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Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda
Una auténtica "sed de autonomía" caracteriza a todas las obras de Cervantes, abrumadas por el peso del "Quijote", pero tal objetiva necesidad reviste en el "Persiles" una urgencia especialísima, si bien se recuerda que para el autor este libro "había de ser" su obra maestra. Al artista ya viejo, cansado, tal vez, del continuo sentirse llamar "escritor festivo" o "regocijo de las musas", le había de resultar imprescindible un triunfo de otro tipo, menos clamoroso quizá, pero con una obra "seria". Por ello es posible que se decidiera al final de su vida a terminar el viaje que hacen a Roma Periandro y Auristela, los dos jóvenes y enamorados protagonistas, obligados por las circunstancias a presentarse como hermanos, cuyo principal objeto parece ser servir de marco a otras historias y a otros personajes cuyas acciones les sirven, en más de un sentido, de enseñanza.
784 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1616
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About the author
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
4,875 books3,542 followersMiguel de Cervantes y Cortinas, later Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His novel Don Quixote is often considered his magnum opus, as well as the first modern novel.
It is assumed that Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares. His father was Rodrigo de Cervantes, a surgeon of cordoban descent. Little is known of his mother Leonor de Cortinas, except that she was a native of Arganda del Rey.
In 1569, Cervantes moved to Italy, where he served as a valet to Giulio Acquaviva, a wealthy priest who was elevated to cardinal the next year. By then, Cervantes had enlisted as a soldier in a Spanish Navy infantry regiment and continued his military life until 1575, when he was captured by Algerian corsairs. He was then released on ransom from his captors by his parents and the Trinitarians, a Catholic religious order.
He subsequently returned to his family in Madrid.
In Esquivias (Province of Toledo), on 12 December 1584, he married the much younger Catalina de Salazar y Palacios (Toledo, Esquivias –, 31 October 1626), daughter of Fernando de Salazar y Vozmediano and Catalina de Palacios. Her uncle Alonso de Quesada y Salazar is said to have inspired the character of Don Quixote. During the next 20 years Cervantes led a nomadic existence, working as a purchasing agent for the Spanish Armada and as a tax collector. He suffered a bankruptcy and was imprisoned at least twice (1597 and 1602) for irregularities in his accounts. Between 1596 and 1600, he lived primarily in Seville. In 1606, Cervantes settled in Madrid, where he remained for the rest of his life.
Cervantes died in Madrid on April 23, 1616.
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It is assumed that Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares. His father was Rodrigo de Cervantes, a surgeon of cordoban descent. Little is known of his mother Leonor de Cortinas, except that she was a native of Arganda del Rey.
In 1569, Cervantes moved to Italy, where he served as a valet to Giulio Acquaviva, a wealthy priest who was elevated to cardinal the next year. By then, Cervantes had enlisted as a soldier in a Spanish Navy infantry regiment and continued his military life until 1575, when he was captured by Algerian corsairs. He was then released on ransom from his captors by his parents and the Trinitarians, a Catholic religious order.
He subsequently returned to his family in Madrid.
In Esquivias (Province of Toledo), on 12 December 1584, he married the much younger Catalina de Salazar y Palacios (Toledo, Esquivias –, 31 October 1626), daughter of Fernando de Salazar y Vozmediano and Catalina de Palacios. Her uncle Alonso de Quesada y Salazar is said to have inspired the character of Don Quixote. During the next 20 years Cervantes led a nomadic existence, working as a purchasing agent for the Spanish Armada and as a tax collector. He suffered a bankruptcy and was imprisoned at least twice (1597 and 1602) for irregularities in his accounts. Between 1596 and 1600, he lived primarily in Seville. In 1606, Cervantes settled in Madrid, where he remained for the rest of his life.
Cervantes died in Madrid on April 23, 1616.
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July 30, 2022Cervantes considered this book to be his masterpiece and it is even more relevant as one ponders the fact that it had been completed just three days before he died. In some way, I understand certain people’s disappointment in it as this story is aligned aesthetically and structurally with the types of stories that were common during Cervantes’ time, whereas a work such as Don Quixote is more modern in its approach. However, I do not share the aforementioned feelings since I’ve found the book very stimulating, witty, and entertaining. A romance drenched in baroque elements, whose main characters are continually transforming and, most importantly, journeying towards a certain destination that is supposed to fulfil them, especially on a spiritual level. The ‘secret’ about the true nature of the protagonists is revealed at the very end, even though it is not necessarily hard to predict it from various hints. Yet I believe that this is the main idea of the story whose literary devices, similar to the ones used in medieval romances, are meant to emphasise the journey and the ‘works’, ‘trials’ or ‘wanderings’ rather than the destination. The sub-plots or sub-stories are intriguing, some are very poetic, others funny, and some of them tragic. The protagonists seem to exchange stories with the people that they meet on their journey and these stories become essential in distinguishing one’s principles and identity. When it comes to the moral or religious values of the story, it is most evidently a catholic story promoting catholic values. It is quite understandable why Cervantes would cling so much to these standards towards the end of his life. It seems that with this final book, he wanted to see certain ideals unified and expressed. However, the sub-stories seem to mirror myths of antiquity and the tonality appears to place more significance upon the folk wisdom of the various storytellers rather than the authority of the priests, who barely appear in the novel and when they did, I felt that their depiction was rather ironic.
The book is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but I recommend it to people who are interested in baroque literature or simply people who have the patience to untangle a story that is built through many sub-plots and sub-stories.
The book is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but I recommend it to people who are interested in baroque literature or simply people who have the patience to untangle a story that is built through many sub-plots and sub-stories.
December 29, 2020
Expectativas (Comentario, 2020)
Este libro es entretenido. Las aventuras se suceden unas a otras, las coincidencias y las historias terminan entrelazándose al mejor estilo del melodrama causando en los lectores el gozo de lo que se anuda, de lo que bien concluye. Junto al secreto de Persiles, junto al secreto de Sigismunda, habité horas de feliz desparpajo.
Pero no es el Cervantes del Quijote, ni el de las novelas ejemplares. Curiosamente, aquí siento a un narrador con mayor dominio del oficio, que ya no perderá burros intermitentes en sus páginas. Curiosamente, creo que el Persiles es el libro mejor logrado en términos técnicos. Pero no es el mejor, está lejos de los mejores. Digo esto con todo el amor que tengo por quien me ha dado el sueño. Digo esto con todo el cariño y con toda la ternura: aquí no tuve el deslumbramiento que he tenido en otras de sus obras.
¿Significa eso que esté mal? No, significa que debí soltar mis expectativas antes de leerlo, significa que procuraré volver al Persiles después, cuando sepa ya que es una novelita de aventuras y que a lo mejor en ese momento descubra que incluso en novelitas de aventuras Cervantes tiene mucho que enseñar. Significa que guardé este libro durante años para reencontrarme con el autor y fue un reencuentro raro, de esos con amigos que no vemos hace mucho y que, obviamente, ya no son quienes eran.
Significa que no se debe guardar para mañana lo que puede darnos dicha hoy, y que quien espera mucho poco obtiene, y que mejor juzgar al tigre por las rayas que por las manchas, y que nada gana quien pide peras al olmo, y que se aprecia mejor la fruta por el sabor que por la forma, y eso, que volveré, alguna vez, y que hasta entonces sigan estos aventureros recorriendo el mundo, y sea con ellos la dicha de los destinos que se cumplen. ¡Salud!
Este libro es entretenido. Las aventuras se suceden unas a otras, las coincidencias y las historias terminan entrelazándose al mejor estilo del melodrama causando en los lectores el gozo de lo que se anuda, de lo que bien concluye. Junto al secreto de Persiles, junto al secreto de Sigismunda, habité horas de feliz desparpajo.
Pero no es el Cervantes del Quijote, ni el de las novelas ejemplares. Curiosamente, aquí siento a un narrador con mayor dominio del oficio, que ya no perderá burros intermitentes en sus páginas. Curiosamente, creo que el Persiles es el libro mejor logrado en términos técnicos. Pero no es el mejor, está lejos de los mejores. Digo esto con todo el amor que tengo por quien me ha dado el sueño. Digo esto con todo el cariño y con toda la ternura: aquí no tuve el deslumbramiento que he tenido en otras de sus obras.
