Don Quijote von der mancha : una nueva traducción

The present text is the translation of a fragment from the epilogue to the German version of the Quixote by Susanne Lange, published in 2008 by Carl Hanser. In 2009 the translation won the Johann Heinrich-Voss Prize, awarded by the German Academy of Language and Poetry. The text analyses the reception of the Quixote in various European countries after 1612, the date of Thomas Shelton’s English translation, and, more particularly, how the work was received in Germany. The first (incomplete) translation to appear in Germany was published in 1648 by Joachim Caesar, a version which formed part of a project to renew the German language. The 18th century saw various indirect, partial or free translations of the work which, in general, emphasised the burlesque tone of the novel, as well as the images of the mad knight and the simple peasant. Discovering in the Quixote a crystallisation of popular literature (Volksdichtung), the 19th century reinterpreted Don Quixote’s madness in the light of Romantic idealism. Analysis of the various translations permits them to be seen as a reflection of Germany’s intellectual history. The second part of the article comments on some of the problems posed by the translation of the work, with special emphasis on the role of language.