What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine Don Quixote as a direct work of political theory by analyzing how its narrative structure illustrates the necessity and fragility of contested political judgment.

August 19, 2026LiteratureOpen Access

Miguel de Cervantes as Political Theorist: The Narrative Politics of Don Quixote

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PPPhillip PinellFlorida State University

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Implication

Textual analysis demonstrates how narrative instability informs political judgment in early modern Iberia, suggesting authority relies on plural interpretation rather than unified truth.

Key Points

To examine Don Quixote as a direct work of political theory by analyzing how its narrative structure illustrates the necessity and fragility of contested political judgment.
Applied Paul Ricœur's frameworks of narrative configuration and narrative identity to define the concept of 'narrative politics'.
Conducted textual analysis of formal literary devices, including unstable narrators, competing sources, and the framing of a Moorish chronicler.
Analyzed two key case studies: the interpolated tale 'El curioso impertinente' and the metafictional opening of Part II.
Demonstrated that 'El curioso impertinente' illustrates how the pursuit of absolute epistemic certainty through rationalist methods erodes the foundational trust required for social and political life.
Showed that the metafictional opening of Part II exposes the inherent instability of narrative authority when confronted with competing interpretations.
Established that Cervantes models early modern political judgment as an inherently plural, interpretive activity rather than the application of an uncontested, singular framework.

Cite This Study

Phillip Pinell (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8563eb03308d306e2d755a https://doi.org/10.3390/literature6030020

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Implication

Textual analysis demonstrates how narrative instability informs political judgment in early modern Iberia, suggesting authority relies on plural interpretation rather than unified truth.

Miguel de Cervantes as Political Theorist: The Narrative Politics of Don Quixote

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Miguel de Cervantes as Political Theorist: The Narrative Politics of Don Quixote

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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