¿Significa eso que esté mal? No, significa que debí soltar mis expectativas antes de leerlo, significa que procuraré volver al Persiles después, cuando sepa ya que es una novelita de aventuras y que a lo mejor en ese momento descubra que incluso en novelitas de aventuras Cervantes tiene mucho que enseñar. Significa que guardé este libro durante años para reencontrarme con el autor y fue un reencuentro raro, de esos con amigos que no vemos hace mucho y que, obviamente, ya no son quienes eran.
Significa que no se debe guardar para mañana lo que puede darnos dicha hoy, y que quien espera mucho poco obtiene, y que mejor juzgar al tigre por las rayas que por las manchas, y que nada gana quien pide peras al olmo, y que se aprecia mejor la fruta por el sabor que por la forma, y eso, que volveré, alguna vez, y que hasta entonces sigan estos aventureros recorriendo el mundo, y sea con ellos la dicha de los destinos que se cumplen. ¡Salud!
August 18, 2023
საბჭოთა კავშირის პერიოდს ერთადერთი დადებითი რაც აქვს, გამომცემლობა “მერანის” მიერ დაბეჭდილი ანდერრეითედი წიგნებია. God, i love how you made my Great granny and grandma a librarian.
February 20, 2021
Creyéndose Cervantes ver esta póstuma novela como su mejor , por encima al Quijote, olvidando que quien hace grande la literatura es el lector, es preciso destacar a la vez, que logró consolidar su última obra, en algo intenso y complejo, un punto final que hizo forjar sus últimas reflexiones sobre el arte de narrar en su último legado. Este texto, como un juego de aventura, así mismo Cervantes en sus últimos días antes de su muerte sigue entregado a la literatura, ilusionado por acabarlo.
Enmarcado en la corriente de la novela bizantina, este relato se inscribe en las peripecias del príncipe Persiles y la princesa Sigismunda bajo la estructura de cuatro libros en las exóticas y bárbaras tierras del nortes, Portugal, España, Francia e Italia, hasta finiquitar en Roma. Estos dos enamorado emprende un viaje de norte a sur bajo identidades falsas de Periandro y Auristela, pero peor aun como hermanos para esconder su amor e huir del príncipe Magsimino. Golandia, la isla de Policarpo o isla de las Ermitas son unos de esos lugares utópicos por los cuales deben experimental bajo los peligros, como el rapto de Auristela, el terrible encuentro de Periandro con el monstruo marino Fisíter, que acechan en todo momento para hacer realidad su unión en Roma.
En mi opinión, fue tanto que dio la gota del Quijote en el suelo, que su firmeza hizo un agujero en la historia, que es muy difícil borrar, que ha pasado generaciones, y disociar esta gran obra, para darle paso al texto en cuestión, como quiso dárselo Cervantes, resultaría cuesta abajo. Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda, como dirían es una bella historia que se multiplica, como un prisma multicolor, en otras mil historias bellamente contada. En Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda confluyen diversos registros, de lo realista a lo idealista, de lo caballeresco a lo pastoril y picaresco. Lirica, dramática, emblemática, pintura, alegoría, donde lo maravilloso, lo admirable, lo onomástico, la convierte en un paradigma, pero sigo con Don Quijote en la cabeza.
Enmarcado en la corriente de la novela bizantina, este relato se inscribe en las peripecias del príncipe Persiles y la princesa Sigismunda bajo la estructura de cuatro libros en las exóticas y bárbaras tierras del nortes, Portugal, España, Francia e Italia, hasta finiquitar en Roma. Estos dos enamorado emprende un viaje de norte a sur bajo identidades falsas de Periandro y Auristela, pero peor aun como hermanos para esconder su amor e huir del príncipe Magsimino. Golandia, la isla de Policarpo o isla de las Ermitas son unos de esos lugares utópicos por los cuales deben experimental bajo los peligros, como el rapto de Auristela, el terrible encuentro de Periandro con el monstruo marino Fisíter, que acechan en todo momento para hacer realidad su unión en Roma.
En mi opinión, fue tanto que dio la gota del Quijote en el suelo, que su firmeza hizo un agujero en la historia, que es muy difícil borrar, que ha pasado generaciones, y disociar esta gran obra, para darle paso al texto en cuestión, como quiso dárselo Cervantes, resultaría cuesta abajo. Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda, como dirían es una bella historia que se multiplica, como un prisma multicolor, en otras mil historias bellamente contada. En Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda confluyen diversos registros, de lo realista a lo idealista, de lo caballeresco a lo pastoril y picaresco. Lirica, dramática, emblemática, pintura, alegoría, donde lo maravilloso, lo admirable, lo onomástico, la convierte en un paradigma, pero sigo con Don Quijote en la cabeza.
April 28, 2018
So this is a love story supposedly, with innumerable sup-plots. Every time a new character shows up we get yet another tangent. Whats odd is that not only do the actual characters get bored with some of the sub-stories but the author apologises to the reader at least ten times about how repetitive it can get.. and then continues on in the same way as before :( .
Most of the plots involve someone being forced into a marriage they don't want. The people who can't take no for an answer being both men and women but mostly men of course. This leads to one of the ironic highlights because the main love tale when you finally learn all the facts isn't exactly Romeo and Juliette thats all i'll say :) .
The main plot starts in the middle and is filled out bit by bit in flashback which is a good technique i felt.
Other items in the plus column are that the sub-plots or episodes in the main plot are all very short. So if you don't like something don't worry it won't be there for long. The story is also quite random or at least unpredictable in its turns, which i generally consider a good thing.
The best thing about the book however is its world building, which bares about as much relation to real history or geography as that of Robert E.Howards stories do :D .
A low 3 stars, its a mess, but enjoyable enough.
Most of the plots involve someone being forced into a marriage they don't want. The people who can't take no for an answer being both men and women but mostly men of course. This leads to one of the ironic highlights because the main love tale when you finally learn all the facts isn't exactly Romeo and Juliette thats all i'll say :) .
The main plot starts in the middle and is filled out bit by bit in flashback which is a good technique i felt.
Other items in the plus column are that the sub-plots or episodes in the main plot are all very short. So if you don't like something don't worry it won't be there for long. The story is also quite random or at least unpredictable in its turns, which i generally consider a good thing.
The best thing about the book however is its world building, which bares about as much relation to real history or geography as that of Robert E.Howards stories do :D .
A low 3 stars, its a mess, but enjoyable enough.
February 18, 2025
Difícil para el lector moderno, esta fue la última obra de Cervantes. Catálogo de aventuras y lances románticos que nos llevan por tierras boreales para terminar en Roma.
May 19, 2016
Cervantes consideró esta novela como su obra maestra, mejor que “El Quijote” y, la verdad, le doy la razón. “El Persiles” es uno de los primeros modelos de las historias de aventuras consideradas “realistas”, antecedente de las novelas de Dumas y Verne. La novela bizantina, vista como una evolución de la novela de caballerías (que hoy podríamos ver como antecedente de las novelas de fantasía) se consideró como descendiente de las grandes epopeyas de la antigüedad (Homero, Virgilio) y fue vista como la mayor expresión artística de un literato (que tiempos tan idílicos, la verdad). El trabajo de Cervantes en “El Persiles” es SUBLIME. Cada personaje trae consigo su historia y todas se suceden a tiempos distintos y al final las acaba hilando a la trama principal en una tarea que resulta difícil y que requiere de un gran esfuerzo. Cervantes la tuvo en alta estima y creyó que sería su gran obra, reconocimiento que al final se llevó “El Quijote” pese a que, en su época, ese privilegio lo tuvo “El Persiles”. La leí con grandes expectativas y la verdad, disfruté mucho de la lectura. Aprendí mucho tanto de él como de la novela bizantina y de la novela griega y me parece increíble que, en la actualidad, sea menos conocida que otras de sus creaciones como las “Novelas Ejemplares” (que no me gustaron) o “La Galatea” (a la que le tengo bastantes ganas). Todo amante de las historias de aventuras debería leerla para conocer los orígenes del género y apreciar la evolución que este ha ido experimentando a lo largo de la historia.
April 13, 2022
Habiéndome leído de golpe El Quijote y Los trabajos de Persiles y Segismunda, los considero como las 2 caras de la misma moneda.
Los 2 libros de El Quijote es la novela total.
