Ricote, a Spaniard outside of Spain: Identity and Spaces for Freedom in Cervantes

Abstract

This paper offers a reading of the Morisco character Ricote (Quijote, II, 54) from the perspective of the experience of emigration and exile of a Spaniard outside of Spain. The paper offers also a reflection on the related issues of Ricote’s identity as a «Spaniard», as well as that of the spaces created by Cervantes within the novel to present, with a certain degree of freedom, both a moving portrait of the character, and a defense of his expulsion from Spain.