Don Quixote: A Literary Masterpiece by Cervantes
Don Quixote: A Literary Masterpiece
Publication History
The first part of Don Quixote, titled The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha, was published in 1605. It consists of a prologue, burlesque poems, and 52 chapters grouped into four parts. The second part was published in 1615 with a title change: The Ingenious Knight Don Quixote de la Mancha. It consists of a prologue and 74 chapters.
Sources of Inspiration
Besides drawing inspiration from various narrative models such as pastoral, Byzantine, chivalric, sentimental, Moorish, and picaresque novels, the initial chapters of Don Quixote show the influence of an anonymous 16th-century work and popular romances.
Prologue Insights
In the first part’s prologue, Cervantes states his purpose: to critique books of chivalry, which he considered poorly written, with incredible and obscene events.
Structure and Narrative Scheme
Don Quixote has a principal action organized into three parts. Parts one and two are narrated in the first part of the book, and part three covers the entire second part of the book.
The narrative scheme is as follows:
- Departure from the Village: Initially, Don Quixote leaves his house alone. In the subsequent two departures, he is accompanied by his faithful squire, Sancho Panza. In the preliminaries of the third departure, the bachelor Samson appears, seeking Don Quixote and causing his defeat.
- Adventures: Don Quixote’s adventures are somewhat similar. He faces reality but perceives it in a distorted way, frequently failing and receiving blows. In the third part, a change occurs: the main character is no longer mistaken, but those around him distort reality for convenience or fun at his expense.
- Return to the Village: The three departures conclude with a return home. The journey plays a fundamental role, as encounters with people of all kinds and social classes occur. These encounters with other characters originate episodes outside the central action; some of these accounts are disconnected from the main action.
Time and Space
The narrative is chronological and linear. Don Quixote leaves for the first time on a day in June, and the adventures happen thereafter. Other departures and his death follow. Temporary allusions are scarce, inconsistent, and nonsensical. In the first part, the protagonist travels through the mountains until dark when they stop at an inn, which becomes important. In the second part, he moves through Aragon and Catalonia. More time is spent in detention, and the fundamental space is the palace of the dukes, who hatch jokes at the expense of the knight.
Characters
Don Quixote
Don Quixote is described as a tall, thin, old, angry, educated, lonely, brave, and impulsive reader. The theme of madness is central to the work and is the basis of the conflict between the hero and reality.
Sancho Panza
Sancho Panza is short, pot-bellied, conservative, illiterate, married, practical, and peaceful. He is a farmer from La Mancha. Don Quixote promises him the reward of an island. He transforms into a complex and independent character who doubts, lies, is deceived, laughs, cries, and is both silly and discreet, but always good and compassionate.
Dulcinea
Dulcinea is a fictional character created by Don Quixote, based on Aldonza Lorenzo, a strong and somewhat unattractive villager whom the hero has only seen briefly and with whom he has never spoken. Dulcinea does not appear in the story.
Other Characters
The characters belong to all social categories: innkeepers, shepherds, the wealthy, nobles, clerics, etc. The protagonists, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, are two distinct and complementary figures who travel along roads. Their relationship changes from authority and obedience to criticism and confrontation, but they are always united by friendship and loyalty.
Narration and Narrator
The main narrator is omniscient and sometimes uses the first person. In the first eight chapters, he refers to various sources of information, different authors, and assumptions about the annals of La Mancha. In Chapter IX, he is introduced as a character to tell how he found the manuscript of Don Quixote.
Fictional Authors
The historian Hamete is the author of the manuscript. The original is translated by Aljamiado Moorish narrators. These characters have stories of various kinds interspersed in the work. Some characters are storytellers who are simply witnesses, others are involved in the stories, and some are the protagonists.
Types of Speech and Language
- Narrator’s Discourse: Formed by the narrator’s commentary on the action and statements as a fictitious author.
- Characters’ Discourse: Dialogues are common. Characters speak their part and change their register.
- Characters-Narrators’ Discourse: Introduces the different characters involved in the narrative account of their stories.
- Don Quixote’s Language: In his adventures, he often uses an archaic, chivalric, and oratorical style, although he also uses a conversational style when appropriate.
- Sancho’s Speech: The most striking features are his sayings, and when he wants to imitate Don Quixote, he uses a more formal and rhetorical language.
Dialogue is central to the work, and there are also monologues, documents, letters, and poems, all presided over by humor and irony.