The Female Quixote is a work written by Charlotte Lennox in the mid-18th century. In it, the author makes an imitation of Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It belongs to a period in which satire, romance and the novel, were not well differentiated. Thus, in this novel, the former romantic genre and traditional forms are challenged. Nonetheless, it is influenced by past genres, and as a result, it is a literary contrasting. genre. Therefore, The Female Quixote is a mixture of several genres among which stand out as parody and satire, realism and sentimentalism, as well as romance and the novel. Comment by Microsoft Office User: These are not all genres, but also modes.
This novelplay is both a parody and a satire. On the one hand, the character of Arabella is an imitation of Don Quixote, but at the same time, the author uses humour to make the audience think over about the Victorian!!!!! society and to criticize the old “Books of Chivalry”. For instance, both characters share the hobby of spending time immersed in their chivalricavalry readings, and both stories have commentaries from the narrator at the beginning of each chapter or metaliterary disquisitions (Caballero 89-90). On the other hand, there is a continuous struggle between the ancient romances represented by Arabella and the modern fiction or culture personified by the remaining characters. Romances are Comment by Microsoft Office User: Do you mean the novel is a parody of Cervantes? Or is it really a parody of Arabella’s romances? criticized by the new society, since Arabella and her readings are mocked, seen as absurd, fanciful, unintelligible, and extravagant. Controversially, Lennox criticises her own claims about the Victorian society when Arabella travels to London and finds the leisure and conversations of the other characters tasteless, boring, and meaningless. Comment by Microsoft Office User: Give me actual examples from the novel Comment by Microsoft Office User: You skip from the critique to romances to Lennox’s satire. You need to work on your organization Comment by Microsoft Office User: Atheanys, the Victorian era starts almost a century later
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Moreover, in this book are also mixed realistic and sentimental features. It is influenced by the ancient??? realism, because, for example, the main character has agency over the events, they are presented in a mannerist structure and there it can be found debates among the characters (e.g. the dialectic from the last pages of the book between the doctor and Arabella) or metadiegetic stories (Sir. George’s adventure narrative). But also, it shares characteristics of the sentimental novel, because in the story there are narrated the adventures and misadventures of the two main lovers, who depicts the Platonic ideal of courtly love. For example, Glandville must overcome many obstacles before getting the love of his perfect lady. They are separated by a trap set by Sir. George, and Arabella changes her personality, from strong to weak, due to the lovesickness caused by Glandville. Comment by Microsoft Office User: You need to organize your (otherwise) interesting ideas
Likewise, this workplay is a both a novel and a romance. It is a novel, because it is written in prose, it is very extensive, it is about a fictional story with a complex plot and its characters are highly developed psychologically. However, the author falls into the writing of a romance by wanting to satirize this genre, so it is very difficult to define a separation between them. Hence, through the many heroic French romances, such as the works of Mademoiselle de Scudéry, and the Arabella's wWorldview, the story becomes a romance. Furthermore, the lady Arabella, is described as a divine character, unattainable, admired by all, superior to the other ladies in virtues, beauty, elegance, refined manners, and intelligence, among others. But also, the used language is very ornamental and rhetorical. Comment by Microsoft Office User: Sources or your own support from the text
Works Cited:
- Caballero, Juan de Dios Torralbo. '“Borrowed from Cervantes”: Imitatio and inventio in Lennox's The Female Quixote.' Ambigua: Revista de Investigaciones sobre Género y Estudios Culturales 3 (2016): 85-103.
- Lennox, Charlotte. The Female Quixote. Amanda Gilroy & Wil Verhoeven (eds.). London: Penguin, 2006.
- Neimneh, Shadi. 'Genre Reconsidered: Charlotte Lennox’s The Female Quixote.' Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 6.4 (2015): 498-498. Comment by Microsoft Office User: Where are the references to this? Are your ideas yours or borrowed from this paper?
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