Don Quixote de la Mancha and St. Ignatius of Loyola according to Miguel de Unamuno’s reinterpretation

Abstract

Miguel de Unamuno consistently compared his Knight of the Faith, don Quixote, with various religious figures. Nevertheless, one of the parallels on which he insisted most was the relationship with the Jesuit St. Ignatius of Loyola. In turn, our author played different roles, in most of the occasions, introducing him as his prophet responsible for preaching the quixotic action with the word and the example. At other times, he equaled don Quixote when he had previously equated the Jesuit saint, creating thus an indirect self-divination. This article intends to offer a multidirectional entailment between the Unamuno’s don Quixote, St. Ignatius, Pedro de Ribadeneyra —saint’s biographer— and Unamuno.