Esta otra obra, ahora comentada, es más personal donde descubres al verdadero Miguel de Cervantes.
Así el capítulo I del libro II, empieza: "Parece que el autor de esta historias sabía más de enamorado que de historiador".
Cervantes resume el alma castellana, cuando España dominaba el Mundo, de lo cual, deja constancia para la posteridad.
Un cordial saludo.
Los 2 libros de El Quijote es la novela total.
Esta otra obra, ahora comentada, es más personal donde descubres al verdadero Miguel de Cervantes.
Así el capítulo I del libro II, empieza: "Parece que el autor de esta historias sabía más de enamorado que de historiador".
Cervantes resume el alma castellana, cuando España dominaba el Mundo, de lo cual, deja constancia para la posteridad.
Un cordial saludo.
December 22, 2024
Por fin
Chicas, siendo sincera... Leer el Persiles después del Quijote se ha sentido exactamente igual que escuchar Solar Power después de Melodrama...
if you know you know
Chicas, siendo sincera... Leer el Persiles después del Quijote se ha sentido exactamente igual que escuchar Solar Power después de Melodrama...
if you know you know
July 6, 2024
Written at the very end of his life and published posthumously, Cervantes considered this superior to his acclaimed Don Quixote. I found the story less compelling.
I don't know how fair it is to judge a four-hundred-year-old book by modern-day standards, but it's so difficult not to balk at all of the sexism cloaked in pedestalism. Yes, Auristela is beyond beautiful even when she is slurping her soup or on her sick bed and her chastity reigns supreme in the face of thieving portrait artists, but how tossed about she is as a possession to whatever man might want her. Bless the women of history for being considered property for centuries/millennia. But is it a good story? It had its moments.
This story is part travel log and part religious exhortation, but is fun to note locations as they traipse from the British isles to Spain, Provence, and finally down into Rome. It was actually my main purpose in reading as I was in Rome at the time and saw the plaque there stating that Cervantes had been there in the Piazza del Popolo. Therefore, I started the book in the last few chapters as he tells about the pilgrims arrival at the Piazza del Popolo and eventually brought myself to begin at the start.
I don't know how fair it is to judge a four-hundred-year-old book by modern-day standards, but it's so difficult not to balk at all of the sexism cloaked in pedestalism. Yes, Auristela is beyond beautiful even when she is slurping her soup or on her sick bed and her chastity reigns supreme in the face of thieving portrait artists, but how tossed about she is as a possession to whatever man might want her. Bless the women of history for being considered property for centuries/millennia. But is it a good story? It had its moments.
This story is part travel log and part religious exhortation, but is fun to note locations as they traipse from the British isles to Spain, Provence, and finally down into Rome. It was actually my main purpose in reading as I was in Rome at the time and saw the plaque there stating that Cervantes had been there in the Piazza del Popolo. Therefore, I started the book in the last few chapters as he tells about the pilgrims arrival at the Piazza del Popolo and eventually brought myself to begin at the start.
December 6, 2025
Sé que lo he alargado mucho, pero ha valido la pena.
September 9, 2025
An adventure of romance and the original Scandinavian tale. Cervantes' final work, wherein he has poured much of his philosophy on writing and the connections between people.
(A quick note. There is more than one translation of Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda and the title has been translated in more than one way over the years.¹ I'll be using The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda: A Northern Story in this review, usually with the subtitle omitted. It's the most commonly used alternative, the most direct translation of the original Spanish one, and also the title used by the edition I've based this review on: Hackett Publishing's 2009 annotated reprint of Weller and Colahan's 1989 translation.)
Among the early modern novelists there are few names as prominent as that of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The two books about Don Quixote, usually combined, rank as the ninth greatest book ever on The Greatest Books' aggregated list.² The story of Persile and Sigismunda can also be found there, albeit in 3228th place, and even then its presence is solely due to a single, rather recent top-1001-books list.
This isn't surprising. Don Quixote was a stylistic revolution and is by many considered to be the first 'modern novel.' It's an easy and exciting read, even by today's standards, and it's thematic content is fairly transparent. Meanwhile The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda is less revolutionary and more of a Byzantine novel than a 'modern' one. It's a more demanding read, containing a romance that is clearly a product of the strict Catholisism of its time and therefore doesn't contain much of what we nowadays call romance, and its themes are more opaque and might have been further convoluted by the fact that the author was dying as he wrote it. While Don Quixote was a book for the masses, this is a more literary read – it has been presumed that Cervantes did this on purpose because he wanted to finally gain the favour of the nobility and the clergy, which he hadn't achieved with his previous efforts.
But having said as much, this is still a novel written by an author who at the beginning of the 17th century was probably still the best there was. Books have been written about it, academics have dedicated their careers to it. It is a classic in it's own right, let there be no doubt about that.
And as it is a classic tale, I see no reason to withhold any information regarding how the novel ends. Those who are of a different mind may of course take this opportunity to read it before continuing.³
The novel follows Periandro and Auristela⁴ – who in the end are unveiled to be the titular Persiles and Sigismunda, to no ones great surprise – on their journey to Rome. Sigismunda/Auristela, like Persiles/Periandro, was born in lands⁵ on the edges of Christianity and therefore her understanding (presumably his too) of its teachings is incomplete. So when she was told of Persiles' virtues by his mother, and told he was a good match, she decided upon educating herself in the truths of Catholicism and on how to save her soul, before she will marry him. Meanwhile, to anyone who asks, they say that they are brother and sister, but refuse to say where they are from lest anyone deducts their royal standing and, in good Catholic tradition (one that Cervantes seems to criticise), marries them against their will.
The first book, out the four that these trials consist of, begins with Periandro tied to a raft on the open ocean, only to be rescued by Arnaldo, the prince of Denmark. For some reason still unbeknownst to the reader, Arnaldo had bought Auristela as a slave, cheaply, and found her to be so beautiful that she had to be of royal lineage, he has now fallen in love with her and offered to take her hand in marriage. The thing is, pirates have now again made off with her and sold her to an island full of barbarians, where someone as beautiful as her would surely be considered the prophetised mother of the king who will conquer a great part of the world. It's quite a mess they have landed themselves in, and far messier it will get. This is in many ways an Iliad of follies.
On their journey, partly on sea and partly as a pilgrimage on foot, they encounter a vast amount of pirates, captives in need of rescue from pirates, young ladies who have gotten themselves in trouble by marrying against the wishes of their parents, manly men have gotten themselves in trouble over honour and rash violence, and men and women who are so enamoured by Periandro's and Auristela's dazzling beauty that they end up ruining their lives in order to obtain their hand in marriage. As far as road novels go, few are as stuffed to the bursting point with plot threads as this one is.
When the reader reaches the fourth book they will find it somewhat stunted, being only half the length of the other three. But then Cervantes died just three days after finishing it. There are strong indications that he didn't get much time to edit his work, nor gave any instructions to the publisher on how they should edit it, and even if he claimed that this was a finished work,⁶ there are reasons to think that he still had things he would have liked to add. He often seems to have confused which character does what, or alternatively which character had which name or title. Sometimes he also refers back to things that has never happened, which one can presume means that he intended to later go back and insert those events, but never did. An annotated edition will notify the reader of these anomalies as they occur.
Importantly, this means that there might be other unintended discrepancies in the text which remain undetected. For instance, there may be parts where the contexts did not end up as Cervantes intended them to, but where they aren't announced to the reader through obvious errors. In a story that has so much to say about the world around it, but yet for the most part has decided not to present it candidly, this can provide problems. At least it should always be kept in mind when one is looking for answers in The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda, that this is a flawed work, and more rigour than normal might be warranted before one draws conclusions from it.
While the attention to Don Quixote never waned entirely, it seems like the same honours wasn't afforded to The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda. According to Weller and Colahan in their introduction to the 2009 reprint of their translation, there was a two hundred year gap when the novel wasn't considered a part of the Hispanic canon, lasting until the emergence of woman's studies in the 70's and the accompanying rise in analytical attention given to romance as a genre. Since then there have been quite a few who have tried their hand at analysing this particular romance, and they have found fertile ground for thought.
Weller and Colahan make an outline of these academic pursuits, dedicating nearly eight and a half pages to it. It would seem that these have primarily focused on Cervantes stylistic choices, the unusual strength of the female characters, and how the book seems to advocate for reconciliation between people, particularly within the Spanish colonies.
