Don Quixote: Characters, Modernity, and Cervantes's Novels

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Cervantes and Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: Life and Work

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the most universal Spanish writer, was born in Alcalá de Henares in 1547. He participated in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), where he was wounded in his left hand, leaving it impaired.

Due to the failure of his earlier plays, Cervantes adopted the successful dramatic formula of Lope de Vega and wrote Eight Comedies and Eight New Interludes, Never Before Performed (1615).

Cervantes's Major Novels

The Galatea

A pastoral novel that recounts several love stories, including that of two shepherds vying for Galatea.

Exemplary Novels (Novelas Ejemplares)

This collection of twelve stories was published in 1613. In these, Cervantes incorporated the genre of the short story. Notable examples include The Little Gypsy Girl, The Dialogue of the Dogs, The Licentiate of Glass, and Rinconete y Cortadillo.

The Travails of Persiles and Sigismunda

Cervantes's last novel, published posthumously in 1617 (i.e., after his death). It is a Byzantine novel intertwining the adventures of the title characters, who journey to Rome to marry, with the stories of those they meet along the way, both at sea and on land.

Don Quixote de la Mancha

Published in two parts (1605 and 1615), this novel is considered the first modern novel.

Don Quixote is considered modern because of its characters, narrative structure, and the literary techniques employed by the author.

Characters in Don Quixote

The main characters, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, are not traditional heroes but complex individuals who live and feel like real human beings. Initially, they have contrasting personalities, but their characters evolve as the story progresses.

Don Quixote: The nickname of Alonso Quijano, an impoverished country gentleman, idealistic and passionate about reading. After reading numerous chivalric romances, Alonso Quijano loses his sanity and believes himself to be a knight-errant like the heroes in his books. To further emulate them, he invents a lady-love, Dulcinea del Toboso, to whom he dedicates his deeds.

Sancho Panza: Don Quixote's squire, a farmer from La Mancha. He is realistic, pragmatic (sometimes self-interested), rustic, and initially ignorant, but possesses natural wisdom and wit.

Beyond the adventures, the novel also portrays the evolving friendship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.