well! Don Quixote,
acter, as unfathomable
unplumbed
of its purpose and the truly
other hand, because of the idiosyncrasy
the
of a narrative
that seems permeated
admirable
lucidity
by
of critical reac
Southern Sun, does not permit of such a diversity
audience
tion.
that our conception
of Don Quixote
It is unfortunate,
however,
too often we substitute the name of Don
be equivocal;
only
for a jester; the term quixotism
of
carries the connotation
Quixote
in reality one ought to discern Quixotism
idealistic twaddle; whereas
even
as an
of self-sacrifice,
himself
though Don Quixote
archetype
as a ludicrous
has been portrayed
figure.
the simultaneous
of the
As we have already noted,
appearance
two
cause for reflection.
two types, it
In
these
masterpieces
gives
seems to me, are embodied
two
basic tendencies,
the
contrasting
two
to
poles of the human axis about which
they revolve. All men,
one
or
one
to
to
the other;
that of Hamlet,
my mind, conform
type
another to that of Don Quixote?though
it is true, no doubt,
that
are far more common;
in our era the Hamlets
still, the Don Quixotes
are
no means hard to find.
by
or otherwise)
Let me illustrate: All men live
(consciously
by vir
tue of certain
a
certain
ideals?in
virtue
of
word,
principles,
by
so on.
what they deem true, beautiful,
take their
good, and
Many
ideals intact from
sanctioned
institutions. They
specific, historically
thrive
their lives to the vision it offers. Sometimes,
by conforming
or
driven
such a man may
stray, but he
by passion
contingency,
nor
on the
neither
doubts.
examine
such
Others,
contrary,
ponders
that may be, I can hardly
deals, sound their very depth. However
in
that with
in general the basic ideal,
go wrong
declaring
people
the groundwork
or
of life, is to be found either within
ourselves
one of us either
in some external
In
other
for
each
words,
object.
should
93
his own
or
else ranks
ego is of cardinal
something
importance,
than
ego.
higher
In rebuttal,
I may
be told that in actuality
there is no such
own
trenchant
demarcation
between
"I" and the
one's
adjacent
a
which
he
still
honors
that
more;
person may harbor
something
even
both ends, heeding now this, now the other; that
they may
to suggest that
shade into one another. But then I did not wish
are not
variation
and contradiction
in human
possible
perfectly
nature.
to indicate
two
I
attitudes
of
intended
the
polar
simply
man toward the ideal. I shall now
to set forth how, as I
attempt
see it, the two attitudes are intrinsic to the
types I have mentioned.
We
will start with Don Quixote. What
does Don Quixote
sym
bolize? Let us not be
in examining him; we must beware of
hasty
Let us not see in Don Quixote
the figure of
superficiality.
merely
to satirize the tales of medieval
It
the knight
chivalry.
designed
is now generally
the
of
this
individu
that
recognized
significance
ality has been amended by the author himself. In the second part of
as
Cervantes' work, Don Quixote
is no longer the same character
in the first, no longer the comical and ridiculed buffoon,
hounded
the delightful
blows; he has become
peer of dukes
by unstinting
and duchesses,
the erudite mentor
of the governor's
bodyguard.
Let us therefore
seek the core of the matter. To
repeat: What
a
belief
in something
first
of
does Don Quixote
all,
typify? Faith,
a
truth
is
the
that
indestructible?in
eternal,
beyond
comprehen
is to be achieved only
sion of the individual human being, which
the medium
of self-abnegation
through
is entirely permeated
Don Quixote
by
he is ready to endure untold
for which
his own life, if need be. His own life he
can serve his ideal, which
is to institute
and undeviating
worship.
an attachment
to his ideal
even to sacrifice
misery,
as it
esteems
only insofar
truth on earth.
and
justice
draws upon the fan
It may be said that his deranged
imagination
romance
for his concept. Granted?and
of chivalric
tastic world
But
the comic
that this constitutes
side of Don Quixote.
granted
live for onself, to
and intact. To
his ideal itself remains undefiled
be concerned with one's
as a
disgrace. He exists
lives for others, for his
and to outwitting
those
he regards as the enemies
There
is no vestige of
least of all, he completely
94
own
Don Quixote would
regard
ego?this
(if one may put it so) outside himself; he
evil
in the hope of neutralizing
brethren,
and giants?whom
sinister figures?sorcerers
of mankind.
own self concerns him
egotism in him; his
note
self-sacrifice?and
please
personifies
He does not probe or question; he believes,
implies!
satis
he is undaunted,
forever undismayed.
Hence,
uncomplaining,
cares he for
fied with meagre
rations and happy garments. What
Serene at heart, he is
It never even enters his mind!
exuberance?
what
this term
does not curb
in spirit superior
and valiant; his touching
piety
not arrogant, he does not distrust himself, nor
his liberty. Though
nor even his
of
is a will
his vocation,
capacity. His will
physical
one
toward
and
the
The
continuous
and
iron,
striving
unswerving.
same
tenor of his
his in
thoughts,
goal has fixed the unvarying
a scholar, he
tellect takes on a one-sided uniformity.
regards
Hardly
as
avail him to know every
What
would
it
knowledge
superfluous.
one
the main thing: he is aware of the
thing he knows,
thing? But
of
of his existence,
and this is the cornerstone
and wherefore
why
all erudition.
