Tag Archives: Miguel de Cervantes

Rom-Coms, Defense against Heartbreak

One way of seeing “Tom Jones” is as “valentine armor,” alternating between romance and light satire. As such, it saves us from broken hearts.

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Are Stories a Trap? Not the Great Ones

A recent New Yorker article critiques our reliance on stories but makes the mistake of not distinguishing between different kinds of stories.

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History’s Arc Bends Towards Kafka

The late Kundera has fascinating insights into how the novel has intersected with history.

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Texas GOP Tilts with Windmills

As the Texas power grid implodes in the fact of arctic weather, the GOP pulls a Quixote and blames… windmills.

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Trump Tilts with Reality

Trump is like Don Quixote in that both deny reality. Quixote has much more benevolent motives, however.

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Reading Montaigne While Confined

In “Gentleman in Moscow,” the count turns to “Robinson Crusoe” to figure out how to survive. Reading Montaigne is a mixed bag.

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Holding to Higher Principles

Poets and other artists help keep alive the flame of higher principles. That’s why authoritarians like Donald Trump last out against them.

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Lit vs. the Evils of History–More Debate

While literature can seem helpless in the face of history’s cataclysms, it proves far more durable than the events that seem to overwhelm it.

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How Fantasy Saves Our Souls

Great fantasy can always be seen as oppositional, pushing against prevailing modes of thought and opening up portals into new human possibilities.

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