Dulcinea | fictional character | Britannica.com fictional character Alternative Title: Dulcinea del Toboso Similar Topics Rocinante Dulcinea, in full Dulcinea del Toboso, fictional character in the two-part picaresque novel Don Quixote (Part I, 1605; Part II, 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes . Aldonza Lorenzo, a sturdy Spanish peasant girl, is renamed Dulcinea by the crazed knight-errant Don Quixote when he selects her to be his lady. Don Quixote perceives Dulcinea as a golden-haired highborn young woman of incomparable loveliness for whom he will perform brave deeds as her paladin. The name Dulcinea, like Dulcibella , came to be used generically to mean mistress or sweetheart. Learn More in these related articles: Don Quixote (novel by Cervantes) novel published in two parts (Part I, 1605; Part II, 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes, one of the most widely read classics of Western literature.

Originally conceived as a comic satire against the chivalric romances then in literary vogue, it describes realistically what befalls an elderly knight who,... Miguel de Cervantes September 29?, 1547 Alcalá de Henares, Spain April 22, 1616 Madrid Spanish novelist, playwright, and poet, the creator of Don Quixote (1605, 1615) and the most important and celebrated figure in Spanish literature. His novel Don Quixote has been translated, in full or in part, into more than... Don Quixote (fictional character) 17th-century Spanish literary character, the protagonist of the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. The book, originally published in Spanish in two parts (1605, 1615), concerns the eponymous would-be knight errant whose delusions of grandeur make him the butt of many practical jokes. 1 Reference found in Britannica Articles Assorted Reference Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later.

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Close Date Published: May 07, 2010 URL: Access Date: January 19, 2017 Share SparkNotes: Don Quixote: Character List Character List Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Don Quixote - The novel’s tragicomic hero. Don Quixote’s main quest in life is to revive knight-errantry in a world devoid of chivalric virtues and values. He believes only what he chooses to believe and sees the world very differently from most people. Honest, dignified, proud, and idealistic, he wants to save the world. As intelligent as he is mad, Don Quixote starts out as an absurd and isolated figure and ends up as a pitiable and lovable old man whose strength and wisdom have failed him. Read an in-depth analysis of Don Quixote. Sancho Panza - The peasant laborer—greedy but kind, faithful but cowardly—whom Don Quixote takes as his squire. A representation of the common man, Sancho is a foil to Don Quixote and virtually every other character in the novel.

His proverb-ridden peasant’s wisdom and self-sacrificing Christian behavior prove to be the novel’s most insightful and honorable worldview. He has an awestruck love for Don Quixote but grows self-confident and saucy, ending the novel by advising his master in matters of deep personal philosophy. Read an in-depth analysis of Sancho Panza. Rocinante - Don Quixote’s barn horse. Rocinante is slow but faithful, and he is as worn out as Don Quixote is. Dapple - Sancho’s donkey. Dapple’s disappearance and reappearance is the subject of much controversy both within the story and within the literary criticism concerning Don Quixote. Cide Hamete Benengeli - The fictional writer of Moorish decent from whose manuscripts Cervantes supposedly translates the novel. Cervantes uses the figure of Benengeli to comment on the ideas of authorship and literature explored in the novel and to critique historians. Benengeli’s opinions, bound in his so-called historical text, show his contempt for those who write about chivalry falsely and with embellishment. Dulcinea del Toboso - The unseen force driving all of Don Quixote’s adventures.

Dulcinea, a peasant woman whom Don Quixote envisions as his ladylove, has no knowledge of his chivalric dedication to her. Though constantly mentioned and centrally important to the novel, she never appears as a physical character. Read an in-depth analysis of Dulcinea del Toboso. Cervantes - The supposed translator of Benengeli’s historical novel, who interjects his opinions into the novel at key times. Cervantes intentionally creates the impression that he did not invent the character of Don Quixote. Like Benengeli, Cervantes is not physically present but is a character nonetheless. In his prologues, dedications, and invention of Benengeli, Cervantes enhances the self-referential nature of the novel and forces us to think about literature’s purpose and limitations. The Duke and Duchess - The cruel and haughty contrivers of the adventures that occupy Don Quixote for the majority of the novel’s Second Part. Bored and snobby, the Duke and Duchess feign interest in Don Quixote and Sancho but continually play pranks on them for their personal entertainment.

