Hi, RMD.
I don't want to do a lot of analysis, but I see these parallels:
"Restless" is a good word, and song, to describe both of them. We know of Gord as the wandering minstrel, the northwoods canoer, the writer of songs about trains, airplanes and highways. Cervantes was born to an itinerant surgeon (not like today's millionaire surgeons--this was a pretty hand-to-mouth existence), who would wander from town to town doing minor medical procedures. That wanderlust was part of Cervantes' character, as he traveled to Italy to study, joined the army (and was wounded in battle), and even applied to go to the New World to seek his fortune (Fortune intervened, his request was denied, and he had to remain in Spain to write what many have called the world's greatest novel). The observations from his travels are infused in his writing, just as they are with Gord's.
Like GL, Cervantes had a somewhat troubled personal life. He married a woman much younger than he, and with whom he did not get along, but also fathered a child out of wedlock and was arrested for fighting a duel and severely wounding his opponent. The biggest link that I see between the two is right here: how they are able to describe beautiful situations and see life from the perspective of the ideal, while also showing human flaws (including their own), as well as depicting both the ideal and the real with well-turned phrases, and sometimes of wink of an eye and good humor; this intermingling of the ideal and the real (think of, for example, "Wild Strawberries")is, as I've stated in another post, one of the defining characteristics of Cervantes. One more interesting (I hope) link that I've seen is how music, women and love are intertwined. Think of "Make Way for the Lady" and "Harmony"--is he talking about a concrete individual, love in general, or the musical muse? In some ways they are fused and become one and the same. In DQ, the knight dedicates his victories to Dulcinea del Toboso, a concrete person (although really pig herder), who becomes the incarnation of love and beauty, and his inspiration for victory.
That's enough for now; I'd be glad to answer any other questions you have.
Cheers,
DQ
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