Don Quixote essay

Idealization and chivalry made manifest by the actions of Don Quijote and other men in Don Quijote by Miguel de Cervantes.

Bruce T. Holl writes, ‘in a lonely place whose name does not matter there was once a man who spent his life evading women in their concrete form. He preferred the manual pleasure of reading.’1 It is the chivalric books that Don Quijote reads that are a catalyst for his idealization of women. These women mentioned in this essay also display stupidity since they are fooled by Don Quijote’s idealism. On the other hand, Zoraida and Marcela are examples of two characters that do not submit to the idealism displayed by Don Quijote and other men in the novel. The power of Don Quijote’s creativity and thus idealism is described by Perry J. Powers: ‘Don Quijote’ …creates [for] himself, with the word “rocinante’…a charger out of a nag, and with the magic of ‘dulcinea’ he creates the love which is to be the soul of his new existence.’2

It is clear from the outset that Don Quijote implements his own ideals of courtesy and gallantry upon women. When Don Quijote addresses these ‘wenches’ he says: ‘-Nunca fuera caballero, de damas tan bien servido, como fuera don Quijote, cuando de su aldea vino: doncellas curaban dél; princesas...’3 Given that these women are of common heritage it is strange that Don Quijote should talk of them in this manner. This lack of sensitivity to his surroundings does not go unnoticed by these women as they can only respond to him in a rather befuddled way. Their thoughts are conveyed to use by the narrator: ‘las mozas, que no estaban hechas a oír semejantes retóricas no respondían palabra; solo le preguntaron si quería comer alguna cosa.’4 The girls don’t know what to make of Don Quijote’s gesture and therefore he only confuses them. It is ironic that Don Quijote should make all this effort at gallantry when he himself cannot achieve the matter at hand: namely feeding himself. Miguel de Cervantes writes: ‘Pero era materia de grande risa verle comer, porque, como tenía puesta la celada y alzada la visera, no podía poner nada en la boca con sus manos si otro no se lo daba.’ Don Quijote’s attempts at gallantry make him a laughing stock. He cannot sensitize himself to his surroundings, the people he meets or deal with life’s practicalities.

Don Quijote inflicts his own idealized perception of Dulcinea del Toboso upon the merchants standing close by. Don Quijote demands that the merchants confess that Dulcinea del Toboso is the most beautiful empress of ‘la Mancha.’ Don Quijote requires the merchants to show the same gallant courteousness to her that he would. Don Quijote expects that other people should conform to the same preconceived ideas about Dulcinea that he holds. This is especially ironic since it is implied that Dulcinea is not very aesthetically pleasing. Mary Teresa Roades writes, ‘When Don Quijote commands two merchants to admit Dulcinea is the most beautiful woman in world, one of them suggests that she may be blind in one eye…’5 As a result, he causes others to respond in a rather mocking manner. One merchant says to Don Quijote: ‘Señor caballero, nosotros no conocemos quién sea esa buena señora que decís; mostrádnosla: que si ella fuere de tanta hermosura como significaís, de buena gana y sin apremio alguno confesaremos la verdad por parte vuestra nos es pedida.’6 Don Quijote goes on to say that he expects these men to believe that Dulcinea is as beautiful as he says she is without having seen her. He says: ‘la importancia está en que sin verla lo habéis de creer confesar, afirmar, jurar…’7 The merchant’s inability to believe Don Quijote’s affirmation of Dulcinea’s beauty infuriates him. He then embarrasses himself and falls off his horse. Bruce T. Holl describes the incompatibility of Don Quijote’s ideals. He mentions the ‘antithetical ideals of the characters’8 in Don Quijote. Certainly in this chapter, Don Quijote’s ‘antithetical ideals’ cause him to embarrass himself, evoke the scorn of others and isolate him as an individual who demands too much from other people.