The Duke and Duchess spend so much money and effort on their ploys that they seem as mad as Don Quixote. Altisidora - The Duchess’s bratty maid. Altisidora pretends to love Don Quixote, mocking his concept of romantic love. Sampson Carrasco - A sarcastic student from Don Quixote’s village. Sampson mocks Don Quixote at first but loses to him in combat and then dedicates himself to revenge. Self-important and stuffy, Sampson fails to grasp the often playful nature of Don Quixote’s madness. The priest - A friend of Don Quixote’s. The priest disapproves of fictional books that, in his opinion, negatively influence society. Nonetheless, he enjoys tales of chivalry so much that he cannot throw them away. Moreover, despite his social conscience, he enjoys Don Quixote’s madness at times. The barber - Don Quixote’s friend who recognizes Quixote’s madness but intervenes only to help the priest carry out his plans. The barber strenuously disapproves of Don Quixote’s chivalry. Teresa Panza - Sancho’s good-hearted wife.

Teresa speaks in proverbs, exhibiting more wisdom than most other characters. Unambitious but a bit greedy, she endures Sancho’s exploits and supports him with her prayers. Cardenio - An honorable man who is driven mad by the infidelities of his wife, Lucinda, and the treachery of a duke, Ferdinand. Cardenio is the quintessential romantic lover. Lucinda - Cardenio’s wife. Silent and beautiful, Lucinda is a model of the courtly woman. Docile and innocent, she obliges her parents and her lover. Ferdinand - An arrogant young duke who steals Lucinda from Cardenio with no remorse. Dorothea - Ferdinand’s faithful and persistent love. Dorothea flouts tradition to hunt down Ferdinand when he takes her chastity but refuses to marry her. Deceptive and cunning, smart and aggressive, Dorothea is not the typical female character of her time. Countess Trifaldi - A fictitious maidservant in distress who is impersonated by the Duke’s steward. The countess’s sob story sends Don Quixote and Sancho off on their expedition on the wooden horse.

She is more ridiculous and fantastic than anyone except Don Quixote. Gines de Pasamonte - An ungrateful galley slave whom Don Quixote frees. Gines appears mostly for comic relief, but his justifications for his crimes force us to be more critical of Don Quixote’s justifications for his crimes. Roque Guinart - A chivalrous bandit. Inherently conflicted, Roque believes in justice and generosity but kills an underling who challenges him for being so generous to others. More Help Love Interest in Don Quixote Character Role Analysis Dulcinea del Toboso For someone who doesn't exist, Dulcinea del Toboso is a major figure in this book. The product of Don Quixote's frantic imagination, Dulcinea inspires nearly every action Don Quixote makes. In Part 1, Don Quixote spends all his time trying to perform great deeds so he can impress this fictional woman. In Part 2, he rides around trying to fight giants and wizards with the hope that he'll be able to break a curse that has been cast on his beloved Dulcinea. Mind you, Dulcinea is based on a real woman in the book.

But it's a woman Don Quixote has never met or seen, so she might as well be a total figment of his imagination. Don Quixote: Summary, Characters, Themes & Author - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com Don Quixote: Summary, Characters, Themes & Author Watch short & fun videos Start Your Free Trial Today An error occurred trying to load this video. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. You must create an account to continue watching Register for a free trial Are you a student or a teacher? I am a student Start Your Free Trial To Continue Watching As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed. Coming up next: Dorian Gray Character Analysis You're on a roll. Keep up the good work! Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds 0:01 Don Quixote 0:46 Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 1:35 Characters Add to Add to Add to Want to watch this again later? Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course.

