Acceso usuarios
Tania de Miguel Magro
One of the most widely analyzed aspects of El trato de Argel is its fragmentary structure that allows for the coexistence of multiple opinions and points of view. Behind an apparently dualist and Manichean discourse (good/evil, we/they, Spain/Algiers...), Cervantes, I claim, resorts to a complex game of mirrors that hides and simultaneously projects his inability to bring together his admiration for the Spanish empire, his military pride, and his faith with his rejection of Philip II’s foreign policy, his yearning for peace, and his questioning of inquisitorial cruelty. The juxtaposition of parallel scenes unveils a harsh reflection about the relativity of truth and the insurmountable contradiction that exists between political ideology and the misery that results from its implementation. The text is both a humanistic cry to resolve the Algerian problem and the acceptance of the impossibility of achieving such a desired resolution.