Don Quixote
overlooks
the
may
a total maniac,
since he often
are
in front of
directly
they
to anyone, vanish
unmistakable
at times resemble
when
plainest objects
obvious
eyes; the most
things
like wax in the fire of his knightly
before his eyes, melting
fervor;
sees
in wooden
he actually
and a host of
puppets,
living Moors
in a drove of rams; at other times he shows the limits of
knights
in trifling
of sharing
his mental
scope, by appearing
incapable
an
He
of easy
is like
amusement,
ancient,
incapable
participation.
its roots thrust into the deep layers of the
anchored
tree,
firmly
in his inability to alter his
it is unable to move,
soil, from which
or to shift from one
to another.
convictions
subject
structure
of Don Quixote's
moral
The massiveness
(it must not
errant is the most moral
be forgotten
that this distracted
knight
a
on earth)
to
creature
and stateliness
gravity
imparts
particular
or
a
In
whatever
he may
do.
his
ethical
character
word,
say
gives
an
to his whole
the preposterous
situa
figure despite
uprightness
his
into which
he is incessantly
tions and the humiliations
tumbling.
to an idea.
Don Quixote
radiant with his devotion
is an enthusiast,
all, analysis, scrutiny,
then, does Hamlet
What,
represent? Above
disbelief.
He
lives
for himself,
egotism?and
consequently
wholly
faith in himself
and even an egotist cannot muster
alone; one be
lieves
in that which
is outside or above oneself. But Hamlet's
only
to him. This
he has no faith, is still precious
is the ulti
/, in which
mate
to which
he
his soul
because
reverts,
position
invariably
to which
does not espy in the world
itself
it can
beyond
anything
a stir about himself; he
adhere. He is a skeptic, yet
he
in
is
always
95
is forever agitated,
inward affairs.
in regard not
to his
duty
to the state of his own
Hamlet
includes his own self in
Doubting
everything,
pitilessly
too fair-minded
to be contented
those doubts; he is too
thoughtful,
aware of his own
himself. Self-conscious,
with what he finds within
are. But his self
he knows
how restricted
his powers
weakness,
consciousness
itself is a force; emanating
from it is the
irony that
is
Don Quixote's
of
the
antithesis
enthusiasm.
precisely
Hamlet
his own short
inveighs against himself readily, magnifies
is
mindful
of
minutest
his
defects,
comings,
spies upon himself,
at the same time,
he thrives on this
despises himself?and
apparently,
disdain. He distrusts himself and yet is
deeply solicitous about him
nor
not
does
what
is
he lives at all, and
he
know
self;
after,
why
still firmly adheres to life.
In the second scene of the first act, he exclaims:
Oh, that this too too sullied flesh would melt
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How
stale,
weary,
Seem to me
But he will
over
brooded
the gruesome
emasculated
flat,
and
unprofitable
all the uses of this world!
not
life. He has
surrender this flat and unprofitable
suicide long before his father's ghost appears, with
a
that yields
blow to his already
message
crushing
will?yet
venture
on
self-murder
he
does
not.
His
at
on
to life is indicated
in this very meditation
it.
tachment
ending
some such
not
with
old
is
What
feeling?
acquainted
eighteen year
"When
the blood burns, how prodigal
the soul!"
us not be too
He
with Hamlet.
suffers and his
exacting
more
and
than that
intense
is
excruciating
suffering
valetudinary,
latter is belabored by rough shepherds and by
of Don Quixote. The
on the
he himself has set free. Hamlet's
convicts whom
wounds,
he vexes and
the blade with which
other hand, are self-inflicted;
Let
torments
sword of analysis.
is the double-edged
be
Quixote,
acknowledged,
really is ridiculous. His
his
likeness that any poet ever depicted. That
is the most comical
even
as a scornful nickname,
name has
into the language
passed
our own ears bear witness.
One merely
among Russian peasantry,
has to allude to his name to evoke an emaciated
figure; haunched,
Don
96
himself
it must
in tattered
attire, wierdly
gaunt,
patched,
Rosinants?a
the
wind-fed
crowbait,
spavined
tinged with ridicule.
is inconsistent. But our
Yes, Don Quixote
astride
creature
a cadaverous
evoking
pity
somehow
laughter tends
to fortitude. And if the maxim
to absolution,
reconcilement
"What you laugh at now you may one day venerate" be true, then
itmay be added, "Whomever
you have scoffed at, you have thereby
are even on the
point of loving."
forgiven,
so
is attractive. His melan
Hamlet.
