Don Quixote (AmazonClassics Edition) characters

Appears from the start

An aging country gentleman of La Mancha whose constant reading of chivalric romances convinces him to become a knight-errant. Renaming himself Don Quixote, he repairs old armor, names his worn horse Rocinante, chooses an absent village woman as his lady, and rides out to defend the helpless. His formal ideals are generous, but his inability to distinguish ordinary life from romance repeatedly puts himself and others in danger.

Also known as Aldonza Lorenzo

Appears from the start

A farm woman from El Toboso whom Don Quixote selects in her absence as the noble lady required by his knightly calling. He gives her the name Dulcinea and dedicates his adventures to an idealized version of her, although she does not participate in choosing that role.

Appears from the start

Don Quixote's young niece, who shares his home and is alarmed by the obsessive reading that has drawn him away from ordinary life. She joins the household's efforts to keep him safe and prevent another departure.

Appears from the start

The keeper of Don Quixote's household, an older woman who blames books of chivalry for her master's collapse into delusion. Protective and forceful, she wants the offending volumes removed and his wandering brought to an end.

First appears in chapter 2

The keeper of the first inn Don Quixote encounters. Recognizing that the traveler has mistaken the inn for a castle and him for its lord, he humorously accepts the role and performs a makeshift ceremony to grant Don Quixote the knighthood he demands.

Also known as The curate

First appears in chapter 5

The village priest and a friend of Don Quixote's household. After the battered gentleman is brought home, he helps assess the books believed to have caused the trouble and looks for practical ways to restore his friend to health.

Also known as The barber

First appears in chapter 5

The village barber and a friend of Don Quixote. He works with the priest and the household to manage the knight's library and discourage further adventures, while knowing enough romances himself to debate the merits of individual books.

First appears in chapter 7

A neighboring farmer recruited as Don Quixote's squire with promises that successful adventures may make him governor of an island. Practical, talkative, and fond of proverbs, he rides a donkey and often recognizes the everyday reality behind his master's imagined enchantments, though hopes of advancement keep him on the road.

Also known as Cide Hamete

First appears in chapter 9

The supposed Arab historian whose manuscript is presented as the source for Don Quixote's continuing adventures. The narrator claims to obtain the history in Toledo and have it translated, creating a deliberately uncertain layer between the events and their telling.

First appears in chapter 16

A servant at an inn that Don Quixote imagines to be a castle. She plans a nighttime meeting with a carrier, but the crowded sleeping arrangements and Don Quixote's romantic assumptions turn the encounter into confusion and violence.

First appears in chapter 23

A ragged young gentleman living in the Sierra Morena, where grief has driven him into fits of wild behavior. When calm, he tells Don Quixote's party that he fled there after losing the woman he loved through the betrayal of a powerful friend.

First appears in chapter 28

A resourceful young woman found disguised as a laborer in the Sierra Morena. Abandoned after a secret marriage, she has come to seek redress. She agrees to pose as a distressed princess so the priest and barber can lure Don Quixote home.

Also known as The Bachelor

First appears in chapter 55

A young university graduate from Don Quixote's village who brings news that a printed history of the knight and Sancho has become widely known. Sociable and amused by their fame, he discusses the book with them and appears willing to encourage plans for another journey.

First appears in chapter 82

A noblewoman who meets Don Quixote while hunting with her husband. Having read the published account of his earlier adventures, she recognizes both knight and squire immediately and welcomes them to the ducal household with elaborate courtesy.

First appears in chapter 112

A Catalan bandit leader encountered by Don Quixote and Sancho near Barcelona. Though operating outside the law, he receives the travelers courteously, imposes order on his followers, and arranges for them to enter the city under protection.