Don Quixote: A Comprehensive Guide to Cervantes’ Masterpiece
Don Quixote
1. Cervantes’ Novels
Cervantes wrote various types of novels, including:
- Pastoral novel: La Galatea
- Byzantine/Adventure novel: The Work of Persiles and Sigismund
He also wrote twelve novellas (short stories with picaresque, courtier, and adventure elements), including:
- Rinconete y Cortadillo
- The English-Spanish
- The Illustrious Mop
2. Don Quixote Editions
Don Quixote had two editions:
- 1605 (First Part): Prologue, burlesque poems, and 52 chapters divided into two outings.
- 1615 (Second Part): Prologue and 74 chapters consisting of one outing.
3. The Apocryphal Don Quixote
Between the first and second parts, an apocryphal Don Quixote, signed by Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda, was published in 1614. This work plagiarized, insulted, and ridiculed Cervantes. Cervantes used the second part’s prologue to defend himself and conclude his hero’s story.
4. Sources and Influences
Don Quixote draws influences from various narrative styles of the time (pastoral, chivalrous, courteous, Byzantine, Moorish, sentimental), ballads, Erasmian ideals, and Cervantes’ classical training.
5. Prologues
The prologues are key to understanding Don Quixote:
- First Prologue: Cervantes addresses readers ironically, seeking approval and lamenting the literary situation.
- Second Prologue: A more personal and pained portrait of Cervantes, defending himself against Avellaneda.
6. Structure
The book has two parts, structured in three outings (two in the first part, one in the second). Each outing follows a pattern:
- Departure from the village
- Development (Don Quixote confronts distorted reality and fails)
- Return to the village (in difficult conditions, ultimately without hope)
Interwoven are novellas read or recounted by other characters.
7. Setting
Don Quixote‘s adventures occur in real Spanish locations:
- Castilla-La Mancha and Sierra Morena (first part)
- Zaragoza, Catalonia, and Aragon (second part)
The spaces are real; it is Don Quixote’s imagination that modifies them.
8. Characters
Main Characters:
- Don Quixote (Alonso Quijano): Represents chivalric ideals, utopian fantasy, and the power of imagination. He embodies nobility, generosity, and love.
- Sancho Panza: Don Quixote’s squire and friend. Realistic, interested, selfish, and practical. He and Don Quixote complement and influence each other.
Minor Characters:
- Dulcinea (Aldonza Lorenzo): Don Quixote’s idealized lady, a rough and vulgar peasant woman in reality.
- Bachelor Sansón Carrasco
- The Priest
- Don Quixote’s Nephew
- Don Quixote’s Housekeeper
Numerous other characters from different social groups appear sporadically (dukes, innkeepers, goatherds, bourgeois, barbers, merchants, etc.).
9. Narrative Styles
Don Quixote incorporates diverse narrative styles: narration, direct dialogue (tailored to each character), descriptions of environments and people, interspersed stories told by characters, letters, speeches, and poems.
10. Themes and Intention
The work explores the conflict between reality and ideal (utopia), offering multiple perspectives. It uses humor, criticism, and realism to address themes such as freedom, religion, love, women, arms and letters, and literary criticism, reflecting Cervantes’ worldview and understanding of human emotions.
11. Don Quixote’s Madness
Don Quixote’s madness is a literary device. It evolves throughout the work:
- First Part: Don Quixote imposes his delusions onto reality, experiencing a split personality.
- Second Part: Others deceive Don Quixote, manipulating reality to mock him.
Outside of his delusions, Don Quixote is sane, fair, and wise.