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Only Study.com members will be able to access the entire course. Create an account to start this course today Try it free for 5 days! Lesson Transcript Instructor: Jennifer Reed Are you familiar with the classic scene from Don Quixote where the main character attacks the windmills, mistaking them as giants? There is more to this novel, of course, and this lesson will explore its plot, characters, themes, and author. Don Quixote Written between 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote, also known as The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, is a novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The novel, originally written in Spanish, is about a wannabe knight, Alonso Quixano, who drags a farmer, Sancho Panza, along on a series of adventures to restore the idea of chivalry back to its former glory. Interestingly, in addition to being considered one of the greatest works of fiction, Don Quixote is one of the earliest novels. A novel is defined as a fictitious book-length prose story that focuses on character development and action.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, author of Don Quixote, was a Spanish author who lived during the end of the 16th century and beginning of the 17th century. Don Quixote is his most famous novel. Cervantes did not just write about adventures; he also had many of his own. In addition to writing one of the best-known Spanish novels of all time, he also was a member of the Spanish Navy infantry until he was captured and enslaved. He was only saved when his captors ransomed him and his family paid for his release. After he was reunited with his family, Cervantes worked as a tax collector, a job which eventually resulted in jail time due to accounting errors. Cervantes fortune, however, had changed for the good by the last decade of his life, especially due to his literary success with Don Quixote. Characters Although there are a lot of characters included in Don Quixote, there are really only three main characters: Don Quixote, also known as Alonso Quixano, is a retired gentleman who wants to become a knight and goes on quests to prove himself.

Sancho Panza is a farmer and Don Quixote's squire. Dulcinea del Toboso, also known as Aldonza Lorenzo, is a farm girl that Don Quixote fixates on and to whom he remains steadfastly and romantically loyal. Plot Summary The book as a whole is broken up into two parts. In Part One, we meet a retired gentleman, Alonso Quixano, who renames himself Don Quixote. Quixote goes on a lot of adventures throughout the books, accompanied by a farmer named Sancho Panza. His quest is focused on his goal to live the life of a chivalrous knight, influenced partly by the books he read. In addition to Sancho acting the part of his squire, Don Quixote also casts a local farmer girl, Aldonza Lorenzo, who he refers to as Dulcinea del Toboso, as his love interest; she remains unaware of his fixation. Don Quixote's adventures mostly consist of him either causing trouble or seeing problems where they do not exist.

For example, an innkeeper pretends to be a lord and dubs Don Quixote a knight per his request just to get rid of him and have him stop bothering his other guests. Don Quixote also tries to instill morals into some of the characters he meets - i.e., a master beating his young male servant - but the characters, like the innkeeper, give Quixote false promises to get rid of him. His adventures almost end when Quixote is beaten horribly. In an attempt to ward off his nonsensical obsession with chivalry, Don Quixote's neighbors burn his books and blockade his library. Don Quixote will not be discouraged, however. The moment his health is better, he sneaks out and enlists Sancho Panza as his squire in exchange for an island. Panza agrees, and the two start their adventures in full force the very next day when Don Quixote mistakes a group of windmills for giants and attacks them, arguably the most famous scene from the novel.

He also tries to 'rescue' a woman from a group of friars, which results in a small clash that ends in a draw when the lady orders the friars to stop fighting Don Quixote before someone gets hurt. A big influence on Don Quixote's adventures is the group of goatherds he and Sancho meet and stay with for awhile. The goatherds invite Don Quixote to the funeral of one of their own who left to go to school. The goatherd died with his love for Marcela, a shepherdess, unrequited. Marcela makes an impassioned speech defending her right to not be anyone's love interest. Don Quixote and Sancho follow Marcela into the woods after the funeral. While stopping for some water, Don Quixote's horse is overly affectionate with a horse belonging to a group of Galicians. The Galicians take offense and beat Quixote and Sancho. Once again, being beaten doesn't put a damper on Don Quixote's adventures. He goes on to free some slaves, before they eventually meet a depressed man named Cardenio. Cardenio is lovesick.