The latter can easily be believed. For instance, the aforementioned island of barbarians is full of barbarians, at least at first sight. Everyone on the island is simply referred to as a barbarian until we get to know them, suddenly there are Polish, Spanish, and Italian barbarians. Even Auristela is a barbarian until the reader is introduced to her. It's a choice of storytelling which repeats itself and as such one can validly suspect it of being purposeful, and it's perhaps the most effective element in the whole novel: To argue that everyone can be a barbarian until you get to know them, is a valid and worthwhile point.
The feminist studies are on less steady ground. As said, there are reasons to question how well Cervantes managed to compose his arguments before he left this world. There are patterns here too, but the relations between men and women don't always repeat themselves in the text, at least not obviously so (as far as I can see). Sometimes they also feel contradictory, without any indication of whether this was intended or not – such as the relationship between the two main characters. Sigismunda is on one hand talked into choosing Persiles as her future husband, and after finally getting educated in 'the proper ways' of Christianity, she opts to take the habit rather than to marry at all. When Persiles wallows in misery until she relents, he gets to say 'I do' while she remains silent. At least, in the end, it is specified that she ends up enjoying having grandchildren. (At least Persiles didn't kick her down the stairs as his namesake was said to have done.) On the other hand, she has a raging jealousy which threatens her health every time another woman lays her eyes on Persiles, and at one point she declares her undying love for him. Of course, these are not irreconcilable elements of a personality, but the uncertainties regarding Cervantes' intent makes it hard to argue what exactly he had in mind.
However, there is one pattern which leads to a suspicion. The novel contains many subordinate stories where people, usually young men and women in trouble, appear to tell of their woes. Many of them include young people who marry against their parents' wishes, and all of them end up happy. So, it would seem that Cervantes argued that true love is an indicator of a proper marriage, and there are hints that this should be considered in accordance with God's will. Yet, Sigismunda seems to have been pushed into her relationship with Persiles, and at the end she seems reluctantly to relent to a marriage rather than to want one. Nothing is said about her being happy with the man whom she married, nor their children, just her grandchildren. It feels like the story is trying to tell the reader something here, but if just one of these puzzle pieces aren't what the author had in mind, then it becomes a lot harder to make any strong argument here.
Cervantes' stylistic choice is a curious one. While this is a highly literate work, there still appears to be remnants of an oral tradition in it. In the occasional narrator, to be precise. Some critics have concluded that the author was breaking the fourth wall as a matter of comedy, which might be true, but it also brings the story into a territory more suited to his antics, the folk tale.
Many cases, because of the unusual circumstances under which they occur, are judged to be apocryphal and not held to be as true as they really are, so one has to reinforce them with oaths, or at least consider the good reputation of the person telling them. But I still feel it would be better not to tell them, for as these old Spanish verses say:
You'd better hesitate
When you've astonishing things to relate,
For those not so very wise
Can't always distinguish your truth from others' lies. (pp. 279-280; 1989 translation)
These injections of narration are sporadic, but often talk about how a story should be told. I see them as having a purpose beyond comedy in that they allow the novel to do things it would otherwise not be able to do. Like to include the very same astonishing circumstances that he warned about. Take this quote for instance:
They all looked up and saw a shape coming down through the air, but before they could distinguish what it was, it was already on the ground almost at Periandro's feet. The shape turned out to be an exceptionally beautiful woman who had been thrown off the top of the tower, but her petticoats spread themselves out in the shape of a bell and acted as wings so that she landed feet-first on the ground completely unharmed, something possible and not at all miraculous. (p. 273; 1989 translation)
That last clause must surely be sarcasm. The writers of the time held much stock in verisimilitude, and it's not inconceivable that Cervantes wanted to make a point to the contrary. And whether or not he intended to draw on folk tale influences in his narration, or whether or not this quote ever intended to be a rude gesture towards other authors of his time, the combination works, the point makes itself in a loud and clear manner.
There is a strong sense of old and Ancient Greek stories in The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda, particularly of what has been called the Byzantine romance. Yet Cervantes blends it with the fascination for the exotic reaches of the world,⁷ which was in high demand during most of the colonial era, and then tries to adapt all of this to something the Catholic Church could accept. Weller and Colahan concludes on something along the same line, adding the Arthurian legends to the list of influences. I find it hard to tell whether or not he succeeded in this ambitious endeavour. Suffice to say he seems to have made something that stands on its own, apart from other works, but neither does it feel finished. It feels messy, a well-written novel almost there, but not quite.
I find it obvious that this is a work that should be part of the world's literary canon – it's far too important for anything else – and it deserves the resurgence in attention and study, even if its potential flaws makes that a difficult task. The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda is a too demanding read to be recommended to most readers, but the philosophically aligned reader might still want to pick it up. For all my doubts regarding drawing conclusions from it, Cervantes' final novel did succeed in one thing: He wanted the reader to think, and the book leaves the reader helpless to do otherwise.
1. The alternative English titles are: The Travels of Persiles and Sigismunda. A Northern History (1619 translation), Persiles and Sigismunda; a celebrated novel (1745 translation), The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismunda: A Northern Story (1853 translation), The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda: A Northern Story (1989 translation), and The Perils of Persiles and Sigismunda, a Northern Saga (2023 translation). As an aside, the most recent edition has due to it's choice of title, lost much credibility in my eyes. Within historical literature a 'saga' refers to a very specific style of epic poetry and storytelling, and while the word has been given a wider definition elsewhere, it would be prudent for books regarding historical literature to retain the more stringent interpretation of the word to avoid confusion. This is a novel, not a saga.
It's also worth noting that the Spanish edition has gone through several modernisations and revisions over the centuries, in part because the ageing Cervantes often misremembered his own plot and the original publishers didn't do much in the way of editing, but also to modernise the language in favour of modern legibility. This would have had an effect on any given English translation depending on which Spanish edition(s) it was based on.
2. The Greatest Books' list is the result of passing 664 lists of the best books ever through an aggregating algorithm. A book's placement here not only gives an indication of how individual literary cobblers – if a list of the best books can be considered a foundation for further reading, then surely these lists have the same function for readers as shoes have for walkers – have evaluated it, but also a more general indication of how it is viewed. Here are the listings for Don Quixote and The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda.
3. Project Gutenberg has an online re-publishing of the 1854 edition. However, a more thoroughly annotated edition is recommended to most readers.
4. Periandro is also the Spanish name for the tyrant/sage Periander of Corinth (some translations even use this name instead of Periandro). The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda is and was intended to be a Byzantine romance, and Corinth lies in what became part of The Byzantine Empire. It is said of Periander of Corinth that he kicked his pregnant wife down the stairs, killing her, out of misguided jealousy. Misguided jealousy is a theme of this book. It's hard to tell if this is enough to draw any inferences of a connection here, but the potential ought to be mentioned.
5. Persiles is a prince of Thule, or Iceland as we now call it; Sigismunda is a princess of Frisland, a large island thought at the time to exist south of Iceland, but which turned out to be the invention of a fraudster.
6. In an often used quote, Cervantes claims that his friends think The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda will be his greatest work and he seems to agree. This quote was apparently written while he was still working on the novel. I can't find that he ever commented on it after finishing it and, if he truly didn't, then it's unknown whether or not he retained this optimism regarding it.
7. A bit of research (Romero Muñoz, 2002 Spanish edition) has concluded that much of what Cervantes writes about Northern Europe is in line with Olof Månsson's (also known as Olaus Magnus and Olaf Mansson) Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus/History of the Northern Peoples, a patriotic Swedish work which contained just as much fiction as it did fact, and from what he wrote it seems likely to me that his claims were dependent on Olof's personal inclinations towards the different regions of the north or the marketability of the claims.
(A quick note. There is more than one translation of Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda and the title has been translated in more than one way over the years.¹ I'll be using The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda: A Northern Story in this review, usually with the subtitle omitted. It's the most commonly used alternative, the most direct translation of the original Spanish one, and also the title used by the edition I've based this review on: Hackett Publishing's 2009 annotated reprint of Weller and Colahan's 1989 translation.)
