Understanding Don Quixote

Don Quixote (1605)

Don Quixote is a book full of wisdom and funny situations that cause people's attraction. But it seems that really few readers perceive the intense power of the intelligent characterization of this knight-errant in the sad figure of a madman with horrific hallucinations. I reckon that in those times when it was published, firstly after having read it and laughed a lot and enjoyed commenting on it, people began to feel ashamed to perform acts of bravery and to fear that the rest might laugh at them too. Thus, this book filled the brave souls of some people with the main antidote to courage: insecurity.

At the same time, this work also served as protection for what I consider to be the main heritage of Hispanic culture: its language. In the period after its publication, the Hispanic Empire had to put aside the expansionist adventures of the 15th and 16th centuries and dedicate itself to avoiding self-destruction and protecting from invaders.

On the other hand, Cervantes, funnily can sound in English like 'servants' 😆, settled the linguistic guidelines of the Spanish language through his book, and as his novel was as humorous, many people did not find great difficulties in learning to speak more or less this tongue correctly. Cervantes, therefore, collaborated in the standardization of the Spanish language.

As for the work, Alonso Quijano is a medieval knight at the dawn of the modern age who overcomes his madness only through his personal experiences. Perhaps the idea that Cervantes also would like to convey with his work is that madness does not have to be a bad thing in itself. It is also possible that Don Quixote is simply a good person who feigns madness to gain his freedom. At the end of the story, he seems to be the only male character who is not mad, or at least, the only male character whose madness does not have disastrous consequences. We'll talk about Sancho Panza later on.

Hispanophone World (2024)

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