His
Not
with
appearance
countenance
in
truth
he is not gaunt but
(though
choly, his pale
as his mother
"He's fat"), his black velvet garb,
observes,
portly,
turn of his
the feather in his hat, his courtly manners,
the poetic
to others,
sense of
constant
together with
superiority
speech, the
of his own self?all of this fascinates us, at
his caustic mockery
as a Hamlet,
to be
tracts us.
wishes
regarded
nobody
Everybody
as a Don Quixote,
does Pushkin address
"Hamlet Baratinsky"?thus
ever consider
No one would
his friend and contemporary.
sneering
at Hamlet,
it is all but impossible to love
and therein is his sentence:
to a
caliber can attach themselves
him.
those of Horatio's
Only
with
I shall return to this point later. All will
Hamlet.
sympathize
of
in him characteristics
him, it is evident, since nearly all identify
because he
is impossible,
their own; but to love him, I reiterate,
himself cannot love anyone.
is the son of a king whom
Let us extend our comparison. Hamlet
a brother has assassinated
in order to usurp his throne. Hamlet's
and tormenting
father emerges from the grave, from "sulphurous
to
But the son
the
fraticide.
to
Hamlet
flames,"
avenge
enjoin
and al
with
consoles
himself
vacillates,
self-reprocah,
equivocates,
he does so only incident
his stepfather,
he
kills
though
eventually
even pro
for which
is a deep psychological
ambiguity
ally. Here
But
to rebuke Shakespeare!
found critics have had the audacity
a poor man, without
old and
social connections,
Don Quixote,
to uproot all evil and to deliver the
solitary, attempts single-handed
be.
the
world, whoever
they may
throughout
persecuted
to
from
innocence
deliver
his
And what
first
if
endeavor
tyranny
refer to the
for that innocence!
redouble
(I
misery
produces
only
rescues an
scene where Don Quixote
from a pummeling
apprentice
the enraged artisan
master. Where
the liberator withdraws,
by his
on the
does it matter
Neither
inflicts a tenfold punishment
boy).
them to be menacing
the windmills,
that in assaulting
believing
comic vein on
useful objects. The
he is also demolishing
giants,
toward
97
must
not divert our attention
from the intrinsic
episodes
that
them.
when
has
been
ordained
within
it
Since
latent
meaning
and
he who
is about to sacrifice himself
should first of all weigh
measure
act
about?
his
each of the
may bring
probable consequences
to the details would
One so attentive
be incapable of the sacrifice.
armed with his
could never befall a Hamlet;
Such an experience
no
such
crude
blunders.
he
commits
astute, all-comprehending
mind,
were
never
no!
and
He
would
crusade
Oh,
they
against windmills;
he would
in actuality,
likewise
stay away from them. It
giants
never occur to Hamlet
to hold out a barber's basin while
would
he strove to convince
that itwas in truth the magic helmet
everyone
to arise
even
of Membrin.
I presume
that if truth incarnate were
these
he would
before Hamlet,
remain skeptical of its authenticity. Who
knows but that he would
it, saying perhaps that there is
challenge
no truth,
as there are no
giants?
just
at Don Quixote.
We
of us can
But, my dear sirs, who
laugh
under all
he
affirm with
and
that
will
certainty
always
positively
a brass wash
basin
between
circumstances
know
the difference
ex
golden helmet? Let everyone
conscientiously
amine his convictions,
past and present, and let him then determine
one from the other. For
how far he may be certain of knowing
of the
the real importance,
it seems to me,
lies in the persistence
as
outcome
of
in
the
hands
and
the
that
is
for
conviction
itself;
fate. It alone can reveal whether we have waged war against spectres
as it does the effectiveness
of real enemies,
of our weapons.
just
Our purpose is to arm ourselves and
fight.
and an enchanted
of the so-called
of the mob,
also is the relation
Noteworthy
In Hamlet
it is Polonius
and Don Quixote.
human race, to Hamlet
this mass.
and in Don Quixote
it is Sancho Panza who
represents
old man, although he
is an active, practical, worldy-wise
and amodel
is also bigoted and garrulous. He is a good administrator
can be noted
he admonishes
in the manner
in which
father. This
Polonius
considers
to his
his son Laertes preparatory
going abroad. Polonius
as a reckless child. If Hamlet
so much
not a monomaniac
Hamlet
were
have sneered at his
not the son of a
king, Polonius would
out his ideas. Take,
for in
in carrying
and his ineptness
frivolity
in
scene
Polonius
Hamlet
and
between
stance, the characteristic
to
at
sneer
turn
act.
old
inclined
the
is
the third
Hamlet
in
man,
our
Permit me to quote
and this incident substantiates
conjecture.
it to you:
98
Polonius: My
Hamlet:
Polonius:
Do
the queen would
Lord,
you
By
see
yonder
and
the mass,
cloud,
'tis like
speak with
that't
a camel,
almost
you,
in
shape
and presently.
of
a camel?
indeed.
Methinks
it is like a weasel.
Polonius: It is backed like a weasel.
Hamlet: Or like a whale?
Polonius: Very like a whale.
Hamlet:
Hamlet:
Then
I will
come to my mother,
by and by.
Is it not apparent from this scene that Polonius
is both a courtier
not
to
the prince and an adult who would
is obliged
please
a
fickle
Polonius
does
the
of
and
whims
oppose
boy?
deranged
not in the least take Hamlet
and in this he is right.
for granted,
he attributes Ham
Since he lacks insight, he of course errs when
to
but in
in love with Ophelia;
let's unreasonable
notions
being
nature
The
other respects he fathoms Hamlet's
quite correctly.
on the whole
are
to the
im
Hamlets
nugatory
really
people; they
are
can lead nowhere,
themselves
for
astray.
part nothing,
they
they
can one uncertain
the
of his ground guide others? Besides,
How
one does not
Hamlets
loathe the populace. When
himself,
respect
to
how can he revere anyone else? Of what value are the masses
the effort?
