Why should you read "Don Quixote"? - Ilan Stavans

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

Mounting his skinny steed,

Jašući na svom mršavom pastuvu,

the protagonist of Don Quixote

glavni lik „Don Kihota“

charges an army of giants.

juriša na armiju džinova.

In his eyes, it is his duty

U njegovim očima, njegova je dužnost

to vanquish these behemoths

da savlada ova čudovišta

in the name of his beloved lady, Dulcinea.

u ime njegove ljubljene dame Dulsineje.

However, this act of valor is ill conceived.

Međutim, sam čin junaštva je rđavo skrojen.

As his squire Sancho Panza explains to him

Kao što mu njegov štitonoša Sančo Pansa objašnjava iznova i iznova,

time and again, these aren’t giants;

to nisu džinovi:

they are merely windmills.

to su samo vetrenjače.

Don Quixote is undeterred,

Don Kihot je odlučan,

but his piercing lance

ali njegovo oštro koplje

is soon caught in their sails.

je uskoro uhvaćeno u njihovim jedrima.

Never discouraged,

Nikad obeshrabren,

the knight stands proudly, and becomes

vitez ponosno stoji

even more convinced of his mission.

i postaje čak i ubeđeniji u svoju misiju.

This sequence encapsulates

Ova epizoda sadrži sve što volimo kod Don Kihota:

much of what is loved about Don Quixote,

the epic, illogical, and soulful tale of

epsku, nelogičnu priču s dušom

Alonso Quijano,

o Alonsu Kihanu

who becomes the clumsy but valiant

koji postaje smotani, ali hrabri

Don Quixote of la Mancha, known as

Don Kihot od Manče,

poznat kao Vitez Tužnog Lika.

the Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance.

Originally published in two volumes,

Prvobitno objavljen u dva toma,

the narrative follows Don Quixote

pripovedanje prati Don Kihota

as he travels through central and northern Spain

dok putuje kroz centralnu i severnu Španiju,

fighting the forces of evil.

boreći se protiv sila zla.

Despite Don Quixote’s lofty imagination,

Uprkos Don Kihotovoj bujnoj mašti,

his creator, Miguel de Cervantes,

njegov tvorac, Migel de Servantes,

could never have imagined his book would

nije mogao ni da zamisli da će njegova knjiga

become the best-selling novel of all time.

da postane najprodavaniji roman svih vremena.

Barring 5 years as a soldier,

Služeći pet godina kao vojnik

and 5 more enslaved by pirates,

i još pet u zarobljeništvu kod gusara,

Cervantes spent most of his life

Servantes je proveo veći deo života

as a struggling poet and playwright.

kao siromašni pisac i dramaturg.

It wasn’t until his late 50’s

Tek je u kasnim pedesetim godinama

that he published his greatest creation:

objavio svoje najveće delo:

an epic satire of chivalry novels.

epsku satiru na viteške romane.

At this time,

U to vreme,

medieval books chronicling the adventures

srednjovekovne knjige koje su beležile avanture

of knights and their moral code

vitezova i njihovih moralnih načela

dominated European culture.

dominirale su evropskom kulturom.

While Cervantes was a fan,

Iako je Servantes bio ljubitelj žanra,

he was weary of these repetitive tomes,

umorio se od tih šablonskih tomova,

which focused more on listing heroic feats

koji su se više usredsređivali na nabrajanje junačkih podviga

than character development.

nego na razvoj likova.

To challenge them, he wrote Don Quixote,

Da bi ih izazvao, napisao je Don Kihota,

the story of a hidalgo, or idle nobleman,

priču o idalgu, to jest dokonom plemiću

who spends his days and nights

koji provodi dane i noći

reading chivalry novels.

čitajući viteške romane.

Driven mad by these stories,

Nakon što ga ove priče izlude,

he fashions himself a champion for the downtrodden.

on sebe počinje da doživljava kao borca za ugnjetavane.

Everyone in his village

Svi u njegovom selu

tries to convince him to give up his lunacy,

pokušavaju da ga ubede da odustane od svog ludila,

going so far as to burn some of the

idući toliko daleko da su spalili

neke od grozomornih knjiga iz njegove lične biblioteke.

lurid books in his personal library.

But Don Quixote is unstoppable.

Međutim, Don Kihot je nezaustavljiv.

