Quixote's Pilgrimage to Beauty as a Message for the Present

Abstract

The article expands the existing literary interpretations of Cervantes’ Don Quixote (interpretation of the character as a symbol and as the first existential hero of world literature), adding a philosophical-anthropological (especially phenomenological) and theological interpretation.The text deals with the aesthetic, ethical, and religious reflection on the character of Don Quixote through the prism of a new ‘reading’ of the novel and its protagonist in the spirit of the Catholic line of interpretation and the phenomenon of beauty. The interpretation of Don Quixote as a knight, saint, and fool is focused on the perspective of realising his ‘via pulchritudinis’ (path of beauty). As a pilgrim looking for Beauty, he is sought especially through the application of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theology of beauty. The author arrives at the concept of Don Quixote as a knight of beauty, whose love for Dulcinea is an analogy of the soul’s relationship with God, the source of all harmony and beauty. The text provides an argument supporting this interpretation. It shows the beauty of a life transformed by love and freedom, creating a bridge to transcendence. Don Quixote becomes a real patron of the Catholic literary heritage, and the author of the article recommends ‘reading’ it through the lens of beautifulness.