Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in all sorts of wonderful ways. While Quixote's fancy often leads him astray—he tilts at windmills, imagining them to be giants—Sancho acquires cunning and a certain sagacity.
The story follows the adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha, a nobleman from the Spanish region of La Mancha, whose real name is Alonso Quixano. Inspired by reading too many books of chivalric tales, Don Quixote loses his sanity and decides to become a knight-errant, adopting the title "Don Quixote de la Mancha." He believes it is his noble duty to revive chivalry, protect the helpless, and defend the honor of his lady-love, Dulcinea del Toboso (a woman he imagines as idealized, but who is in fact a simple peasant woman named Aldonza Lorenzo).
Don Quixote dons an old suit of armor, mounts his old horse Rocinante, and sets off on a series of adventures. His most loyal companion is Sancho Panza, a simple, pragmatic farmer who becomes his squire. Sancho is often the voice of reason, contrasting with Don Quixote’s flights of fantasy, though he too is caught up in Don Quixote’s delusions, often driven by promises of an island to govern.
The novel is structured as a series of episodes in which Don Quixote, with his distorted vision of the world, engages in various quests. His most famous and repeated misadventure is the tilting at windmills, which he believes to be giants. Throughout the story, Don Quixote mistakes ordinary things for manifestations of his chivalric ideals: he imagines inns to be castles, flocks of sheep to be armies, and a lowly farm girl to be a princess.
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Categories: Fiction Historical Literature Classics