Cervantes' novel incorporates conventions and stereotypes used in comedy and farce, thereby reproducing their concept of decorum

Cervantes' novel incorporates conventions and stereotypes used in comedy and farce, thereby reproducing their concept of decorum. In this way, clothing, though influenced by satirical and symbolic tendencies, is used mainly as a stable instrument of social classification. The frequent use of costumes in the novel is a destabilizing factor, yet one still limited by certain conventions common to Golden Age dramatic genres. The second part of the paper focuses on the presence in Don Quixote of an important theory of clothing, which transcends the use and meaning of clothing in comedy and farce. Through the ethical and intellectual development of the main characters, the novel reveals the non-correspondence between outward appearance and individual worth as determined by social class.

Azcue, Verónica

Cervantes: Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America, ISSN 0277-6995, Vol. 24, Nº. 1, 2004, pags. 23-38