Completed by Cervantes when he was in prison, Don Quixote is the tale of a man so passionate about reading he leaves home to live the life of his fictional heroes

Puchau de Lecea, Ana

Pérez de León, Vicente

English

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25/07/2018 Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world's first novel – and one of the best
https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-don-quixote-the-worlds-first-novel-and-one-of-the-best-94097 1/5
Authors
Ana Puchau de Lecea
PhD Candidate and Teaching Associate,
University of Melbourne
Vicente Pérez de León
Honorary Fellow, University of Melbourne
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world’s first novel – and
one of the best
June 25, 2018 8.56pm BST
Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember…
This line, arguably the most famous in the history of Spanish literature, is the opening of The
Ingenious Nobleman Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes, the first modern novel.
Published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, this is the story of Alonso Quijano, a 16th-century Spanish 
hidalgo, a noble, who is so passionate about reading that he leaves home in search of his own
chivalrous adventures. He becomes a knight-errant himself: Don Quixote de la Mancha. By imitating
his admired literary heroes, he finds new meaning in his life: aiding damsels in distress, battling
giants and righting wrongs… mostly in his own head.
The “Don Quixote” windmills in Consuegra, Spain. They were made famous by the novel in the 16th century. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA
June 25, 2018 8.56pm BST
Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world’s first novel –
and one of the best
25/07/2018 Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world's first novel – and one of the best
https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-don-quixote-the-worlds-first-novel-and-one-of-the-best-94097 2/5
But Don Quixote is much more. It is a book about books, reading,
writing, idealism vs. materialism, life … and death. Don Quixote is mad.
“His brain’s dried up” due to his reading, and he is unable to separate
reality from fiction, a trait that was appreciated at the time as funny.
However, Cervantes was also using Don Quixote’s insanity to probe the
eternal debate between free will and fate. The misguided hero is actually
a man fighting against his own limitations to become who he dreams to
be.
Open-minded, well-travelled, and very well-educated, Cervantes was,
like Don Quixote himself, an avid reader. He also served the Spanish
crown in adventures that he would later include in the novel. After
defeating the Ottoman Empire in the battle of Lepanto (and losing the
use of his left hand, becoming “the one-handed of Lepanto”), Cervantes
was captured and held for ransom in Algiers.
This autobiographical episode and his escape attempts are depicted in
“The Captive’s Tale” (in Don Quixote Part I), where the character recalls
“a Spanish soldier named something de Saavedra”, referring to
Cervantes’s second last name. Years later, back in Spain, he completed
Don Quixote in prison, due to irregularities in his accounts while he
worked for the government.
Tilting at windmills
In Part I, Quijano with his new name, Don Quixote, gathers other indispensable accessories to any
knight-errant: his armour; a horse, Rocinante; and a lady, an unwitting peasant girl he calls Dulcinea
of Toboso, in whose name he will perform great deeds of chivalry.
While Don Quixote recovers from a disastrous first campaign as a knight, his close friends, the priest
and the barber, decide to examine the books in his library. Their comments about his chivalric books
combine literary criticism with a parody of the Inquisition’s practices of burning texts associated with
the devil. Although a few volumes are saved (Cervantes’s own La Galatea among them), most books
are burned for their responsibility in Don Quixote’s madness.
In Don Quixote’s second expedition, the peasant Sancho Panza joins him as his faithful squire, with
the hopes of becoming the governor of his own island one day. The duo diverges in every aspect. Don
Quixote is tall and thin, Sancho is short and fat (panza means “pot belly”). Sancho is an illiterate
commoner and responds to Don Quixote’s elaborate speeches with popular proverbs. The
mismatched couple has remained as a key literary archetype since then.
In perhaps the most famous scene from the novel, Don Quixote sees three windmills as fearful giants
that he must combat, which is where the phrase “tilting at windmills” comes from. At the end of Part
I, Don Quixote and Sancho are tricked into returning to their village. Sancho has become “quixotized”,
now increasingly obsessed with becoming rich by ruling his own island.
Portrait of Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra (1547-1615) is
