Church History
History of the Church of Christ, from Daniel Rops: the 10 volume guide
From the Roman Empire to the Second Vatican Council: what each of the ten volumes covers and where to start reading Daniel Rops.
Literature and philosophy
Don Quixote, Part 2: summary and analysis
Summary and analysis of Don Quixote, Part Two, by Cervantes: metafiction, the Baratarian Island, the defeat in Barcelona and why the hero dies of reason.
Literature
What is metafiction?
Metafiction is fiction that knows it is fiction and uses that as its subject matter. The concept explained and why Don Quixote is its first great example.
Philosophy
What is Ortega y Gasset's perspectivism?
Ortega y Gasset's perspectivism: truth is seen from an angle, without falling into relativism. The lion scene from Don Quixote as an example.
Philosophy
I am me and my circumstance
Ortega y Gasset's phrase explained: there is no isolated self, always situated in a circumstance. The origin, meaning and connection with Don Quixote.
History and literature
Who was Avellaneda, the author of the false Quixote?
In 1614, an unauthorized continuation of Don Quixote was released, written by Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda. Who was he and how did Cervantes respond.
Literature
Who is Alonso Quijano?
Alonso Quijano is the nobleman who becomes Don Quixote and who returns to being himself at the end. Who is the man behind the knight and why does it matter.
Literature and politics
The Baratária Island and Sancho's government
The Dukes give Sancho Panza a fake island to laugh at him. But the squire rules wisely. The Baratária Ísula episode explained.
Literature
The lion episode in Don Quixote
Don Quixote challenges a lion that just yawns and lies down. The episode with the lions and why the hero declares himself the winner even without combat.
Literature
Clavileño: the flying wooden horse
Clavileño is the wooden horse on which Don Quixote and Sancho, blindfolded, believe they are flying. The episode and what it reveals about the illusion.
Literature
Who is the Knight of the White Moon?
The Knight of the White Moon defeats Don Quixote and forces him to abandon his cavalry. Who is behind the armor and why this defeat kills him.
Comparative literature
The Idiot, Dostoevsky's Russian Don Quixote
Dostoevsky called Prince Myshkin his Russian Don Quixote. The parallel between The Idiot and Don Quixote: radical kindness in a cynical world.
Literature and philosophy
One, None and One Hundred Thousand and identity
In Pirandello, Vitangelo Moscarda discovers that he is not one, but a hundred thousand. The parallel with Don Quixote and the question about who we are to others.