He believes that the woman he loved might have been wooed by another man. Don Quixote doesn't think so; the chivalrous novels he has read have led him to believe in the faithfulness of lovers. He eventually helps reunite Cardenio and his love, along with two other lovers. After all his adventures, Don Quixote returns home with Sancho. In Part Two, Cervantes does something peculiar. The author pretends as if the events in the first volume were published in Don Quixote's world. When Don Quixote and Sancho hit the road again, people actually recognize them. But it's more than that, too. A sequel, non-existent in our world, was published, full of fake exploits of Don Quixote and Sancho. Thus, the characters they meet are often confused about what are Don Quixote's fake adventures and what he and Sancho really did. The main driving force in the second part of Don Quixote's story is a lie that Sancho tells Don Quixote. He says Dulcinea has been transformed into a peasant girl.

Don Quixote makes it his mission to track down the evil sorceress who did such a thing and bring her to justice. Along the way, Don Quixote meets a duke and duchess who take advantage of Don Quixote by manipulating his desire to undo the enchantment on Dulcinea, including trying to convince Don Quixote that Sancho has to beat himself to break the spell. Sancho temporarily receives governorship of the island he was promised, although it does not exist, but he abandons the post after he is injured. He wishes to be a happy farmer instead of an unhappy governor. × The character of Dulcinea del Toboso in Don Quixote from LitCharts | The creators of SparkNotes Sansón Carrasco Quixote's beloved. On the one hand, she is a hearty peasant girl named Aldonza de Lorenzo from a neighboring village. On the other hand, she is a beautiful, ethereal princess, endowed with every possible feminine virtue and beauty. She is the height of Quixote's fantasies, the center of his chivalrous worldview, his strength and justification. Her mystery, her perfection, and her absence make her a god-like figure.

Dulcinea del Toboso Quotes in Don Quixote The Don Quixote quotes below are all either spoken by Dulcinea del Toboso or refer to Dulcinea del Toboso. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ). Part 1, Chapter 8 Quotes He didn’t sleep in all the night, thinking about his lady Dulcinea, to conform with what he’d read in his books. Download it! Dulcinea del Toboso Character Timeline in Don Quixote The timeline below shows where the character Dulcinea del Toboso appears in Don Quixote. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Part 1, Chapter 1 ...Quixote had never met, and who may or may not have existed. He renames her Dulcinea del Toboso. (full context) Part 1, Chapter 4 ...in one of his books. He raises his lance and demands that they acknowledge that Dulcinea is the most beautiful lady in the world. The confused merchants ask to see this...

(full context) Part 1, Chapter 8 ...Quixote makes his new lance from a branch. He stays awake all night thinking about Dulcinea, like the knights in his books. He doesn’t eat breakfast in the morning for a... (full context) ...Don Quixote greets the lady in the carriage and asks her to present herself to Dulcinea del Toboso and describe the adventure in full. The Basque coachman overhears Quixote and tells... (full context) Part 1, Chapter 9 ...to kill the coachman once the frightened ladies in the coach promised to meet with Dulcinea and tell her about his great victory. (full context) Part 1, Chapter 12 ...ends, Quixote and Sancho sleep in a shepherd’s hut – Quixote thinking all night of Dulcinea, Sancho snoring peacefully. (full context) Part 1, Chapter 13 The horseman asks Don Quixote to describe his beloved, and the knight describes Dulcinea’s perfect beauty – a mixture of all the beauties described by poets. She is not...