commonly attributed to Juan de Jáuregui, yet no portrait of
Cervantes has ever been authenticated. Wikimedia
Commons
25/07/2018 Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world's first novel – and one of the best
https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-don-quixote-the-worlds-first-novel-and-one-of-the-best-94097 3/5
Don Quixote was an enormous
success, being translated from
Spanish into the main
European languages and even
reaching North America. In
1614 an unknown author,
Alonso Fernández de
Avellaneda, published an
apocryphal second part.
Cervantes incorporated this
spurious Don Quixote and its
characters into his own Part II,
adding yet another chapter to
the history of modern narrative.
Whereas Part I was a reaction
to chivalric romances, Part II is
a reaction to Part I. The book is
set only one month after Don
Quixote and Sancho’s return from their first literary quest, after they are notified that a book retelling
their story has been published (Part I).
The rest of Part II operates as a game of mirrors, recalling and rewriting episodes. New characters,
such as aristocrats who have also read Part I, use their knowledge to play tricks on Don Quixote and
Sancho for their own amusement. Deceived by the rest of the characters, Sancho and a badly wounded
Don Quixote finally return again to their village.
After being in bed for several days, Don Quixote’s final hour arrives. He decides to abandon his
existence as Don Quixote for good, giving up his literary identity and physically dying. He leaves
Sancho – his best and most faithful reader – in tears, and avoids further additions by any future
imitators by dying.
The original unreliable narrator
The narrator of Part I’s prologue claims to write a sincere and uncomplicated story. Nothing is further
from reality. Distancing himself from textual authority, the narrator declares that he merely compiled
a manuscript translated by some Arab historian – an untrustworthy source at the time. The reader
has to decide what’s real and what’s not.
Don Quixote is also a book made of preexisting books. Don Quixote is obsessed with chivalric
romances, and includes episodes parodying other narrative subgenres such as pastoral romances, 
picaresque novels and Italian novellas (of which Cervantes himself wrote a few).
Don Quixote’s transformation from nobleman to knight-errant is particularly profound given the
events in Europe at the time the novel was published. Spain had been reconquered by Christian royals
after centuries of Islamic presence. Social status, ethnicity and religion were seen as determining a
Jules David, ‘Don Quixote and Sancho Panza’, 1887.
Wikimedia Commons
The cover of Don Quixote Part II (1615).
Wikimedia Commons
25/07/2018 Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world's first novel – and one of the best
https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-don-quixote-the-worlds-first-novel-and-one-of-the-best-94097 4/5
person’s future, but Don Quixote defied this. “I know who I am,” he answered roundly to whoever
tried to convince him of his “true” and original identity.
Don Quixote through the ages
Many writers have been inspired by Don Quixote: from Goethe, Stendhal, Melville, Flaubert and
Dickens, to Borges, Faulkner and Nabokov.
In fact, for many critics, the whole history of the novel could justifiably be considered “a variation of 
the theme of Don Quixote”. Since its early success, there have also been many valuable English
translations of the novel. John Rutherford and more recently Edith Grossman have been praised for 
their versions.
Apart from literature, Don Quixote has inspired many creative works. Based on the episode of the
wedding of Camacho in Part II, Marius Petipa choreographed a ballet in 1896. Also created for the
stage, Man of La Mancha, the 1960s’ Broadway musical, is one of the most popular reimaginings. In
1992, the State Spanish TV launched a highly successful adaptation of Part I. Terry Gilliam’s much-
awaited The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is only the most recent addition to a long list of films 
inspired by Don Quixote.
RTVE’s adaptation of Don Quixote for TV (1992).
25/07/2018 Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world's first novel – and one of the best
https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-don-quixote-the-worlds-first-novel-and-one-of-the-best-94097 5/5
Literature Spain Guide to the Classics
More than 400 years after its publication and great success, Don Quixote is widely considered the 
world’s best book by other celebrated authors. In our own times, full of windmills and giants, Don
Quixote’s still-valuable message is that the way we filter reality through any ideology affects our
perception of the world.
We produce knowledge-based, ethical journalism. Please donate and help us thrive.
Make a donation
M. Petipa’s Don Quixote by the American Ballet Theatre.
 


Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world’s first novel – and one of the best

Enlighten

25/07/2018 Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world's first novel – and one of the besthttps://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-don-quixote-the-worlds-first-novel-and-one-of-the-best-94097 1/5AuthorsAna Puchau de LeceaPhD Candidate and Teaching Associate,University of MelbourneVicente Pérez de LeónHonorary Fellow, University of MelbourneAcademic rigour, journalistic flairGuide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world’s first novel – andone of the bestJune 25, 2018 8.56pm BSTSomewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember…This line, arguably the most famous in the history of Spanish literature, is the opening of TheIngenious Nobleman Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes, the first modern novel.Published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, this is the story of Alonso Quijano, a 16th-century Spanish hidalgo, a noble, who is so passionate about reading that he leaves home in search of his ownchivalrous adventures. He becomes a knight-errant himself: Don Quixote de la Mancha. By imitatinghis admired literary heroes, he finds new meaning in his life: aiding damsels in distress, battlinggiants and righting wrongs… mostly in his own head.The “Don Quixote” windmills in Consuegra, Spain. They were made famous by the novel in the 16th century. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SAJune 25, 2018 8.56pm BSTGuide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world’s first novel –and one of the best25/07/2018 Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world's first novel – and one of the besthttps://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-don-quixote-the-worlds-first-novel-and-one-of-the-best-94097 2/5But Don Quixote is much more. It is a book about books, reading,writing, idealism vs. materialism, life … and death. Don Quixote is mad.“His brain’s dried up” due to his reading, and he is unable to separatereality from fiction, a trait that was appreciated at the time as funny.However, Cervantes was also using Don Quixote’s insanity to probe theeternal debate between free will and fate. The misguided hero is actuallya man fighting against his own limitations to become who he dreams tobe.Open-minded, well-travelled, and very well-educated, Cervantes was,like Don Quixote himself, an avid reader. He also served the Spanishcrown in adventures that he would later include in the novel. Afterdefeating the Ottoman Empire in the battle of Lepanto (and losing theuse of his left hand, becoming “the one-handed of Lepanto”), Cervanteswas captured and held for ransom in Algiers.This autobiographical episode and his escape attempts are depicted in“The Captive’s Tale” (in Don Quixote Part I), where the character recalls“a Spanish soldier named something de Saavedra”, referring toCervantes’s second last name. Years later, back in Spain, he completedDon Quixote in prison, due to irregularities in his accounts while heworked for the government.Tilting at windmillsIn Part I, Quijano with his new name, Don Quixote, gathers other indispensable accessories to anyknight-errant: his armour; a horse, Rocinante; and a lady, an unwitting peasant girl he calls Dulcineaof Toboso, in whose name he will perform great deeds of chivalry.While Don Quixote recovers from a disastrous first campaign as a knight, his close friends, the priestand the barber, decide to examine the books in his library. Their comments about his chivalric bookscombine literary criticism with a parody of the Inquisition’s practices of burning texts associated withthe devil. Although a few volumes are saved (Cervantes’s own La Galatea among them), most booksare burned for their responsibility in Don Quixote’s madness.In Don Quixote’s second expedition, the peasant Sancho Panza joins him as his faithful squire, withthe hopes of becoming the governor of his own island one day. The duo diverges in every aspect. DonQuixote is tall and thin, Sancho is short and fat (panza means “pot belly”). Sancho is an illiteratecommoner and responds to Don Quixote’s elaborate speeches with popular proverbs. Themismatched couple has remained as a key literary archetype since then.In perhaps the most famous scene from the novel, Don Quixote sees three windmills as fearful giantsthat he must combat, which is where the phrase “tilting at windmills” comes from. At the end of PartI, Don Quixote and Sancho are tricked into returning to their village. Sancho has become “quixotized”,now increasingly obsessed with becoming rich by ruling his own island.Portrait of Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra (1547-1615) iscommonly attributed to Juan de Jáuregui, yet no portrait ofCervantes has ever been authenticated. WikimediaCommons25/07/2018 Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world's first novel – and one of the besthttps://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-don-quixote-the-worlds-first-novel-and-one-of-the-best-94097 3/5Don Quixote was an enormoussuccess, being translated fromSpanish into the mainEuropean languages and evenreaching North America. In1614 an unknown author,Alonso Fernández deAvellaneda, published anapocryphal second part.Cervantes incorporated thisspurious Don Quixote and itscharacters into his own Part II,adding yet another chapter tothe history of modern narrative.Whereas Part I was a reactionto chivalric romances, Part II isa reaction to Part I. The book isset only one month after DonQuixote and Sancho’s return from their first literary quest, after they are notified that a book retellingtheir story has been published (Part I).The rest of Part II operates as a game of mirrors, recalling and rewriting episodes. New characters,such as aristocrats who have also read Part I, use their knowledge to play tricks on Don Quixote andSancho for their own amusement. Deceived by the rest of the characters, Sancho and a badly woundedDon Quixote finally return again to their village.After being in bed for several days, Don Quixote’s final hour arrives. He decides to abandon hisexistence as Don Quixote for good, giving up his literary identity and physically dying. He leavesSancho – his best and most faithful reader – in tears, and avoids further additions by any futureimitators by dying.The original unreliable narratorThe narrator of Part I’s prologue claims to write a sincere and uncomplicated story. Nothing is furtherfrom reality. Distancing himself from textual authority, the narrator declares that he merely compileda manuscript translated by some Arab historian – an untrustworthy source at the time. The readerhas to decide what’s real and what’s not.Don Quixote is also a book made of preexisting books. Don Quixote is obsessed with chivalricromances, and includes episodes parodying other narrative subgenres such as pastoral romances, picaresque novels and Italian novellas (of which Cervantes himself wrote a few).Don Quixote’s transformation from nobleman to knight-errant is particularly profound given theevents in Europe at the time the novel was published. Spain had been reconquered by Christian royalsafter centuries of Islamic presence. Social status, ethnicity and religion were seen as determining aJules David, ‘Don Quixote and Sancho Panza’, 1887.Wikimedia CommonsThe cover of Don Quixote Part II (1615).Wikimedia Commons25/07/2018 Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world's first novel – and one of the besthttps://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-don-quixote-the-worlds-first-novel-and-one-of-the-best-94097 4/5person’s future, but Don Quixote defied this. “I know who I am,” he answered roundly to whoevertried to convince him of his “true” and original identity.Don Quixote through the agesMany writers have been inspired by Don Quixote: from Goethe, Stendhal, Melville, Flaubert andDickens, to Borges, Faulkner and Nabokov.In fact, for many critics, the whole history of the novel could justifiably be considered “a variation of the theme of Don Quixote”. Since its early success, there have also been many valuable Englishtranslations of the novel. John Rutherford and more recently Edith Grossman have been praised for their versions.Apart from literature, Don Quixote has inspired many creative works. Based on the episode of thewedding of Camacho in Part II, Marius Petipa choreographed a ballet in 1896. Also created for thestage, Man of La Mancha, the 1960s’ Broadway musical, is one of the most popular reimaginings. In1992, the State Spanish TV launched a highly successful adaptation of Part I. Terry Gilliam’s much-awaited The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is only the most recent addition to a long list of films inspired by Don Quixote.RTVE’s adaptation of Don Quixote for TV (1992).25/07/2018 Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world's first novel – and one of the besthttps://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-don-quixote-the-worlds-first-novel-and-one-of-the-best-94097 5/5Literature Spain Guide to the ClassicsMore than 400 years after its publication and great success, Don Quixote is widely considered the world’s best book by other celebrated authors. In our own times, full of windmills and giants, DonQuixote’s still-valuable message is that the way we filter reality through any ideology affects ourperception of the world.We produce knowledge-based, ethical journalism. Please donate and help us thrive.Make a donationM. Petipa’s Don Quixote by the American Ballet Theatre. 

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Guide to the classics: Don Quixote, the world’s first novel – and one of the best

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