Focus of the scholarly article: Cervantes’s depiction of women in his novel, Don Quixote, especially the characters of Marcela and Zoraida.

Search String in MLA bibliography database: Cervantes and women

Scholarly Article:

Vollendorf, Lisa. “Cervantes and His Women Readers.” Romance Quarterly  60.4 (Fall 2005): 312-327.

Vollendorf’s main points:

1)      Marcela is the opposite of the traditional female character. Traditionally, women were not to participate in certain professions such as authors, artists, managing business, etc..

2)      Marcela overcame the male dominance in their language and narrative-depiction of women. The profession of narrative and storytelling lay with the males; women were prohibited from this profession. She knew how men depicted her in their stories and because of this was able to illustrate through her own stories how she truly was. She was able to instill within the reader the sense of the author wanting his contemporaries to depict women, as they should be depicted not how they appear or seem to be.

3)      Zoraida’s relationship in regards to her father parallels the relations between the Christian and Muslim religions. Zoraida is a chaste young Muslim woman whom steals from her father and instills wealth upon a Christian slave so that they both can become free and seek safety within the borders of Catholic Spain. It would be reprehensible for her to steal from her father, but also disloyalty to her father and religion to seek protection and safety within Catholic Spain. After all, Catholics and Muslims do not agree on many issues.

4)      Cervantes’s placement of a woman at the center of the captives’ tale promotes a gender-focused narrative unusual for the time. This gender-focused narrative differs from that of its predecessors because women were generally not seen as the main characters. The men were often depicted as and seen as more important than the women. Women were inferior to men and not given the proper roles they deserved.

5)      Cervantes has criticized the ideology of purity of blood- to maintain sexual chastity and primogeniture. Cervantes wanted to illustrate the impact this sense of blood purity had on women. He saw that the pressure on women to complete this role was immense. He wanted others to see that blood purity was not the sole importance in further developing their lives.

à [Include a quotation from the scholar that you think significant, here or at the top.]

My Response:

I agree with Lisa Vollendorf on the points she presents throughout this article. As I read it, I found myself thinking that the character Marcela is an illustration of the new period in history that was slowly unfolding. I concur that she opposes the traditional character of women depicted in stories. Women were prohibited from the many professions that only men could do, such as those in business, literary arts, fine arts, and in founding convents. Women were not seen as equal to men legally and as such were considered as unable to properly carry out the duties these kinds of professions required. In addition, I agree that Zoraida and her father’s hostilities towards each other mirror those between the Christian and Muslim religions. Overall, I found myself agreeing completely with the topics presented in this article and look forward to researching another writer’s work in regards to women and their depiction in literature.