(full context) Part 1, Chapter 16 ...He speaks to her gently and formally of her loveliness and of his fidelity to Dulcinea. (full context) Part 1, Chapter 22 Quixote asks the prisoners to present themselves to Dulcinea, but the murderer Ginés de Pasamonte explains rudely that they must go into hiding. Quixote... (full context) Part 1, Chapter 25 ...he says, to go mad without any particular reason. In the meantime, Sancho must deliver Dulcinea a letter in verse. Sancho complains that sometimes knight-errantry seems like a bunch of lies,... (full context) ...Don Quixote picks a mountain, where he strips and begins lamenting to the skies about Dulcinea; Sancho watches closely to report in detail to Dulcinea. (full context) Don Quixote rips some paper from Cardenio’s notebook to write a letter to Dulcinea and a warrant for three donkeys for Sancho; he asks Sancho to have the letter...

(full context) Part 1, Chapter 27 ...Sancho would go on ahead to find his master and tell him he had visited Dulcinea and brought back her kindly reply. (full context) Part 1, Chapter 30 ...princess’s offer of marriage. When Sancho angrily exclaims that the princess is much better than Dulcinea, Quixote pummels him and explains that he does everything only for Dulcinea’s sake, and all... (full context) Don Quixote asks Sancho about his visit to Dulcinea. But suddenly they see Ginés de Pasamonte riding toward them on Sancho’s donkey; Sancho yells... (full context) Part 1, Chapter 31 Quixote says Sancho must have found Dulcinea sorting gold or pearls, but Sancho pretends that she was sieving buckwheat in the yard.... (full context) Sancho asks him why he embarrasses the discreet Dulcinea by sending all these people to her to speak of Quixote’s love, and Quixote explains... (full context) Part 1, Chapter 43 ...Maritornes decide to have some fun at Don Quixote’s expense.

They watch him sighing for Dulcinea through a hole in the hayloft, which opens from the inside of the inn onto... (full context) Part 1, Chapter 46 ...tells Quixote in a frightening voice that it is time for him to unite with Dulcinea, which makes Don Quixote quite content. The servants load Quixote’s cage onto an ox-cart in... (full context) Part 1, Chapter 52 ...information about Quixote’s third sally. He did find a lead casket full of poems about Dulcinea, Rocinante, Sancho, and Don Quixote, written by a ridiculous group called “The Academicians of Argamasilla.” (full context) Part 2, Chapter 8 Quixote tells Sancho that he wants to receive Dulcinea’s blessing before beginning any new quests, and asks Sancho to direct them to her house... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 9 At midnight, the two friends enter the town. Quixote asks Sancho to lead them to Dulcinea’s palace; Sancho, who has never been to see Dulcinea, evades the question and suggests that...

(full context) Quixote asks a stranger on the road to point them to Dulcinea’s castle, and the stranger directs them to the house of the village priest, who has... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 10 ...them, no matter how absurd they may be. In the morning, Sancho leaves to find Dulcinea in order to arrange a discreet meeting. As soon as he leaves the forest, he... (full context) ...him on donkeys, he hurries back to his master and tells him that the beautiful Dulcinea and her two maids are riding toward them as they speak. They ride out of... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 14 ...neighbor of his from the village named Tomé Cecial. The Knight of the Spangles admits Dulcinea’s beauty and he and his squire limp away. Quixote and Sancho, though, remain convinced that... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 23 ...head. But Quixote insists that everything he described is real. He even saw the enchanted Dulcinea and the other two peasant girls playing in the fields. Sancho, who invented this enchantment,...

(full context) Part 2, Chapter 31 The Duchess inquires about the Lady Dulcinea, and Quixote mournfully admits that enchanters have turned her into an ugly peasant girl. Here... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 32 The Duchess asks Quixote to describe Dulcinea’s beauty, but Quixote explains that he can only remember her in her distorted, enchanted state.... (full context) The Duchess assures Quixote that she believes that Dulcinea is real, but she wonders why Sancho found her sieving buckwheat – not a very... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 33 The Duchess asks Sancho whether he ever delivered the message to Dulcinea, and whether he completely invented her reply. Sancho paces around the room and replies that... (full context) ...Sancho that she knows for certain that the peasant girl on the donkey truly was Dulcinea, and she was definitely enchanted. He is relieved to hear it, because he doesn’t want...

