Introduction to Don Quixote

Author: Sun Haijiao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-01-01
Features: The storyline of Don Quixote primarily revolves around the master-servant duo of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The protagonist, Don Quixote, is a poor gentleman who becomes obsessed with knight-errant novels and deludes himself into believing he is a knight-errant. He assembles a tattered suit of armor, rides a lean horse, and takes along a servant, Sancho, to begin traveling the world, seeking to do justice. Don Quixote's mind is filled with the bizarre notions from the knight-errant novels. He mistakes windmills for giants, inns for castles, and flocks of sheep for armies, and he fights them recklessly, resulting in countless absurd and laughable incidents. Don Quixote exposes the absurdity and harm of chivalric literature while thoroughly mocking the ideals and system of chivalry. At the same time, through the adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho, the author reflects the vast social reality of Spain from the 16th to the early 17th century. The novel features nearly 700 characters, depicting life from the outside of a duke's castle to a small provincial inn, from impoverished rural areas to chaotic towns, from plains to deep mountains, and from major roads to forests, forming a complete social panorama. The novel also touches on politics, economy, morality, culture, and customs, fully revealing the declining trend of the once-mighty Spanish Kingdom. The optimistic, freedom-loving, and truth-supporting spirit demonstrated by the protagonist, Don Quixote, as well as his deep love for the people and his profound hatred for hypocrisy, oppression, violence, and servitude, represent the ideals of progressive humanity. Of course, the story of Don Quixote, who is detached from reality and suffers repeated defeats, also suggests a truth: as time moves forward, those who are disconnected from reality will be left behind by the times and will become another Don Quixote.