The idealism of men concerning their female counterparts can cause them harm and embitter them. Indeed, men seem to be at fault for having created a false ideal of the women they fall in love with. The fate of Grisóstomo is told by Vivaldo: ‘La historia deste vuestro enamorado y deseperado amigo, y sabemos…la occasion de su muerte, y lo que dejó mandado al acabar de la vida.’9 It seems that having been rejected by Marcela: he lost the will to live. Ambrosio goes on to assert that this is Marcela’s fault. Cervantes writes: ‘la fama pregona de la bondad de Marcela; la cual, fuera de ser cruel, un poco arrogante y un mucho dedeñosa…’10 However, when introduced to Marcela she adds another facet to the story. Marcela says defending herself: ‘y, así como la víbora no merece ser culpada por la ponzoña que tiene…tampoco yo merezco ser reprehendida por ser hermosa. La mujer honesta es como el fuego apartado o como la espada aguda, que ni él quema ni ella corta a quien a ellos no se acerca.’11 Grisóstomo, with his gallant intentions no doubt, placed all his trust in winning Marcela’s affection. However, when this did not succeed he lost his own perceived sense of honour and it drove him mad. Williams writes: ‘[Marcela] resists her forcible insertion by Grisóstomo as the unyielding mistress of courtly love into the conventional frame of a love-story, or by Don Quixote into the equally conventional chivalric category of distressed damsel.’12 Originally, Ambrosio and Vivaldo ‘demonize’ Marcela as the woman who had caused this man suffering; but we later learn that just because Marcela refuses to accept the role of the conventional ‘damsel in distress’ does not constitute such blame that she should be the cause of this man’s suffering. Had not so much been expected of this woman would Grisóstomo have suffered? Could Vivaldo and Ambrosio justify that she is at fault? It seems that the expectation placed upon this woman is being critiqued. Grisóstomo’s death and unresolved romantic endeavours seem to echo the frustration of these men: namely that Marcela doesn’t fulfill their own perceived role that they assign to her. Williams writes: ‘the requisite properties of a drama of unrequited love have been assembled and at the anticipated climax the leading lady walks off because she has not consented to play such a rôle in the first place.’13 Marcela’s decision to refuse to play her role combined with the death of Ambrosio leave the reader with no sense of climax or resolution to the romantic interludes of Grisóstomo.

Williams mentions that one of the aims of golden age literature was ‘to restore to helpless virgins the right to walk the countryside safe from the lechery of men.’14 It can be argued this freedom was not granted to Marcela. Zoraida searches for this freedom by marrying into the Christian religion in order to move countries. Seemingly, her desire for a complete change of environment seems approved of even by God. Zoraida seems to be supported by ‘el verdadero Alá’15 and by the ‘bendita Marién who: ‘[ha puesto] en corazón que [se vaya] a tierra de cristianos porque [la] quiere bien.’16 Cervantes never fails to leave us without controversy however as Zoraida’s intentions are also questionable. Williams writes that Zoraida’s ‘actual behaviour towards her gentle and loving Moorish father, shows her to be deceitful, scheming and hardhearted.’17 Furthermore, Williams goes as far as to posit that there is evidence that she may even have ulterior motives and ‘…be joined to the hapless Captive in a marriage which seems devoid of much mutual love or passion.’18 Whether this be true or not, the fact that Zoraida seeks freedom on foreign shores shows that, to some extent, her romantic ideals are not granted to her in her own country.

Don Luis displays his love for Clara using the romantic gesture of singing a love song and ultimately wins her affection. Cervantes describes Cardenio’s warning of Don Luis’ imminent entry: ‘’llegó a la puerta del aposento Cardenio y dijo: ‘Quien no duerme, esuche; que oirán una voz de mozo de mulas, que de tal manera canta que encanta.’19 This gallantry continues as Don Luis begins the song aimed at winning Clara’s affection: ‘siguiendo voy a una estrella, que desde lejos descubro, más bella y resplandeciente que cuantas vio Palinuro.’20 Clara describes her feelings for Don Luis in a conversation between her and Dorotea: ‘No sé qué Diablos ha sido esto, ni por dónde se ha entrado este amor que le tengo.’21 The narrator then describes Dorotea’s almost mocking reaction: ‘no pudo dejar de reírse Dorotea, oyendo cuán como niña hablaba doña Clara.’ 22 The immediate mocking of Clara’s romantic ideals is comparable to that of the merchant when he likewise mocks Don Quixote’s romantic ideals. Here, Don Luis wins Clara’s affection and Clara succumbs to it. Both characters fall victim to fulfilling the ideals they themselves have created. These ideals are as follows: Don Luis displays nobility and gallantry in winning Clara’s affection and also embodies ‘the ideal man’ with whom Clara had been ‘destined’ and had always wished to fall in love with. Furthermore, Williams argues that the ‘childish’ nature of the Don Luis-Doña Clara relationship, asserted by both of them, is emphasized by its lack of resolution. Williams writes: ‘The Don Luis-Doña Clara story, however, cannot be said to have a resolution…’23 This lack of resolution mirrors the ‘the plight of Don Quixote to find his treasure, Dulcinea, whose time of enchantment was not completed either.’24 Cervantes appears not to conclude certain romantic relationships to stress the frivolousness of them. Returning to the Don Luis-Doña Clara story, Williams proceeds to describe this lack of resolution: ‘By forgoing a definitive ending while leaving the reader somehow sure of a felicitous resolution, Cervantes throws into relief, by default as it were, the force of conventional expectations within that type of tale: the children of well-born parents need fear no formal obstacles to the fulfillment of their love.’25 Neither Clara nor Don Luis see any obstacles in fulfilling this ‘childish’ love and the result is, as the reader perceives, the consequent mocking and display of wiser insight by Dorotea.