(full context) Part 2, Chapter 34 ...man in costume introduces himself as the devil; he has come with troops of enchanters, Dulcinea, and Montesinos to tell Don Quixote how Dulcinea is to be disenchanted. He tells Don... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 35 ...to show a frightening, death-like face. He calls himself Merlin and recites verses that describe Dulcinea’s enchantment and explain that she will be disenchanted if Sancho lashes himself three thousand and... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 44 ...harp and singing about her love for the knight from la Mancha, her jealousy of Dulcinea, and her own beauty and youth. Quixote says to himself that he loves only Dulcinea,... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 46 ...room and performs a ballad hinting at Altisidora’s impetuous flirtation and describing his loyalty to Dulcinea. Suddenly, a rope with a hundred goat bells and a sack of cats are dumped...

(full context) Part 2, Chapter 58 ...girls for their hospitality and promises to profess their unsurpassed beauty (surpassed by none except Dulcinea) at the jousts in Saragossa. He rides out to the road to profess the girls’... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 59 ...to nap if Sancho promises to give himself some of the lashes that will disenchant Dulcinea. They sleep most of the day and hurry to a nearby inn, which Quixote calls... (full context) ...much worse than the first, especially because it describes Don Quixote out of love with Dulcinea. When don Quixote springs up challenging anyone who says such a thing, the two gentlemen... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 60 ...night of the sixth day Sancho quickly falls asleep and Quixote stays up thinking about Dulcinea. He rouses Sancho and tries to lash him, or to make him lash himself. Sancho... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 62 ...the adventures of the Cave of Montesinos real or dreamt? Will Sancho lash himself? Will Dulcinea be disenchanted?

The bust replies that the adventure contained both reality and dreams, and answers... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 67 ...love, though he has nothing to give her in return, because he is loyal to Dulcinea and because “the treasures of knights errant are like fairy gold, false and illusory.” Now... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 70 Don Quixote tells Altisidora once again that he loves only Dulcinea, and she tells him angrily that she does not really love him, and that last... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 71 ...that he was not paid for the resurrection, and Quixote offers to pay him for Dulcinea’s lashes. Sancho decides each lash will cost a quarter of a real, calculates the total... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 72 ...overjoyed, and in the morning he imagines that every woman walking down the road is Dulcinea – until he looks at her closely. Finally they see their own village in the... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 73 ...this incident is a bad omen, if one applies the phrase to his hopes about Dulcinea.

A hare running from dogs and hunters gives Quixote the same impression, though Sancho says... (full context) Part 2, Chapter 74 ...friends assume that he has gone mad in some new way, and remind him that Dulcinea has finally been disenchanted, but he only calls for a confessor. His apparent sanity makes... (full context) ...die, since dying for no reason is true madness. He reminds Quixote about the beautiful Dulcinea and takes the blame for all Quixote’s defeats. But Quixote pays no attention. He leaves... (full context) Cite This Page Choose citation style: Tsykynovska, Helen. "Don Quixote Characters: Dulcinea del Toboso." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 3 Mar 2014. Web. 19 Jan 2017. Tsykynovska, Helen. "Don Quixote Characters: Dulcinea del Toboso." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 3 Mar 2014. Web. 19 Jan 2017. Tsykynovska, Helen.

"Don Quixote Characters: Dulcinea del Toboso." LitCharts LLC, March 3, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2017. Tsykynovska, Helen. "Don Quixote Characters: Dulcinea del Toboso." LitCharts LLC, March 3, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2017. Copy to Clipboard SparkNotes: Don Quixote: Plot Overview Plot Overview Context Character List Don Quixote is a middle-aged gentleman from the region of La Mancha in central Spain. Obsessed with the chivalrous ideals touted in books he has read, he decides to take up his lance and sword to defend the helpless and destroy the wicked. After a first failed adventure, he sets out on a second one with a somewhat befuddled laborer named Sancho Panza, whom he has persuaded to accompany him as his faithful squire. In return for Sancho’s services, Don Quixote promises to make Sancho the wealthy governor of an isle.

