Cervantes and Modernity

Don Quixote is not merely old — it is startlingly modern. Characters in Part Two have read Part One and recognize Quixote from his published adventures. Cervantes invented metafiction four centuries before postmodernism: his characters even encounter a fraudulent sequel (a rival writer really did publish an unauthorized Part Two) and must assert their identity against fictional impostors. The book anticipates today's debates about narrative, identity, and the power of stories to shape reality.