During a recent
sojourn in sunnier climes, I set out to read the first part of Don Quijote in
the original version. It was hard going
at times, but what struck me was the timelessness of some themes in literature.
I mean, here is a
man who is madder than a box of frogs, with his head stuffed full of a
romanticised and largely fictional view of past glories and who believes that
he can relive those glories in what was – to him – the ‘modern’ age. Even when the facts are carefully spelled out
to him – Sancho told him that that ‘giant’ was a windmill before he went and
attacked it – he refuses to accept facts that clash with his carefully constructed
concept of how things should be, and acts on the basis of his beliefs
instead. He invariably comes off worst
from all his adventures but presents them all as great triumphs and/or blames
his evil enemies for using trickery and magic against him.
My question is
this – how did Cervantes manage to paint such a brilliant picture of the
average Brexiteer politician 400 years before the EU even existed?
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