Among the early modern novelists there are few names as prominent as that of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The two books about Don Quixote, usually combined, rank as the ninth greatest book ever on The Greatest Books' aggregated list.² The story of Persile and Sigismunda can also be found there, albeit in 3228th place, and even then its presence is solely due to a single, rather recent top-1001-books list.
This isn't surprising. Don Quixote was a stylistic revolution and is by many considered to be the first 'modern novel.' It's an easy and exciting read, even by today's standards, and it's thematic content is fairly transparent. Meanwhile The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda is less revolutionary and more of a Byzantine novel than a 'modern' one. It's a more demanding read, containing a romance that is clearly a product of the strict Catholisism of its time and therefore doesn't contain much of what we nowadays call romance, and its themes are more opaque and might have been further convoluted by the fact that the author was dying as he wrote it. While Don Quixote was a book for the masses, this is a more literary read – it has been presumed that Cervantes did this on purpose because he wanted to finally gain the favour of the nobility and the clergy, which he hadn't achieved with his previous efforts.
But having said as much, this is still a novel written by an author who at the beginning of the 17th century was probably still the best there was. Books have been written about it, academics have dedicated their careers to it. It is a classic in it's own right, let there be no doubt about that.
And as it is a classic tale, I see no reason to withhold any information regarding how the novel ends. Those who are of a different mind may of course take this opportunity to read it before continuing.³
The novel follows Periandro and Auristela⁴ – who in the end are unveiled to be the titular Persiles and Sigismunda, to no ones great surprise – on their journey to Rome. Sigismunda/Auristela, like Persiles/Periandro, was born in lands⁵ on the edges of Christianity and therefore her understanding (presumably his too) of its teachings is incomplete. So when she was told of Persiles' virtues by his mother, and told he was a good match, she decided upon educating herself in the truths of Catholicism and on how to save her soul, before she will marry him. Meanwhile, to anyone who asks, they say that they are brother and sister, but refuse to say where they are from lest anyone deducts their royal standing and, in good Catholic tradition (one that Cervantes seems to criticise), marries them against their will.
The first book, out the four that these trials consist of, begins with Periandro tied to a raft on the open ocean, only to be rescued by Arnaldo, the prince of Denmark. For some reason still unbeknownst to the reader, Arnaldo had bought Auristela as a slave, cheaply, and found her to be so beautiful that she had to be of royal lineage, he has now fallen in love with her and offered to take her hand in marriage. The thing is, pirates have now again made off with her and sold her to an island full of barbarians, where someone as beautiful as her would surely be considered the prophetised mother of the king who will conquer a great part of the world. It's quite a mess they have landed themselves in, and far messier it will get. This is in many ways an Iliad of follies.
On their journey, partly on sea and partly as a pilgrimage on foot, they encounter a vast amount of pirates, captives in need of rescue from pirates, young ladies who have gotten themselves in trouble by marrying against the wishes of their parents, manly men have gotten themselves in trouble over honour and rash violence, and men and women who are so enamoured by Periandro's and Auristela's dazzling beauty that they end up ruining their lives in order to obtain their hand in marriage. As far as road novels go, few are as stuffed to the bursting point with plot threads as this one is.
When the reader reaches the fourth book they will find it somewhat stunted, being only half the length of the other three. But then Cervantes died just three days after finishing it. There are strong indications that he didn't get much time to edit his work, nor gave any instructions to the publisher on how they should edit it, and even if he claimed that this was a finished work,⁶ there are reasons to think that he still had things he would have liked to add. He often seems to have confused which character does what, or alternatively which character had which name or title. Sometimes he also refers back to things that has never happened, which one can presume means that he intended to later go back and insert those events, but never did. An annotated edition will notify the reader of these anomalies as they occur.
Importantly, this means that there might be other unintended discrepancies in the text which remain undetected. For instance, there may be parts where the contexts did not end up as Cervantes intended them to, but where they aren't announced to the reader through obvious errors. In a story that has so much to say about the world around it, but yet for the most part has decided not to present it candidly, this can provide problems. At least it should always be kept in mind when one is looking for answers in The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda, that this is a flawed work, and more rigour than normal might be warranted before one draws conclusions from it.
While the attention to Don Quixote never waned entirely, it seems like the same honours wasn't afforded to The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda. According to Weller and Colahan in their introduction to the 2009 reprint of their translation, there was a two hundred year gap when the novel wasn't considered a part of the Hispanic canon, lasting until the emergence of woman's studies in the 70's and the accompanying rise in analytical attention given to romance as a genre. Since then there have been quite a few who have tried their hand at analysing this particular romance, and they have found fertile ground for thought.
Weller and Colahan make an outline of these academic pursuits, dedicating nearly eight and a half pages to it. It would seem that these have primarily focused on Cervantes stylistic choices, the unusual strength of the female characters, and how the book seems to advocate for reconciliation between people, particularly within the Spanish colonies.
The latter can easily be believed. For instance, the aforementioned island of barbarians is full of barbarians, at least at first sight. Everyone on the island is simply referred to as a barbarian until we get to know them, suddenly there are Polish, Spanish, and Italian barbarians. Even Auristela is a barbarian until the reader is introduced to her. It's a choice of storytelling which repeats itself and as such one can validly suspect it of being purposeful, and it's perhaps the most effective element in the whole novel: To argue that everyone can be a barbarian until you get to know them, is a valid and worthwhile point.
The feminist studies are on less steady ground. As said, there are reasons to question how well Cervantes managed to compose his arguments before he left this world. There are patterns here too, but the relations between men and women don't always repeat themselves in the text, at least not obviously so (as far as I can see). Sometimes they also feel contradictory, without any indication of whether this was intended or not – such as the relationship between the two main characters. Sigismunda is on one hand talked into choosing Persiles as her future husband, and after finally getting educated in 'the proper ways' of Christianity, she opts to take the habit rather than to marry at all. When Persiles wallows in misery until she relents, he gets to say 'I do' while she remains silent. At least, in the end, it is specified that she ends up enjoying having grandchildren. (At least Persiles didn't kick her down the stairs as his namesake was said to have done.) On the other hand, she has a raging jealousy which threatens her health every time another woman lays her eyes on Persiles, and at one point she declares her undying love for him. Of course, these are not irreconcilable elements of a personality, but the uncertainties regarding Cervantes' intent makes it hard to argue what exactly he had in mind.
However, there is one pattern which leads to a suspicion. The novel contains many subordinate stories where people, usually young men and women in trouble, appear to tell of their woes. Many of them include young people who marry against their parents' wishes, and all of them end up happy. So, it would seem that Cervantes argued that true love is an indicator of a proper marriage, and there are hints that this should be considered in accordance with God's will. Yet, Sigismunda seems to have been pushed into her relationship with Persiles, and at the end she seems reluctantly to relent to a marriage rather than to want one. Nothing is said about her being happy with the man whom she married, nor their children, just her grandchildren. It feels like the story is trying to tell the reader something here, but if just one of these puzzle pieces aren't what the author had in mind, then it becomes a lot harder to make any strong argument here.
Cervantes' stylistic choice is a curious one. While this is a highly literate work, there still appears to be remnants of an oral tradition in it. In the occasional narrator, to be precise. Some critics have concluded that the author was breaking the fourth wall as a matter of comedy, which might be true, but it also brings the story into a territory more suited to his antics, the folk tale.
Many cases, because of the unusual circumstances under which they occur, are judged to be apocryphal and not held to be as true as they really are, so one has to reinforce them with oaths, or at least consider the good reputation of the person telling them. But I still feel it would be better not to tell them, for as these old Spanish verses say:
You'd better hesitate
When you've astonishing things to relate,
For those not so very wise
Can't always distinguish your truth from others' lies. (pp. 279-280; 1989 translation)
These injections of narration are sporadic, but often talk about how a story should be told. I see them as having a purpose beyond comedy in that they allow the novel to do things it would otherwise not be able to do. Like to include the very same astonishing circumstances that he warned about. Take this quote for instance:
They all looked up and saw a shape coming down through the air, but before they could distinguish what it was, it was already on the ground almost at Periandro's feet. The shape turned out to be an exceptionally beautiful woman who had been thrown off the top of the tower, but her petticoats spread themselves out in the shape of a bell and acted as wings so that she landed feet-first on the ground completely unharmed, something possible and not at all miraculous. (p. 273; 1989 translation)
That last clause must surely be sarcasm. The writers of the time held much stock in verisimilitude, and it's not inconceivable that Cervantes wanted to make a point to the contrary. And whether or not he intended to draw on folk tale influences in his narration, or whether or not this quote ever intended to be a rude gesture towards other authors of his time, the combination works, the point makes itself in a loud and clear manner.