Is any pother
about them worth
such an individual?
of birth
Hamlet
is an aristocrat?not
Furthermore,
only by right
but also by reason of his nature.
Sancho Panza, however,
is another sort. He laughs at Don Quixote,
oc
a madman;
that
the
latter
is
still, on three consecutive
realizing
to accom
and daughter
casions he forsakes his home and his wife
and yet to
of privations,
pany this lunatic, to endure all manner
remain devoted unto death. He has faith in Don Quixote,
he is ac
who
last moments
tually proud of him; and during his master's
with
emotion.
This
and
his
devotion
bedside,
by
weeping
not be accounted
for by Sancho Panza's having expected
common
sense to be
of remuneration.
He has too much
he kneels
zeal can
any sort
deluded;
an occa
that
aside
from
discomfort
and
perfectly
sional drubbing
there will be no tangible
One has
compensation.
to
source of his attachment.
cause lies
for
the
The
probe deeper
to follow
in the pre-eminent
of the masses
and
tendency
blindly
are also conversant
whole
heartedly
unfortunately
(though
they
with negative
emotional
for
factors) ; it comes from their capacity
a
which
from
that
of
enthusiasm,
poor
ignoring
personal benefits,
man tosses out as he does his crust of bread. This
is the universal
he knows
well
99
and historic
of the masses! They
conclude
behavior
by
generally
whom
in complete
faith
those
they originally
following
despised,
stones and otherwise
whom
tormented. The van
they pelted with
are driven onward
undaunted
by neither reaction,
guard, however,
fixed
their
inward
dis
vision,
upon the nebulous
undeviatingly,
by
tance, now rising, now falling, until the goal is at last attained. And
is impelled by the dictates of the heart arrives
indeed, only he who
at his destination.
du coeur,"
said
"Les grandes pens?es viennent
invent nothing
and leave
But the Hamlets
find nothing,
Vovenaque.
no trace, but the
own
their
of
vestiges
personality?no
sign of any
can
not love or believe;
influence.
do
ergo, what
lasting
They
to
two
in
find?
Even
of
(not
they
chemistry
speak
organic nature)
must combine
a third; but the Ham
in order to
ingredients
produce
about themselves
lets are forever alone, apprehensive
and therefore
sterile.
One
love
"What of Ophelia?
Doesn't Hamlet
may
interpolate:
on Don Quixote's
Let me touch on this, and
incidentally
women
as well. The attitudes of these two
Dulcinea,
types toward
are also
an
nonexistent
Don
loves
Quixote
imaginary,
significant.
Dulcinea
the words
and is ready to give his life for her. Recall
over him
to his conqueror while
he
which
the
latter
stood
spoke
with unsheathed
but let not my languor
sword. "Stab me, Sir Knight,
detract from the fame and glory of my Dulcinea;
I still maintain
on earth."
that she is the
of
beauty
perfection
not
Don Quixote
loves ideally, chastely?so
ideally that he does
that the object of his passion does not exist; so chastely
discover
a coarse
that when his Dulcinea
appears before him in the guise of
he doubts his own eyesight and supposes
and filthy peasant woman,
sorcerers.
her transformed
by evil
individuals
life's
I, too, have encountered
wanderings
During my
or
for some
who
for
nonexistent
their
lives
Dulcineas,
gave up
the
other
incarnation
that
became
for
them
loathsome object,
crude,
her?"
of their ideal, and those whose metamorphosis
they likewise ascribed
to evil
and
said,
circumstances,
nearly
contingencies,
persons?I
those types shall have
evil forces. I have witnessed
this, and when
from the world,
then let the book of history be closed;
vanished
there will remain in it nothing worth
reading.
All his
There
is no wantonness
whatsoever
in Don Quixote.
are modest
and deep in his heart there is in
and
innocent;
thoughts
fact not much hope of his ever uniting with Dulcinea;
indeed, he
fears such a meeting!
100
can he
love? Is is
for Hamlet,
actually
possible that his ironic
most
all
the
of
critics of
human soul, has in
creator, the
profound
deed resolved to endow this egotist, this skeptic, with
the power to
so
much
has absorbed
of the corrosive
love?him who
poison of
not contradict
himself
this wise,
did
in
Shakespeare
self-analysis?
himself that this Ham
and the curious reader can easily convince
not love, but
let?who
is sensual and even sybaritic?does
merely
As
and that,
pretends,
courtier Rosencrantz
It is noteworthy
that the
too, ineffectually.
remarks that he is weary
smiles when Hamlet
to this love-trait.
In the
of women,
himself
testifies
Shakespeare
first scene of the third act, Hamlet
declares to Ophelia:
I did love you once.
Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.
Ophelia:
Hamlet: You should not have believed me. I loved you not.