Dorotea, despite showing signs of greater wisdom than her counterpart Clara, falls victim to the ill treatment of Don Fernando who left her suddenly with her dignity in his hand. She also does not want to relent her love for Don Fernando and reminds him of his promise, ‘... y testigo el cielo, a quien tú llamaste por testigo de lo que me prometías’26 Despite Don Fernando’s ill-treatment of her she persists in lowering herself to defend him. After Ferdinand reacts jealously to Cardenio and Luscinda’s embrace, Dorotea tries to prevent Don Fernando from acting upon his jealousy. She kneels in front of him saying: ‘¿Qué es lo que piensas hacer, único refugio mío, en este tan impensado trance? Mira si te estará bien, o te será posible deshacer lo que el cielo ha hecho…’27 Only the priest’s advice can detain Fernando. The priest consoles Don Fernando imploring that: ‘los dos gozasen el bien que el cielo ya les había concedido.’28 Essentially, the weakness of Dorotea’s character is shown. Despite Fernando’s promise of marrying her and his subsequent leaving: she still defends him. Both Dorotea and Fernando trust in the fate of ‘el cielo’ as a basis for making a decision regarding their romantic involvement. This dubiousness all seems ludicrous since Ferdinand’s leaving would imply that it was his fault alone. Dorotea uses the fate of the ‘cielo’ to calm Fernand, which in turn shows her weakness for not being able to win his heart independently. Ultimately, Don Fernando relents to the same fate of ‘el cielo’: thereby using it to justify staying with Dorotea. Overall, the use of this figurative ‘el cielo’ is a metaphor employed by Cervantes to signify fate and in turn helps the reader to understand the paradoxical nature of both these characters. Dorotea remains besotted with Don Fernando, even though she mocked Clara previously for believing in such ‘fairy tales’ while Don Fernando must mask the helplessness of his situation by assigning it to fate.

Whether or not the treatment of women mentioned in this essay can be justified within the realms of chivalric virtue still remains to be seen. Certainly the men cannot exonerate themselves from the fact that, due to their chivalrous and idealistic views of romantic love, they cause harm to women such as Clara and Dorotea. Clara and Dorotea may, in the subservience that they bestow to their romantic partners, fit into to the ‘damsel in distress’ convention. The submitting to the fate of ‘el cielo’ by Dorotea and Don Fernando as a means of consolidating their relationship indicates that both men and women can hold paradoxical ideas and display contrary actions when under the influence of romantic love. However, the rogue examples of Marcela and Zoraida prove that women have every power to reject the advances of men and acquire independence and happiness alone. This is achieved of course without their romantic ideals being conceded to them: namely being free from the harassment of men. With regard to Don Quijote, his chivalric books lead him to idealize women, be subjected to ridicule and cause confusion amongst these women and other bystanders. The other men mentioned in this essay may or not be under the same ‘chivalric’ influence as Don Quijote however.

Bibliography

Websites

Romance and Realism in the Interpolated Stories of the Quixote, 1982. Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 February 2014].

Journal articles accessed through a database

Kallendorf, H., 2002. The Diabolical Adventures of Don Quixote, or Self-Exorcism and the Rise of the Novel. Renaissance Quarterly, [online] Available at: [Accessed February 2014]

Powers, p.,1950. Varieties Of Experience In Don Quixote. The Journal of General Education, [online] Available at: [Accessed February 2014]

Roades, M., 1949. Don Quixote and modern chivalry. Hispania, [online] Available at: [Accessed February 2014].

Simerka, B., and Weimer, C., 2005. Adapation. Hispania, [online] Available at:< http://www.jstor.org/stable/20063079> [Accessed February 2014]

Toll, B., 1989. Don Quixote in Sologub’s Melkij bes. The Slavic and Eastern European Journal, [online] Available at: [Accessed February 2014].

Books with one author

De Cervantes, M., 2002. Don Quijote de La Mancha. Barcelona: Random House Mondadori, S.A.

Raffel, B., 1999. Don Quijote. New York: Norton & Company, Inc.

Word Count: 2, 224

Bibliography: Websites Romance and Realism in the Interpolated Stories of the Quixote, 1982 Journal articles accessed through a database Kallendorf, H., 2002 Powers, p.,1950. Varieties Of Experience In Don Quixote. The Journal of General Education, [online] Available at: [Accessed February 2014] Roades, M., 1949 Simerka, B., and Weimer, C., 2005. Adapation. Hispania, [online] Available at:< http://www.jstor.org/stable/20063079> [Accessed February 2014] Toll, B., 1989 Books with one author De Cervantes, M., 2002 Raffel, B., 1999. Don Quijote. New York: Norton & Company, Inc.