Gaskell and Spanish Culture : Quixotic Traces in "Cranford" and "The Moorland Cottage"

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Although there is no evidence that Gaskell read Cervantes’s "Don Quixote" or travelled to Spain, one can find evidence of her awareness of Spanish culture and its literature in both her letters and her fiction. She mentions Spain in different letters – the country itself, its products, its songs and its literature. In her fiction, Spain is mentioned as the new home country of Frederick, the heroine’s brother in "North and South". In "Cranford" and "The Moorland Cottage", we find different quixotic figurations, from the traditional – and closer to the original – old nobleman to the female version. This study analyses Gaskell’s connections with Spain and its culture, with a particular focus on the quixotic heroine in "The Moorland Cottage".