Hamlet:
nearer
And when Hamlet
the last
pronounces
phrase, he is much
the truth than he can
admit. His feelings for
who
is
quite
Ophelia,
even
are
note
either
the
im
dubious
virtuous,
(I
saintly,
cynical
scene he
to be allowed
to
in the mouse-trap
plication when
begs
or
scene
lie in her
in
with
the
her brother
(as
lap),
hyperbolic
into
trite
Laertes, when Hamlet
grave,
leaps
Ophelia's
asserting
thousand
with
brothers
their
could
all
not,
phrases, "Forty
quantity
of love, make up my sum. Let them throw millions
of acres on us!").
are for him
his relations with
Ophelia
in
he
himself.
When
exclaims,
engrossed
All
Nymph,
Be all my
here again are echoed
of his own weakness,
before
But
only
his
in
only
a form
of
being
orisons
thy
sins remembered
the
of his helplessness,
deep consciousness
to love. He
is overwhelmed
incapacity
her virtuous
let us dwell
chastity.
no
on the
longer
shady aspect of the Hamlet
which
discussion
are so
because
type,
provoke
they
readily grasped.
Let us
the
in him, the part that en
element
acknowledge
positive
dures. In Hamlet
is embodied
the creed of
that same creed
negation,
which
another great poet has
in
the
of
portrayed
shape
Mephistoph
him of
human. Hamlet
is the
eles, depriving
everything
purely
of
the
circle
of
human
counterpart
Mephistopheles,
plus
per
living
his doctrine
of negation
is not, like that of
sonality. Therefore
an evil force, but on the
is aimed
Mephistopheles,
contrary,
against
evil. Hamlet's
of
is
of
the
spirit
negation
skeptical
good, but it is
101
certain
of the existence
of evil, and militates
against it
or
somehow
he
has mis
other;
constantly.
about
the
it
truth
and
when
contains;
givings
he assails the
he
to
it
is
because
surmises
be
it
good
camouflage,
under whose
old enemies?are
concealed.
guise evil and sham?his
Hamlet
does not laugh with
the demoniacal,
icy laughter of Mephi
a
his
bitter
smile
sorrow
is
with
stopheles;
permeated
touching
that betrays his agony, and this fact reconciles us to him. His
skepti
cism has in it the strain of indifference,
and hence his significance
and merit;
the beautiful
and
good and evil, truth and falsehood,
are not blended
one fortuitous mute
the
into
and
blunt
repulsive
at war with
Hamlet's
is unceasingly
false
nondescript.
skepticism
hood and
while
the
of
truth's
lying; thus,
disbelieving
possibility
one of the chief vindicators
realization now or ever, he becomes
of
a truth which
he himself does not
fully accept.
as there is in fire, a
But in the
of negation
there is,
spirit
just
can
one
destructive
confine this force within
force; and how
given
is so
it should halt, when what
it destroys,
limits, or say where
one
often inextricable
from what
would
is where
preserve? That
we
the
human
wherever
side
of
life;
perceive
tragic
frequently
and
action, there is a divorce between
thought
thinking precedes
tend more and more to be isolated from each other.
will, which
indubitably
The
good he mistrusts,
the genuineness
of
And
thus
the
native
hue
of
a resolution
Is sicklied o'er by the pale cast of thought,
on the one hand there
as
says through Hamlet. And so,
Shakespeare
are the Hamlets?meditative,
often
yet
all-discerning,
scrupulous,
to inaction, and on the
at the same time ineffective
and condemned
other hand the half-frantic Don Quixotes, who aid and urge forward
one
and know
the human race solely because
they behold
only
as
as not, does not even exist in the form
they
likely
thing?a
thing
one
comes
be
A
up: Must
actually
reluctantly
imagine.
question
to believe
there is such a thing as truth? Or is it pos
demented
loses all its force as soon as it is in control of
sible that the mind
itself?
to attempt to solve these
It would
be useless digression
problems
to
even
in
remark
that in this dichotomy,
it
Suffice
superficially.
a
to
we
must
law
basic
the above-mentioned
dualism,
recognize
reconcilia
in reality of perpetual
all human life. That
life consists
two
two
tion of
forces,
unremittingly
contending
perpetually
opposites.
102
If it were
not
for the risk of overwhelming
listeners with
my
venture
to say that the Ham
I would
nomenclature,
philosophical
in the dynamics
lets are the expression
of that tendency
of nature
the centre of
it were
for every living being to behave as though
all else as a thing made solely for its own sake.
creation, regarding
on the forehead
the
that
of Alexander
the
Thus,
alighted
midge
Great
feasted on his blood with
the complete
self-assurance
of a
treats
entitled to do just that. And thus Hamlet,
though he
being
himself with
disdain
the scope of the midge,
(an attitude beyond
to a
also
has not evolved
which
comparable
degree of intelligence)
sees himself as creation's centre and all else in the universe as con
on him.
verging
natural
Without
this tendency?without
the force of egotism?the
more
than
without
it
could
world
could not function,
that
any
toward altruism, accord
equally potent force, the innate tendency
to whose
to exist
law all that matters
is
entirely for others. This
ing
seen in a
devotion
and
this
drive
toward
self-immolation,
principle,
the
earth.