There is a strong sense of old and Ancient Greek stories in The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda, particularly of what has been called the Byzantine romance. Yet Cervantes blends it with the fascination for the exotic reaches of the world,⁷ which was in high demand during most of the colonial era, and then tries to adapt all of this to something the Catholic Church could accept. Weller and Colahan concludes on something along the same line, adding the Arthurian legends to the list of influences. I find it hard to tell whether or not he succeeded in this ambitious endeavour. Suffice to say he seems to have made something that stands on its own, apart from other works, but neither does it feel finished. It feels messy, a well-written novel almost there, but not quite.
I find it obvious that this is a work that should be part of the world's literary canon – it's far too important for anything else – and it deserves the resurgence in attention and study, even if its potential flaws makes that a difficult task. The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda is a too demanding read to be recommended to most readers, but the philosophically aligned reader might still want to pick it up. For all my doubts regarding drawing conclusions from it, Cervantes' final novel did succeed in one thing: He wanted the reader to think, and the book leaves the reader helpless to do otherwise.
1. The alternative English titles are: The Travels of Persiles and Sigismunda. A Northern History (1619 translation), Persiles and Sigismunda; a celebrated novel (1745 translation), The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismunda: A Northern Story (1853 translation), The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda: A Northern Story (1989 translation), and The Perils of Persiles and Sigismunda, a Northern Saga (2023 translation). As an aside, the most recent edition has due to it's choice of title, lost much credibility in my eyes. Within historical literature a 'saga' refers to a very specific style of epic poetry and storytelling, and while the word has been given a wider definition elsewhere, it would be prudent for books regarding historical literature to retain the more stringent interpretation of the word to avoid confusion. This is a novel, not a saga.
It's also worth noting that the Spanish edition has gone through several modernisations and revisions over the centuries, in part because the ageing Cervantes often misremembered his own plot and the original publishers didn't do much in the way of editing, but also to modernise the language in favour of modern legibility. This would have had an effect on any given English translation depending on which Spanish edition(s) it was based on.
2. The Greatest Books' list is the result of passing 664 lists of the best books ever through an aggregating algorithm. A book's placement here not only gives an indication of how individual literary cobblers – if a list of the best books can be considered a foundation for further reading, then surely these lists have the same function for readers as shoes have for walkers – have evaluated it, but also a more general indication of how it is viewed. Here are the listings for Don Quixote and The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda.
3. Project Gutenberg has an online re-publishing of the 1854 edition. However, a more thoroughly annotated edition is recommended to most readers.
4. Periandro is also the Spanish name for the tyrant/sage Periander of Corinth (some translations even use this name instead of Periandro). The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda is and was intended to be a Byzantine romance, and Corinth lies in what became part of The Byzantine Empire. It is said of Periander of Corinth that he kicked his pregnant wife down the stairs, killing her, out of misguided jealousy. Misguided jealousy is a theme of this book. It's hard to tell if this is enough to draw any inferences of a connection here, but the potential ought to be mentioned.
5. Persiles is a prince of Thule, or Iceland as we now call it; Sigismunda is a princess of Frisland, a large island thought at the time to exist south of Iceland, but which turned out to be the invention of a fraudster.
6. In an often used quote, Cervantes claims that his friends think The Trials of Persiles & Sigismunda will be his greatest work and he seems to agree. This quote was apparently written while he was still working on the novel. I can't find that he ever commented on it after finishing it and, if he truly didn't, then it's unknown whether or not he retained this optimism regarding it.
7. A bit of research (Romero Muñoz, 2002 Spanish edition) has concluded that much of what Cervantes writes about Northern Europe is in line with Olof Månsson's (also known as Olaus Magnus and Olaf Mansson) Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus/History of the Northern Peoples, a patriotic Swedish work which contained just as much fiction as it did fact, and from what he wrote it seems likely to me that his claims were dependent on Olof's personal inclinations towards the different regions of the north or the marketability of the claims.
March 28, 2021
Veľké a mnohopočetné sú trýzne zamilovaného srdca. Knižná telenovela zo 17. storočia. Iritovala ma dokonalosť hlavných postáv, ktoré boli akoby z iného sveta. Každý ich obdivuje, kde prídu, spôsobia rozruch, sršia všetkou múdrosťou sveta a ich konanie a zmýšľanie je až neuveriteľné. A za ďalšie, vadilo mi osobne náboženstvo, ktoré sa v knihe vyskytuje. Od toho ale musím abstrahovať, beriem na vedomie v akom období bola kniha napísana. Aby som jej ale toľko nekrivdil, musím uznať, že niektoré myšlienky o láske a zamilovaných ľuďoch mali niečo do seba. Ale to je asi všetko. Celkovo teda nič moc.
Citát na záver:
“Nevyskytuje se naděje, kterou by mohlo pokořit zoufalství, vždyť stejně jako slunce nejvíc září v temnotách, stejně tak naděje má sílit v nesnázích. Protože zoufat si v nich je projevem bojácné hrudi a není větší malomyslnosti a ponížení, než poddá-li se nesnáz, byť byla sebevětší, zoufalství.”
Citát na záver:
“Nevyskytuje se naděje, kterou by mohlo pokořit zoufalství, vždyť stejně jako slunce nejvíc září v temnotách, stejně tak naděje má sílit v nesnázích. Protože zoufat si v nich je projevem bojácné hrudi a není větší malomyslnosti a ponížení, než poddá-li se nesnáz, byť byla sebevětší, zoufalství.”
April 15, 2018
Lovely book but somehow timid and vague, as if it was just the cover, but without its very core.
It was missing Panza and Quixote, they were the true heroes breathing the soul into their story. Unfortunately this one does not compare with the previous masterpiece.
It was missing Panza and Quixote, they were the true heroes breathing the soul into their story. Unfortunately this one does not compare with the previous masterpiece.
July 25, 2021
Entertaining adventurelog visiting many places and describing many adventures.
December 8, 2025
La literatura de Cervantes está llena de piraos, y este libro no podía ser la excepción. La historia de peregrinos típica de la novela bizantina resulta lejana para un lector del sXXI, pero la sátira cervantina es atemporal.
Como todos, tenía unas expectativas y he caído en la injusticia de juzgar al Persiles como un Quijote 2.0. El problema es que tienes que olvidar el Quijote para leer el Persiles, pero menudo problema. Sin embargo, no me ha impedido pasar buenos ratos y ampliar mi pobre vocabulario castellano.
Como escribía con tino Julián Marías, el Persiles es un «extraño libro, no muy atendido ni entendido, porque unas veces se han desanimado los lectores por su complicación, irrealismo y ocasional retórica fatigosa y otras se han perdido en el análisis de sus ingredientes, en la investigación de sus fuentes, o en buscarle un trasfondo ideológico».
Como todos, tenía unas expectativas y he caído en la injusticia de juzgar al Persiles como un Quijote 2.0. El problema es que tienes que olvidar el Quijote para leer el Persiles, pero menudo problema. Sin embargo, no me ha impedido pasar buenos ratos y ampliar mi pobre vocabulario castellano.
Como escribía con tino Julián Marías, el Persiles es un «extraño libro, no muy atendido ni entendido, porque unas veces se han desanimado los lectores por su complicación, irrealismo y ocasional retórica fatigosa y otras se han perdido en el análisis de sus ingredientes, en la investigación de sus fuentes, o en buscarle un trasfondo ideológico».
November 22, 2013
Such a ridiculous book! One absurd event after another - completely intentionally melodramatic.
December 23, 2009
Such a ridiculous book! One absurd event after another - completely intentionally melodramatic.
November 2, 2015
Lo he dejado abandonado al pasar la mitad, no puedo con Cervantes.
November 5, 2022
Cervantes en 1616 ya conocía el sentimiento de ir agregando quests a lo bestia en Skyrim.
