Analyzing the differences between the Don Quixote translations is all well and good, but what were the social, political, and cultural factors that influenced these differences? Each of the translators in this site had a distinctively unique life experience, owing to the country they grew up in and the technological, political, and social movements they might have lived through.

Thomas Shelton, Charles Jarvis (also spelled Jervas), and John Ormsby all grew up with an Irish background, but each lived almost a century apart from each other. Shelton, the first Don Quixote translator, was a Roman Catholic who lived in the late 16^th and early 17^th centuries, traveling throughout England, Spain, and Ireland. At this time, the Protestant Reformation was sweeping through Europe, but it failed to take hold in Ireland, which remained mostly Catholic during Shelton’s life. Miguel Cervantes was also a Catholic, so Shelton and Cervantes had a similar religious outlook on the world. However, even though they lived during the same time period and identified as Catholic, they lived in countries with vastly different religious practices; Shelton lived in Ireland and received no scrutiny for his Catholicism whereas Spain at this time was not altogether accepting of the Catholic religion. Therefore, the scrutiny and marginalization that Cervantes must have received during his life might have caused him to take a different outlook or view on religious characters within his book. Depictions of Catholics or their religious practices as being distrusted, or occurring at odd times of the day to avoid interference might have been understood by Spaniards of the time period who understood the background, but might not have been accurately understood by translators of other countries and time periods, which could lead readers of English translations to not understand the reasoning behind some scenes (such as Quixote encountering a funeral procession led by a priest in the middle of the night).

Jarvis lived after a series of wars in Ireland which established Protestantism as the major religious power, and Catholics were not granted full rights until the year of Ormsby’s birth, 1829. Jarvis therefore lived in a period of religious turmoil similar to 17^th century Spain and could have understood the skepticism of Catholics that existed during Cervantes’ life, and therefore accurately guessed at the reasoning behind depictions of various religious practices and leaders in the book. Conversely, Ormsby was a member of the Anglican Church and lived in a period of religious acceptance in Ireland, so might have similar religious experiences as Shelton, although he was not Catholic like Shelton or Cervantes. In the Anglican Church there is no hierarchy, and the priests are not subjected to vows of celibacy – both of these are the complete opposite of the practices of the Catholic Church. Because of this Ormsby might not have been as accustomed with specific customs regarding religious superiors – such as the character of the Curate in the book. This might have led to an inappropriate omission of manners towards the Curate or other priests who make appearances throughout the book by characters like Quixote and Sancho, making it seem like these individuals are on an equal hierarchical and social standing when in reality this is most certainly not what Cervantes intended.

The 18^th century saw a period of intellectual and scientific enlightenment for Scotland, and Humanist outlooks took root throughout the country. Tobias Smollett was born, raised, and educated in Scotland during the 18^th century, and was also a poet and author, which could explain his beautiful prose in his translation of Don Quixote. Humanists believed in the importance of rational thinking and that knowledge is not derived from God or a higher power. Both the Scottish Enlightenment and these Humanist ideals would have surrounded Smollett throughout his entire life. These beliefs could have influenced Smollett in his depiction of Quixote; Smollett lived on the verge of the Romantic era and his book was a medium between the depictions of Don Quixote as pure satire and as a sad, idealistic novel. His translation had the ability to diverge from this belief of Don Quixote as strictly a comedy because of his exposure to the Humanist viewpoint towards rational thinking and a deep meaning in every work of intellectual design.

Finally, Peter Motteux was a French author and playwright who lived in the late 17^th and early 18^th century. Louis XIV was the King of France during Motteux’s entire life, and he expanded the French empire into the New World. Motteux also saw the illegalization of Protestantism (the exact opposite of the experiences of Jarvis and Cervantes, who lived in countries that welcomed Protestantism) and numerous conflicts with Spain throughout his lifetime. Because his country was at odds with Spain, it is entirely possible that Motteux adopted a more biased view of that country and its culture, which could have seeped into his translation of Don Quixote. Motteux is often accused of not bothering to pay attention to the Spanish of the original and perhaps his country’s conflict with Spain could be an explanation for Motteux’s disregard.

Although most of these variations – owing to the political, religious, and social climate of the country and era of each translator – is pure speculation, they have merit and deserve a long, in-depth analysis to be fully understood. The histories of each translator and their country of origin and education would need to be studied so it can be fully understood what their perspectives and outlook on the world might be. It would then be necessary to examine each translator’s edition in its entirety and compare it to the original in order to determine how their biases and perspectives seeped into the pages of their translation. The Curate addresses the issue of translated works, pointing out that “They never can reach the level of the originals as they were first produced.”