Don
comic light, is symbolized
of
this
Quixotes
by
two forces of
and motion,
conservatism
and
These
immobility
are the fundamental
are
matter.
all
levers
of
progress,
existing
They
meanest
in the
the
that
of
flower
blows; they
burgeoning
implicit
are the
and that give
the secrets of evolution,
key that will unlock
have
the most
virile nations
into the process whereby
insight
us
on
not
which
in
But
let
dwell
such
evolved.
any
conjectures,
case are
the scope of our theme.
beyond
is generally
As everyone
considered
the most
knows, Hamlet
to those
works.
This
of
belongs
tragedy
Shakespeare's
popular
are
a theatre whenever
The
that
fill
masterpieces
they
performed.
understandable
when we consider the current wide
is
phenomenon
and self
toward
self-consciousness,
meditation,
spread tendency
which
this work
doubt. But apart from the
with
exquisiteness
the most
of the modern
abounds, being perhaps
striking product
one cannot but wonder
at the intellect of the author?himself
spirit,
to some extent the prototype
of his own Hamlet?which,
through
for suc
the unbridled
force of creative genius, gave this archetype
to
study.
ceeding generations
that
The
created
this paragon
is the spirit of a Northern
spirit
a
and
and bewildered
reflective
man,
analytical,
brooding
spirit,
or Southern
of
in
either
exuberance,
incapable
lacking
harmony
a
effect through its
chiseled classical elegance but producing
deeper
and
From
the depths of his soul he
very diversity
eccentricity.
103
the Hamlet
type, and evinced by this very procedure
as in other
of
poetry,
aspects of human life, he
sphere
towers above his
it so thoroughly.
species because he understands
The person of Don Quixote
reflects the spirit of the Southerner,
sensitive?one
who
does not delve
into
modest,
genial, buoyant,
life's riddles, who has no conception
of the tidal extent of life, or
Here
I cannot refrain from a
reflects all its isolated
phenomena.
or at least from em
of Shakespeare
and Cervantes,
comparison
differ
and
wherein
those
wherein
aspects
they
they agree.
phasizing
a
can one draw
some one may
demand.
How
comparison?
a
is
True
But
neither
colossus,
demigod!
enough.
Shakespeare?a
a
is
he
the
titan
who
created
Lear:
beside
Cervantes
King
midget
a man is
to
no dwarf but a normal,
and
man,
privileged
full-grown
can be no
stand upright even in the presence of a demigod. There
an
and
endowed
with
doubt
that Shakespeare,
puissant
opulent
and an in
the radiance of a masterful
poetic gift
imagination, with
not beside him.
intellect, is a giant beside Cervantes?and
comparable
novel any labored
this: you will not find in Cervantes'
But mark
or affected
illustrations,
humor, or simulated
dialogue; neither will
out eyes,
the
encounter
works
the
his
in
you
beheadings,
plucked
steeled atrocities, which were
the rivers of gore,
the deliberately
that
the barbarism
of the Middle
the savage inheritance
Ages,
nature. And
it
from the rigid Northern
retreated
only gradually
lived at
like Shakespeare,
that Cervantes
should be borne in mind
that even for many
the time of St. Bartholomew's
Eve,
years
to be burned at the stake, while
the
continued
thereafter heretics
ever
be
will
whether
it
knows
flow
of blood
(who
persisted
are
the
in
in
Don
Middle
The
Quixote
staunched?).
depicted
Ages
the winsome
and through
portraiture
poetry,
guise of provincial
so
and to
Cervantes
of those romances which
ridiculed,
gaily
romance
and
of Persiles
he later on added the chivalric
which
has wrested
that in the
Sigismunda.
and
in heaven
from
takes his design
everything
Shakespeare
his
is denied him, nothing
gaze;
earth; nothing
escapes
penetrating
an invincible
his subject matter with
he
commanding
up
plucks
on the other
an
upon its prey. Cervantes,
sweep of
eagle pouncing
as a
to the reader tenderly,
hand, presents his character
quietly,
near
him
is
what
his children, he garners only from
father would
the invincible
he is at home. Before
but that is also where
spirit
seems to
human
that
is
of the English
yield,
poet
everything
from his own
is derived
of Cervantes
the wealth
whereas
solely
104
heart?a
heart
that is warm,
genial
in vain was
and rich with
experience
yet not
for seven
Cervantes
imprisoned
as
he himself relates, he
since
that
time,
during
long years,
acquired
is narrower
of patience. The
the discipline
range of his mastery
that range is reflected
all that is
but within
than Shakespeare's,
common
to human nature. Cervantes
does not dazzle with
light
not stun with
the fervor of his zeal; his poetry
ning idioms; he does
is in no way
akin to Shakespeare's,
is at times a turbulent
which
scenes; and
sea, but is, rather, a deep flowing
through
tranquility
its
in and
translucent
the reader, drawn
waters,
by
encompassed
charm.
with
the current,
its
drifts
truly epic
willingly
enjoying
sees a further
in that these two con
The
imagination
symbolism
on
the same day?April
26, 1616.
poets died
temporaneous
precisely
unaware
that a "Shakespeare"
Cervantes was probably
existed; but
the
well have
his
life
three
of
last
the
years
tragedian may
during
an
then
in
existed
which
read the far-famed
novel,
by
English
abode.