February 3, 2024
Esta larga y episódica novela póstuma cervantina desmerece al lado de las dos partes del Quijote. Es divertida (dentro de un estilo añejo y ajeno), cercana a la moderna novela de aventuras pero demasiado laberíntica, demasiados personajes que van y vienen contando sus lances e infortunios. Y para mí la mayor carencia es la del humor. Es difícil tomarse en serio esta novela que los críticos adscriben al género bizantino (influenciada por autores como Heliodoro). Nos cuenta el larguísimo periplo de los dos supuestos hermanos Periandro y Auristela primero por ubicaciones fantásticas e irreales (los dos primeros libros) y luego por Lisboa, Extremadura y hasta llegar a Roma (los dos libros finales).
Parece que existe una brecha temporal entre los dos primeros libros y los dos libros finales. La primera mitad está más adscrita a una literatura de evasión y divertimento no preocupada por la verosimilitud, mientras que la segunda mitad tiene un tono más realista. Hay críticos que piensan que la primera mitad es muy anterior a la segunda y es quizá contemporánea a «La Galatea», mientras la segunda parte es contemporánea y posterior a la segunda parte del Quijote.
Llaman la atención los pasajes metaliterarios de relato dentro del relato (que ya encontrábamos en el Quijote) y la reflexión sobre la narración que expresan los oyentes del locuaz Periandro, críticos con sus licencias y excesos.
Aparece en el capítulo 30 de la tercera parte hasta una endemoniada, por supuesto falsa: Isabela Castrucho, a la que atan a la cama. Resulta que el demonio es el amor que siente por un estudiante de Salamanca con quien no quiere casarla su tío y tutor y utiliza la treta de la posesión diabólica para emparejarse con el humilde amado. Ya en el capítulo 8 del Libro primero nos había Cervantes hablado de hombres/mujeres-lobo. La influencia y poder del demonio está presente en esta novela dicen que tridentina, aunque parece con un tono irónico.
El realismo cervantino lo encontramos en la historia de Bartolomé y la Talaverana y la impagable y divertidísima carta que aparece en el capítulo 5 de la cuarta parte. Esta carta es quizá lo que más me ha gustado del libro. Aquí está el humor, el desparpajo y el gracejo que encontramos en los personajes populares cervantinos en el Quijote. Aprovecha Cervantes para meter un rejonazo a la justicia de la época (venal incluso en la Santa Roma). Concluye Cervantes diciendo sobre la libertad del asesino Bartolomé: “…en seis días ya estaban en la calle Bartolomé, y la Talaverana: que, adonde interviene el favor y las dádivas, se allanan los riscos y se deshacen las dificultades.”
El sermón tridentino con que nos obsequia Cervantes cuando nos habla de los progresos en la verdadera fe de Auristela parece de un católico sincero.
Sólo al final del libro Cervantes nos explica el origen y causa de los viajes y trabajos de Persiles (alias Periandro) y de Sigismunda (alias Auristela) redondeando la historia que había iniciado «in medias res» como parece que era habitual en este tipo de novela bizantina.
Los personajes son planos y ausentes de alma y avanzado el libro me han dejado de interesar sus aventuras que iba encontrando reiterativas. También entre lo que puedo reprocharle al libro son las excesivas alusiones católicas que quizá nos hablan de lo cercano a la muerte que se encontraba Cervantes.
Para mí es un libro recomendable únicamente a los muy interesados en el autor, pero no la encuentro una obra imprescindible, sino más bien fallida. La leemos hoy (aunque muy pocos) únicamente por ser de Cervantes.
Parece que existe una brecha temporal entre los dos primeros libros y los dos libros finales. La primera mitad está más adscrita a una literatura de evasión y divertimento no preocupada por la verosimilitud, mientras que la segunda mitad tiene un tono más realista. Hay críticos que piensan que la primera mitad es muy anterior a la segunda y es quizá contemporánea a «La Galatea», mientras la segunda parte es contemporánea y posterior a la segunda parte del Quijote.
Llaman la atención los pasajes metaliterarios de relato dentro del relato (que ya encontrábamos en el Quijote) y la reflexión sobre la narración que expresan los oyentes del locuaz Periandro, críticos con sus licencias y excesos.
Aparece en el capítulo 30 de la tercera parte hasta una endemoniada, por supuesto falsa: Isabela Castrucho, a la que atan a la cama. Resulta que el demonio es el amor que siente por un estudiante de Salamanca con quien no quiere casarla su tío y tutor y utiliza la treta de la posesión diabólica para emparejarse con el humilde amado. Ya en el capítulo 8 del Libro primero nos había Cervantes hablado de hombres/mujeres-lobo. La influencia y poder del demonio está presente en esta novela dicen que tridentina, aunque parece con un tono irónico.
El realismo cervantino lo encontramos en la historia de Bartolomé y la Talaverana y la impagable y divertidísima carta que aparece en el capítulo 5 de la cuarta parte. Esta carta es quizá lo que más me ha gustado del libro. Aquí está el humor, el desparpajo y el gracejo que encontramos en los personajes populares cervantinos en el Quijote. Aprovecha Cervantes para meter un rejonazo a la justicia de la época (venal incluso en la Santa Roma). Concluye Cervantes diciendo sobre la libertad del asesino Bartolomé: “…en seis días ya estaban en la calle Bartolomé, y la Talaverana: que, adonde interviene el favor y las dádivas, se allanan los riscos y se deshacen las dificultades.”
El sermón tridentino con que nos obsequia Cervantes cuando nos habla de los progresos en la verdadera fe de Auristela parece de un católico sincero.
Sólo al final del libro Cervantes nos explica el origen y causa de los viajes y trabajos de Persiles (alias Periandro) y de Sigismunda (alias Auristela) redondeando la historia que había iniciado «in medias res» como parece que era habitual en este tipo de novela bizantina.
Los personajes son planos y ausentes de alma y avanzado el libro me han dejado de interesar sus aventuras que iba encontrando reiterativas. También entre lo que puedo reprocharle al libro son las excesivas alusiones católicas que quizá nos hablan de lo cercano a la muerte que se encontraba Cervantes.
Para mí es un libro recomendable únicamente a los muy interesados en el autor, pero no la encuentro una obra imprescindible, sino más bien fallida. La leemos hoy (aunque muy pocos) únicamente por ser de Cervantes.
November 11, 2022
Terminat cu patru zile înaintea morţii (scriitorul a murit la 23 aprilie 1616), când aşterne pe hârtie ultimele rânduri – dedicaţia către contele de Lemos –, romanul Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda. Historia septentrional a fost copilul târziu, îndelung aşteptat şi după toate aparenţele, cel mai îndrăgit al lui Cervantes. Publicase în 1585 prima (şi, cu toată dorinţa de a-l continua, şi ultima) parte din La Galatea, roman pastoral în gustul vremii, relevabil însă prin bune intuiţii psihologice – însingurarea eroilor punându-i în faţa propriilor trăiri lăuntrice – şi cu afluxuri de experienţe personale ce-i vor inunda întreaga operă. Urmase o foarte lungă perioadă de cvasităcere, până în 1605, când, la 58 de ani, tipăreşte prima parte din Don Quijote. Ε sigur însă că în toţi aceşti ani a meditat şi a scris mult, atacând, după obiceiul său, mai multe opere deodată, şi în genurile cele
mai diverse – teatru, proză, versuri. Odată apărut, Don Quijote îi şi adusese faima universală. În 1613 îi apar Nuvelele exemplare, în Prologul cărora ne întâmpină şi cea dintâi menţiune explicită despre Persiles şi Sigismunda: adresându-se „preaiubitului cititor”, îi mărturiseşte că „după ele (e vorba de Nuvelele exemplare, n.n.), dacă viaţa nu mă părăseşte, îţi ofer Muncile lui Persiles, carte ce cutează a se lua la întrecere cu Heliodor, de nu cumva, de prea multă cutezanţă, are să iasă cu mâinile sus”.
mai diverse – teatru, proză, versuri. Odată apărut, Don Quijote îi şi adusese faima universală. În 1613 îi apar Nuvelele exemplare, în Prologul cărora ne întâmpină şi cea dintâi menţiune explicită despre Persiles şi Sigismunda: adresându-se „preaiubitului cititor”, îi mărturiseşte că „după ele (e vorba de Nuvelele exemplare, n.n.), dacă viaţa nu mă părăseşte, îţi ofer Muncile lui Persiles, carte ce cutează a se lua la întrecere cu Heliodor, de nu cumva, de prea multă cutezanţă, are să iasă cu mâinile sus”.
