We explain who Don Quixote is, why he is so important and his characters. Also, what are the characteristics and structure of it.
Don Quixote is the most important work of all literature in Spanish.
Who is Don Quixote?
Known as Don Quixote, Don Quixote de la Mancha and nicknamed “The Knight of the Sad Figure”, Alonso Quijano is the central character of the novel by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote of La Mancha.
This work It was published in 1605 and is considered the first modern novel.To this day it can be said that it is the most important work of all Spanish literature and one of the most fundamental works of universal literature of all time.
The novel It is written in two independent volumes. The second of them was published in 1615 with the title Second part of the ingenious knight Don Quixote of La Mancha.
Is about a satirical or burlesque tale of the medieval genre of chivalric romanceswhich engages in dialogue with the Spanish and European tradition as a whole. It had a huge impact on the literary culture of the time and of the following centuries.
The narration of the adventures of Don Quixote have been taken to various artistic formats: have inspired paintings, plays, films and even apocryphal versions. An example was the famous Don Quixote of Avellaneda published in 1614 and signed by the licentiate Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda, pseudonym of a still unknown author.
Summary of the work Don Quixote
Don Quixote ends up believing himself to be a knight errant after reading many novels.
Cervantes’ novel tells the adventures and misadventures of Alonso Quijano, an old man of noble origin who has come very low. This character, from reading so many chivalric novels, He ends up believing himself to be a knight errant and arming himself like Don Quixote. To do this wears the rusty armor of some forgotten ancestor and riding a poor, skinny, ruined horse that he names Rocinante.
In his adventures, Don Quixote Meet Sancho Panzaa poor and naive peasant whom he convinces to be his squire. Sancho accompanies him to seek his fortune, under the promise of becoming governor of some island that they discover together.
Together they go out on the roads to “right away wrongs”, as Don Quixote would say. In the midst of their adventures they meet other characters from the region. They listen to their stories and help them on their destinations or simply accompany them for a while. Finally, tired of so much punishment received and without fulfilling their dream of becoming rich and famousthey return to the village, for the end of the first volume of the work.
In the second volume, the roles are reversed. Alonso Quijano has finally regained luciditybut this has cost him his vitality and he is depressed, awaiting death. To cheer him up, Sancho Panza decides to urge him to resume his adventures.
After convincing him that reality is fiction and fiction is reality, They both embark on new adventuresin which everyone already knows Don Quixote and plays along. This second volume ends with the return home and the death of Alonso Quijano.
Importance of the work Don Quixote
Don Quixote of La Mancha was the first modern novelIn it we meet not only the main characters, but also dozens of other characters who tell their story and enrich the main narrative arc. That is why it is also considered the first polyphonic novel in history.
In addition, the work It is rich in literary and political satires of the time, in references to chivalric novels and in games that founded the genre of the novel as we understand it today. It is a universal reference of Spanish and European culture of the moment, and a true gem of literature.
Characters from the work of Don Quixote
The novel presents dozens of characters in its two volumes, but of all of them the main ones are:
- Alonso Quijano, “Don Quixote.” He is the protagonist of the story along with Sancho, and the one who gives the story its title.
- Sancho Panza. He is Don Quixote’s squire, who accompanies him on his adventures, riding a grey donkey, under the promise of making him governor of an “island.”
- Rocinante. It is Don Quixote’s horse, just as old and ruined as he is.
- Dulcinea of Toboso. She is the imaginary beloved of Don Quixote, since every knight-errant must have an ideal and impossible love to which he can dedicate his exploits.
- The priest and the town barber. They are friends of Alonso Quijano and they insist on bringing him back from madness, as well as preventing him from going around the world making a fool of himself.
- The bachelor Samsón Carrasco. He is the one who poses as the “knight of the mirrors”, defeats Don Quixote in a chivalric duel and thus manages to end his madness.
Characteristics of Don Quixote
Don Quixote is a stubborn man, with firm opinions and bravery.
Alonso Quijano is characterized by being an old, lanky and extremely thin manHe is usually depicted with a beard and wearing dilapidated armor. Cervantes describes it as “countersunk” and that he was “around fifty years old. He was of strong build, lean and thin-faced” (Chapter I of the first part).
From a psychological point of view, Don Quixote is a stubborn man, with strong opinions and braveHis enormous imagination allows him to see the real world as if it were in the books of chivalry. In this sense, Don Quixote does not act like a madman, but like a child who believes in his own game.
Don Quixote see giants where there are windmills and enemy armies where flocks of sheep cross. But on the other hand, he has brief moments of lucidity, in which she demonstrates clear reasoning and discreet wisdom.
There is a “Don Quixote route” in Spain, which follows the alleged steps of the character in La Mancha, Aragon and Catalonia, along 2,500 km in length. It has been declared a European cultural itinerary by the Council of Europe.
Don Quixote’s relationship with Sancho Panza
The relationship with his squire creates the most amusing dialogues and situations.
The relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is extremely rich, and gives rise to the most entertaining dialogues and interactions between the supposed knight-errant and his supposed squire. In that sense, we can summarise it in two moments:
- The first part. Don Quixote is delirious and pushes Sancho to look at the world through the lens of his imagination. He convinces him that things are really as Don Quixote sees them and that, in any case, some sorcerer could have confused his squire’s gaze to prevent him from seeing the enemy army, disguising it as a flock of sheep.
- The second part. The roles are reversed: Don Quixote regains his sanity and begins to see the world as it is, which leads him to depression and illness. Meanwhile, Sancho Panza, moved by the health of his master, is determined to make him regain his delirium and convince him that it is now his eyes that are deceiving him, the prey of some evil spell.
Structure of the work Don Quixote
The novel of Don Quixote It is structured in four partsin the style of chivalric novels such as the Amadis of GaulIt is made up of 52 chapters, separated into four parts of 8, 6, 14 and 24 chapters each.
Also It has a prologue or letter to the reader written by Cervantesin which he mocks the erudition of other authors (among them Lope de Vega).
The second volume consists of 74 chaptersas well as a new prologue in which the author defends himself against the accusations made against him in the prologue of the apocryphal Quixote.
Don Quixote of Avellaneda
The apocryphal Quixote It was published in 1614and it was signed by a certain Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda, a native of Tordesillas. It is known, however, that it was a pseudonym, but it is not known who it was.
exist Various theories regarding the authorship of this work. Some of them point to a former comrade in arms of Cervantes, who would have felt indignant after recognizing himself in a character from the first part.
The truth is that this apocryphal Don Quixote has an introduction in which accuses Cervantes of being a coward and of other base acts. Then it narrates, in a very similar way to the original, Don Quixote’s adventures in Madrid, Toledo and his confinement in an asylum. He finally promises a third part, which would take place in Old Castile, Ávila and Valladolid.
Biography of Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) He was a soldier, novelist, short story writer and playwright. of Spanish origin. He is one of the greatest literary representatives of the Spanish Golden Age.
It is known as the “Prince of Wits” or as the “One-Handed Man of Lepanto”as he had lost the use of one hand in the battle of the same name. According to his own letter to the reader, he wrote Don Quixote in prison, when he was captured by the Moors of Algiers. He died of diabetes in Madrid at the age of 68.