It would
be a
in the seclusion
of his Stratford
version,
an
scene
the
brush
of
of
artist-philosopher;
Shakespeare
worthy
that give us such
Don Quixotel
Blessed are those countries
reading
to follow!
and of the generations
men, teachers of their fellowmen
crown
of the man of
the memory
For the
laurels that
unfading
adorn the land of his birth.
genius likewise
me to
a
this brief essay with
In conclusion,
supplement
permit
in such
An English
few scattered observations.
lord, a connoisseur
as the per
to Don Quixote
once in my presence
matters
referred
fect gentleman. And indeed he may well be called that. If simplicity
are the criterion
of a gentleman,
then
behavior
and unobtrusive
is an authentic
the title. He
well
deserves
Don Quixote
hidalgo,
become
callous. Not
servants of the
the fun-loving
and he remains so even when
prince
is
of his deportment
The
lather his face over-much.
simplicity
as I
and not to self
best
due to his selflessness,
it,
might
phrase
and since
is not forever preoccupied,
Don Quixote
glorification.
as others,
to
as well
it never enters his mind
he respects himself
manner.
But Hamlet,
for all his courtly eti
behave in a supercilious
French
the
to
have?if
expression?
appears
quette,
you'll
pardon
a mocker. To com
a
and
et
he
is
showoff
airs
des
de
parvenue:
Ay
ex
an
he is endowed with
original vigor of
pensate for this flaw,
can
and dynamic
such as only a reflective
personality
pression,
inad
is something
which
in a Don Quixote
boast?and
altogether
of
missible. The depth and astuteness of Hamlet's
power
analysis,
(one must not forget that he
schooling
together with his versatile
105
studied at the
of Wittenberg),
in him
have
University
produced
an
a
taste. He
to
actors
is
counsel
the
his
exceptional
good critic;
sense
as
is
is
apt and discreet; his esthetic
surprisingly
conspicuous
Don Quixote.
in him as is the sense of
in
duty
mon
Don Quixote
all established
honors
institutions,
religions,
archs and princes, at the same time
feeling free himself and respect
on the
the
freedom
others.
of
Hamlet,
contrary,
ing
reprimands
and
but
is
himself
and tyrannical.
courtiers,
kings
bigoted
Don Quixote
in all probability
is almost illiterate; Hamlet
keeps
a
as Don Quixote
he has settled
unlearned
is,
diary. Though
opinion
can
Hamlet
about government
affairs and public
administration;
not spare the time, nor does he wish
to dabble in such
things.
for having buffeted Don
Cervantes
has been severely criticized
so many
with
I have already noted
blows.
that in the
Quixote
at all. Now
I wish
second part of the novel he is hardly belabored
as it is,
to add that without
the children who,
such drubbings
not take to him
of his journeys, would
swallow all the descriptions
so
to escape all the pum
even for us adults, were
and
he
readily,
not emerge
but would
in his true
he would
perspective,
melings,
run counter to his nature.
seem cold and remote?and
that would
I have
that in the second part he is no longer
just repeated
the end of the novel,
that toward
persecuted?except
physically
at the hands of the
defeat
after Don Quixote's
Knight
complete
after the masked
of theWhite
student, after the relinquishing
Moon,
and just before his death, a drove of swine charge
of his knighthood,
and trample him. I once heard Cervantes
rebuked for his rehashing
remember
of the old witticisms
of the first part. But one must
his
the
instinct
of
that here, too, the poet was governed
genius:
by
The Don Quixotes
this sordid episode holds a deep significance.
have to go through with being trampled by
of the world
always
must
in their last days. This
it
is the final ransom
and
swine,
happen
. . .This
to
to
human
and
fate,
misunderstanding.
they pay
apathy
to
are
die. They
is the slap dealt by the Pharisee. Then
ready
they
im
then have achieved
have come through the fires of purgatory,
now opens its
to receive them.
portals
mortality?that
the fate he prepares for the
Hamlet
is sometimes ruthless. Recall
to
two courtiers
read his oration
the king has despatched
England,
on Polonius, whom
he himself has assassinated. To us this is an addi
re
have only recently
of the Middle
reflection
Ages which
we are
to see in Don
from our view. Then
again,
obliged
an incli
to half-conscious
also an inclination
self-delusion;
Quixote
tional
ceded
106
to the enthusiast's
imagination. His de
always conforming
cave of Montesinos
was
he
of
what
witnessed
in
the
scription
not at all mislead
astute
and
did
the
contrived
himself,
by
patently
Panza.
plebeian Sancho
over trifles,
Hamlet
in discouragement
Furthermore,
grumbles
he is thwarted; while Don Quixote,
whenever
beaten by galley
in his
slaves until he is hardly able to move,
is not deterred
hope of
A story of a similar vein has it that for years
ultimate
triumph.
a certain
Fourier went
of meeting
Englishman
daily in expectation
a
to
he was pleading
with whom
the
newspapers
give him
through
as can be
million
francs in support of his plans?and who,
easily
surmised, never appeared. This is absurd, of course. But it occurs to
me that ancient
believed their gods to be jealous,
peoples commonly
to be
and that during reverses they
always demanding
something,
were wont
to make amends
sacrifices
such as Poly
by voluntary
we not infer
crates'
the ring into the sea. Therefore,
might
flinging
that what appears farcial in the actions and character of those bent
on
a
to mankind,
is but a tribute offered
signal service
performing
eccen
to
the
Without
this mirth-provoking,
placate
angered gods?
tric vanguard,
be unthinkable
and the reflective
progress would
to
have nothing
about.