January 22, 2025
Es extraño leer al último Cervantes, en especial en una historia que abarca todo el Viejo Mundo, desde el Septentrión hasta el Mediterráneo, el más antiguo de los dramas biológicos se desenvuelve con la certeza de la propia mortalidad del autor.
También creo que la mayoría nos vemos en la posición de leer de forma injusta, como siempre es el caso, a una obra que cae bajo la sombra del Quijote, y más aún, una obra con más de 400 años de antigüedad; no me refiero a los retratos de las pasiones humanas, que son de una maestría inigualable, me refiero al ritmo narrativo, y aquí el defecto es mío como lector producto de mi tiempo, y mi incapacidad para superar la extrañeza que una historia de peregrinos me causa; es una hermosa historia de aventuras y reconocimiento de los rasgos fundamentales de nuestros protagonistas Periandro y Auristela.
La novela de Cervantes merecería ser leída de forma independiente al Quijote, es decir hay que olvidarse del Qujiote para leer el Persiles, de la misma forma que King Lear es leído de forma independiente a Hamlet; hacer lecturas compartimentadas. Creo que lo más valioso en este Cervantes son estos ritmos narrativos, la extraña musicalidad de la prosa, y las posibilidades de perspectiva que el Persiles representa.
También creo que la mayoría nos vemos en la posición de leer de forma injusta, como siempre es el caso, a una obra que cae bajo la sombra del Quijote, y más aún, una obra con más de 400 años de antigüedad; no me refiero a los retratos de las pasiones humanas, que son de una maestría inigualable, me refiero al ritmo narrativo, y aquí el defecto es mío como lector producto de mi tiempo, y mi incapacidad para superar la extrañeza que una historia de peregrinos me causa; es una hermosa historia de aventuras y reconocimiento de los rasgos fundamentales de nuestros protagonistas Periandro y Auristela.
La novela de Cervantes merecería ser leída de forma independiente al Quijote, es decir hay que olvidarse del Qujiote para leer el Persiles, de la misma forma que King Lear es leído de forma independiente a Hamlet; hacer lecturas compartimentadas. Creo que lo más valioso en este Cervantes son estos ritmos narrativos, la extraña musicalidad de la prosa, y las posibilidades de perspectiva que el Persiles representa.
September 3, 2018
Cervantes solo burló de la caballería de la Edad Media y de la gente que dedicó su vida a los valores tradicionales, ¿no? No. Persiles, la ultima obra de Cervantes y el libro que el autor de El Quijote dijo fue su magnum opus, celebra el caballeresco con una sinceridad profunda. Si quieres entender los valores de la cultura ibérica durante la Edad Media Tardía y el Renacimiento, y consecuentemente el contexto cultural que influyó a los españoles en las Americas, una lectura de Persiles y Sigismunda es indispensable.
Cervantes only mocked the chivalry of the Middle Ages and the people who dedicated their lives to the values of the past, right? No. Persiles, the final work of Cervantes and the book that the author of Don Quixote said was his magnum opus, celebrates chivalry with complete sincerity. If you want to understand the values of the Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and consequently the cultural context that influenced the Spaniards in the New World, a reading of Persiles and Sigismunda is indispensable.
Cervantes only mocked the chivalry of the Middle Ages and the people who dedicated their lives to the values of the past, right? No. Persiles, the final work of Cervantes and the book that the author of Don Quixote said was his magnum opus, celebrates chivalry with complete sincerity. If you want to understand the values of the Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and consequently the cultural context that influenced the Spaniards in the New World, a reading of Persiles and Sigismunda is indispensable.
June 5, 2025
The Travails of Persiles and Sigismunda was written in the 17th century by Miguel de Cervantes, the famous Spanish author of Don Quixote de La Mancha. The heroes Persiles and Sigismunda are royals on a pilgrimage from northern Europe headed south. They pretend to be brother and sister as they travel from the North Pole to Rome. Their goal is to receive the pope’s blessings and to get married in Rome.
Persiles and Sigismunda are disguised as Periandro and Auristela as they go through many trials including kidnappings and shipwrecks. The novel was written as a Christian epic romance where Persiles and Sigismunda represent an idealized, chaste, and moral couple. The book is readable, although there are plenty of side characters and rabbit holes leading off to tangent stories. The main theme seems to be the “honor, virtue, fortitude and chastity” of the couple.
This book is on Boxall’s “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die” list.
Persiles and Sigismunda are disguised as Periandro and Auristela as they go through many trials including kidnappings and shipwrecks. The novel was written as a Christian epic romance where Persiles and Sigismunda represent an idealized, chaste, and moral couple. The book is readable, although there are plenty of side characters and rabbit holes leading off to tangent stories. The main theme seems to be the “honor, virtue, fortitude and chastity” of the couple.
This book is on Boxall’s “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die” list.
January 16, 2024
Muy al estilo de Cervantes, las historias se mezclan, las aventuras se atropellan unas tras otras y el caminar de la compañía de Periandro y Auristela es todo un peregrinar.
Con personajes bastante bien delineados y pintorescos, una narrativa clara y marcada por el lenguaje de la época, así como impregnada de los valores e ideales del autor, esta obra entretiene a pesar de lo extenso y el atropellado avance entre el arcaico castellano de 1600, que, dependiendo de la edición y la cercanía de un buen diccionario, podremos encontrar más o menos sencillo de transitar.
Ciertamente llegué a esta obra por medio de una promesa (vista no recuerdo donde) de encontrar un alto contenido humorístico, y aunque la sátira cervantina no falta, y hay ciertas situaciones con tintes humorísticos, no es un libro de chistes o cómico.
Con personajes bastante bien delineados y pintorescos, una narrativa clara y marcada por el lenguaje de la época, así como impregnada de los valores e ideales del autor, esta obra entretiene a pesar de lo extenso y el atropellado avance entre el arcaico castellano de 1600, que, dependiendo de la edición y la cercanía de un buen diccionario, podremos encontrar más o menos sencillo de transitar.
Ciertamente llegué a esta obra por medio de una promesa (vista no recuerdo donde) de encontrar un alto contenido humorístico, y aunque la sátira cervantina no falta, y hay ciertas situaciones con tintes humorísticos, no es un libro de chistes o cómico.
February 25, 2024
Mi profesor de barroco insistía en que este era el mejor libro de Cervantes. Discrepo, pero me ha gustado, no solo por conocer más de su obra sino por leer algo de novela bizantina española, que solo la había estudiado. El Persiles me parece mucho más interesante en sus dos primeras partes, las más fantasiosas y extrañas, coincidiendo con la localización geográfica ambigua en el norte lejano; se vuelve más realista y menos interesante una vez que los peregrinos llegan a España (y luego pasan a Francia e Italia).
July 27, 2024
Ultima operă a lui Cervantes (scriitorul a murit la 23 aprilie 1616, la doar patru zile după ce a terminat romanul) , volumul de față este povestea, evident, ficțională, a călătoriei unui cuplu de îndrăgostiți, din îndepărtatul Nord până la cetatea Romei.
Evident, drumul este departe de a fi ușor, iar încercările prin care trec protagoniștii îi ajută să se regăsească pe sine și să se definească mai bine ca persoane.
Nu l-aș recomanda cu prea multă căldură, dar probabil că există fanii potriviți și pentru acest gen de lectură...
Evident, drumul este departe de a fi ușor, iar încercările prin care trec protagoniștii îi ajută să se regăsească pe sine și să se definească mai bine ca persoane.
Nu l-aș recomanda cu prea multă căldură, dar probabil că există fanii potriviți și pentru acest gen de lectură...
September 8, 2024
Una serie de aventuras con boda y anagnórisis (reconocimiento) final. No he conseguido conectar con las peripecias ni con los personajes, aunque se supone que solo se concibió como un libro de entretenimiento. Con lo que me gusta el Cervantes de _El Quijote_ y las _Novelas ejemplares_ y este, pese a considerarse a sí mismo el mejor, el escritor más experimentado y el más refinado, no me termina de enseñar nada. Me han gustado los elaborados argumentos que esbozan los personajes cada vez que tienen que justificar su actitud o su visión ante cualquier aspecto.
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