Understanding Don Quixote's Structure and Characters

Structure of the Work

The nobleman Alonso Quijano is driven mad by reading books of chivalry and decides to resurrect the dead knight—becoming enamored of Don Quixote and Dulcinea Del Toboso.

Don Quixote develops an action organized into three main sorties: the first and the second are narrated in the first part of the work, and the third covers the entire second half of the work.

Leaving the Village

The first time, **Don Quixote** leaves home alone. In the other two sorties, he will be accompanied by his faithful squire **Sancho Panza**. In the third sortie, the bachelor **Samson Carrasco** appears, who will cause their ultimate defeat.

Adventure Series

**Don Quixote** is confronted with reality, which he perceives as distorted, and often fails, receiving blows and sticks. The third sortie marks a change: the protagonist is no longer solely crazy, but others distort reality to laugh at his expense.

Return to the Village

The three sorties conclude with the return of **Don Quixote**. The first two returns are under harsh conditions, and the last is to die.

The road plays a vital role; it helps **Don Quixote** and **Sancho Panza** encounter people of all types and social strata. The encounters with other characters originate side episodes outside the central action; other accounts are detached from the main action.

Time and Space

The narrative is chronological and linear. The first sortie begins on the first days of July, marking the start of the adventure.

Temporary allusions are scarce, inconsistent, and nonsensical; it is impossible for all sorties to occur in the same summer. In the first part, they travel to Sierra Morena and La Mancha. As they stop traveling, space becomes more important. In the second part, they move through Aragon and Catalonia, spending more time at the palace of the dukes, who conspire to make fun of the protagonist with elaborate jokes.

Characters

Don Quixote

The protagonist of the novel is described as tall, thin, old, lonely, brave, angry, and a poor rural hidalgo. His madness leads him to become a knight. The theme of madness is central to the work because it is the core of the conflict between the hero and reality.

Sancho Panza

**Sancho** is short and pot-bellied, illiterate, married, and peaceful. He is a farmer who agrees to serve as squire to **Don Quixote** due to his simplicity and the promised island. The character is a synthesis of the folk tradition's fool, the fool of the drama, and a parody of the chivalrous squire.

Dulcinea Del Toboso

She is a fiction created by **Don Quixote**, based on **Aldonza Lorenzo**, a peasant woman strong and ugly, whom the protagonist has barely seen and with whom he has never spoken. The hero needs a lady, and **Don Quixote** created her according to his ideals.