Hamlets would
philosophize
To repeat: the Don Quixotes
invent; the Hamlets
exploit what
has been invented. Someone may ask, how can the Hamlets
exploit
and believe no one?
anything when
they doubt everything
My reply
is that nature administers our earth so adroitly as to
permit neither
nor
are
Hamlets
Don Quixotes.
These
thoroughgoing
full-fledged
extreme
two
of
the
tendencies.
Life
simply
expressions
opposite
steers toward one or the other of these extremes, but never reaches
to remember
etiher of them. It is well
of
that, just as the principle
and
of
into
is
extended
analysis,
scrutinizing
probing
everything,
to the limit of
so in Don Quixote
inHamlet
enthusiasm
is
tragedy,
to the
one seldom
In
order
of
stampeded
opposite
comedy.
reality
meets with
or utter
either unalloyed
comedy
tragedy.
a
esteem Hamlet
more because of Horatio's
We
devo
good deal
tion to him. The
encoun
latter type of personality
is frequently
we have
tered in our midst
and enhances our
In Horatio
prestige.
the type of the adherent,
sense
the
in the supreme
of the
disciple
a
word. He has a resolute and
character,
undeviating
quick heart
and rather limited logic; he is conscious
of all his
and
imperfections
rare occurrence
therefore unassuming?a
in
of
this
category.
people
He
thirsts for
is eager to learn, and therefore
idolizes
knowledge,
nation
107
to him heart and soul, with
he becomes devoted
the astute Hamlet;
out
return.
in
He submits to the dictates of Hamlet
asking anything
as to those of a
not as to those of a
far-sighted
prince, but rather
momentous
render
chieftain. One of the
services that the Hamlets
can be ascribed to their contribution
toward the
of
such
maturity
nur
individuals as Horatio?who
welcome
the need of meditation,
it throughout
hearts, and disseminating
turing it in their glorious
honors Horatio's
the world. The words
in which Hamlet
sterling
In them he sets forth an exalted con
worth
add dignity to himself.
no
animus can
cept of man, of his high possibilities which
skeptical
shake. He addresses Horatio:
Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice
And could of men distinguish, her election
Hath seal'd thee for herself; for thou hast been
As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing,
A man that Fortune's buffets and rewards
Hast
ta'en
with
thanks:
equal
and
blest
are
those
blood and judgment are sowell commingled,
Whose
That they are not a pipe for Fortune's finger
To
sound
In my
As
what
stop
she
heart's
core,
please.
me
Give
that man
slave, and I will wear
is not passion's
That
ay,
in my
heart
of
him
hearts,
I do thee.
The
the
upright
skeptic invariably respects the staunch believer,
the ancient word
Stoic. When
thus
in
every
disintegrated?and
of the highest rank took refuge in Stoic
comparable
epoch?people
in a time of
ism, as the only means of sustaining human dignity
to face death, to embark
who were
crisis. The
impotent
skeptics
no traveller
bourne
for "the undiscovered
from whose
country
as
to
is
reverted
This
returns,"
Epicureanism.
pathetic
phenomenon
as it is well known.
end their lives in a moving way;
Both Hamlet
and Don Quixote
are
a
even
contrast
last words
in this finale: Hamlet's
still, what
to
Horatio
fate, bids
quiet, resigns himself
impressive. He grows
in favor of the young prince
farewell and declares from his deathbed
his right to
who
has not desecrated
the heir-apparent
Fortinbras,
ahead.
succession. But his gaze is no longer directed
as he is about to
"The rest is silence," says the expiring
skeptic
be hushed forever.
Don
Right
108
Quixote's
then and
death
there
inspire
everyone
a certain
terseness.
soul with
esteems
this
and
recognizes
fully
one's
character.
Don Quixote's
of consolation
by way
into knight
of their intended
journey
When
footman
speaks
the moribund
knight
former
errantry,
replies:
it is all over now,
No,
everyone's
Quixote,
or Alonzo
pardon;
I am once
and I beg
I am
no more
more
as
el Bueno,
Don
Alonzo,
simply
I was
nicknamed.
to this nickname
work
is a striking one. The mere reference
on the
the first and last time leaves an indelible
impression
in the face of
reader. Yes, this single phrase still has significance
shall pass, everything
death. Everything
vanish?rank,
power, genius
shall crumble to dust. . . .
?everything
This
for
All the grandeur of the earth
Like to smoke dissipates?
But good deeds
most
ing than the
shall not dissipate
radiant beauty:
in smoke;
they
are more
endur
'All things shall pass,' saith the
Apostle,
'Love
alone
shall
abide.'
to add. I shall consider
fortunate
if by an
myself
of the two fundamental
indication
directions
of the human
spirit,
I have
which
of before you, I have aroused certain
thoughts
spoken
not agree with mine.
which
I
within
you?thoughts
perhaps may
if I have, even
shall deem myself
fortunate
fulfilled
approximately,
and have not wearied your kind attention.
the task I have set myself,
There
is nothing
109