On his horse, Rocinante, a barn nag well past his prime, Don Quixote rides the roads of Spain in search of glory and grand adventure. He gives up food, shelter, and comfort, all in the name of a peasant woman, Dulcinea del Toboso, whom he envisions as a princess. On his second expedition, Don Quixote becomes more of a bandit than a savior, stealing from and hurting baffled and justifiably angry citizens while acting out against what he perceives as threats to his knighthood or to the world. Don Quixote abandons a boy, leaving him in the hands of an evil farmer simply because the farmer swears an oath that he will not harm the boy. He steals a barber’s basin that he believes to be the mythic Mambrino’s helmet, and he becomes convinced of the healing powers of the Balsam of Fierbras, an elixir that makes him so ill that, by comparison, he later feels healed. Sancho stands by Don Quixote, often bearing the brunt of the punishments that arise from Don Quixote’s behavior.

The story of Don Quixote’s deeds includes the stories of those he meets on his journey. Don Quixote witnesses the funeral of a student who dies as a result of his love for a disdainful lady turned shepherdess. He frees a wicked and devious galley slave, Gines de Pasamonte, and unwittingly reunites two bereaved couples, Cardenio and Lucinda, and Ferdinand and Dorothea. Torn apart by Ferdinand’s treachery, the four lovers finally come together at an inn where Don Quixote sleeps, dreaming that he is battling a giant. Along the way, the simple Sancho plays the straight man to Don Quixote, trying his best to correct his master’s outlandish fantasies. Two of Don Quixote’s friends, the priest and the barber, come to drag him home. Believing that he is under the force of an enchantment, he accompanies them, thus ending his second expedition and the First Part of the novel. The Second Part of the novel begins with a passionate invective against a phony sequel of Don Quixote that was published in the interim between Cervantes’s two parts.

Everywhere Don Quixote goes, his reputation—gleaned by others from both the real and the false versions of the story—precedes him. As the two embark on their journey, Sancho lies to Don Quixote, telling him that an evil enchanter has transformed Dulcinea into a peasant girl. Undoing this enchantment, in which even Sancho comes to believe, becomes Don Quixote’s chief goal. Don Quixote meets a Duke and Duchess who conspire to play tricks on him. They make a servant dress up as Merlin, for example, and tell Don Quixote that Dulcinea’s enchantment—which they know to be a hoax—can be undone only if Sancho whips himself 3,300 times on his naked backside. Under the watch of the Duke and Duchess, Don Quixote and Sancho undertake several adventures. They set out on a flying wooden horse, hoping to slay a giant who has turned a princess and her lover into metal figurines and bearded the princess’s female servants. During his stay with the Duke, Sancho becomes governor of a fictitious isle.

He rules for ten days until he is wounded in an onslaught the Duke and Duchess sponsor for their entertainment. Sancho reasons that it is better to be a happy laborer than a miserable governor. A young maid at the Duchess’s home falls in love with Don Quixote, but he remains a staunch worshipper of Dulcinea. Their never-consummated affair amuses the court to no end. Finally, Don Quixote sets out again on his journey, but his demise comes quickly. Shortly after his arrival in Barcelona, the Knight of the White Moon—actually an old friend in disguise—vanquishes him. Cervantes relates the story of Don Quixote as a history, which he claims he has translated from a manuscript written by a Moor named Cide Hamete Benengeli. Cervantes becomes a party to his own fiction, even allowing Sancho and Don Quixote to modify their own histories and comment negatively upon the false history published in their names. In the end, the beaten and battered Don Quixote forswears all the chivalric truths he followed so fervently and dies from a fever. With his death, knights-errant become extinct.

Benengeli returns at the end of the novel to tell us that illustrating the demise of chivalry was his main purpose in writing the history of Don Quixote. More Help

Question: Dulcinea was the love of which fictional character?
Answer: Don Quixote