Traditions and Socio-cultural Practices Related to the World of Cats. Cervantine Creation in Two Revealing Episodes of Don Quixote: that of Miulina (I, 18) and that of the Incident with the Cats (II, 46)

Abstract

The cat, that ambivalent animal, does not appear much in Don Quixote. However, it plays a fundamental role in two episodes of this work: that of Miulina (I, 18) and that of the incident with the cats (II, 46) linked to the role of Altisidora. In our work, the linguistic games related to the names of the two women are analyzed, as well as the references to traditions and socio-cultural practices related to the world of cats, in order to understand the various peculiarities of the two passages, as well as their ludic-erotic tone, which allows us to grasp the characteristics of Cervantine creation.