He dresses up in old shining armor,

Oblači stari blistavi oklop,

mounts his skinny horse,

skače na svog mršavog konja

and leaves his village in search of glory.

i napušta selo u potrazi za slavom.

Cervantes’ novel

Servantesov roman

unfolds as a collection of episodes

se razvija kao zbirka epizoda

detailing the mishaps of the valiant knight.

koje opisuju nedaće odvažnog viteza.

Yet unlike the chivalry books

Ipak, nasuprot viteškim knjigama

and perhaps all other prior fiction,

i možda svoj drugoj fikciji koja joj je prethodila,

Cervantes’ story deeply investigates

Servantesova priča podrobno ispituje

the protagonist’s inner life.

unutrašnji život glavnog junaka.

Don Quixote matures as the narrative develops,

Don Kihot sazreva, kako se pripovedanje razvija,

undergoing a noticeable transformation.

prolazeći kroz vidljiv preobražaj.

This literary revelation

Ovo književno otkrovenje

has led many scholars to call Don Quixote

je navelo mnoge akademike da proglase „Don Kihota“

the first modern novel.

prvim modernim romanom.

And this character development

A razvoj lika

doesn’t happen in isolation.

se ne dešava u izolaciji.

Early on, Don Quixote is joined

Već na početku, Don Kihotu se pridružuje

by a villager-turned-squire

seljak naimenovan u štitonošu

named Sancho Panza.

po imenu Sančo Pansa.

Sancho and Don Quixote

Sančo i Don Kihot

are a study in opposites:

su studija o suprotnostima:

with one as the grounded realist

jedan služi kao prizemljeni realista idealizmu onog drugog.

to the other’s idealism.

Their lively, evolving friendship is often credited

Njihovo živahno, rastuće prijateljstvo se često smatra

as the original hero and sidekick duo,

prvobitnim parom heroj-pomoćnik,

inspiring centuries of fictional partnerships.

koje će da inspiriše vekove fiktivnih partnerstava.

Don Quixote was a huge success.

„Don Kihot“ je postigao veliki uspeh.

Numerous editions were published across Europe

Brojna izdanja su objavljena širom Evrope

in the seventeenth century.

u XVII veku.

Even in the Americas,

Čak i u Amerikama,

where the Church banned all novels

gde je crkva zabranila sve romane

for being sinful distractions,

smatrajući ih poročnom zabavom,

audiences were known to enjoy pirated editions.

poznato je da je publika uživala u piratskim izdanjima.

The book was so well received that

Knjiga je toliko dobro prihvaćena

readers clamored for more.

da su čitaoci vapili za još.

After a rival author attempted to cash in

Nakon što je suparnički pisac pokušao da se okoristi lažnim nastavkom,

on a fake follow-up, Cervantes released

Servantes je objavio

the official sequel in response.

zvanični nastavak kao odgovor.

Now published alongside the first volume

Sada objavljen uz prvi deo kao završen tekst,

as a completed text, this second volume picks up

drugi deo nastavlja

where the original left off,

gde je prvi deo stao,

only now Don Quixote and Sancho have become folk heroes.

samo što su sada Don Kihot i Sančo postali narodni junaci.

Just as in real-life, Cervantes included

Baš kao i u stvarnom životu,

Servantes je uključio uspeh svog romana u svet njegovih junaka.

his novel’s success in the world of his characters.

This unconventional meta-awareness

Ova nekonvencionalna meta-svest

created philosophical complexity,

je stvorila filozofsku složenost

as the knight and his squire ponder

dok vitez i njegov štitonoša ispituju

the meaning of their story.

značenje njihove priče.

Unfortunately, Cervantes had sold

Nažalost, Servantes je prodao

the book’s publishing rights for very little.

autorska prava za knjigu veoma jeftino.

He died rich in fame alone.

Umro je jedino bogat slavom.

But his treatise on the power of creativity

Međutim, njegova rasprava o snazi kreativnosti i individualizmu

and individualism has inspired

inspirisala je:

art,

slikarstvo,

literature,

književnost,

popular culture,

popularnu kulturu,

and even political revolution.

pa čak i političke revolucije.

Don Quixote argues

„Don Kihot“ tvrdi

that our imagination greatly informs our actions,

da naša mašta uveliko utiče na naše postupke,

making us capable of change,

čineći nas podložnim promenama

and, indeed, making us human.

i, uistinu, čineći nas ljudima.