Don Quixote: 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. Taking a grand new name, an old suit of armor, and his worn horse, he sets out to defend the helpless and win fame for his chosen lady. His courtesy and courage are genuine, but he forces ordinary people and objects into the patterns of his books and resists every correction.

Also known as Aldonza Lorenzo

Appears from the start

A farm woman from a nearby village whom Don Quixote has admired from afar and renames as the noble lady of his devotion. She does not participate in his decision, and the exalted Dulcinea he describes belongs largely to his imagination.

First appears in chapter 2

The first innkeeper Don Quixote encounters. Don Quixote mistakes his inn for a castle and asks to be knighted; the amused and practical host plays along in hopes of sending his troublesome guest onward quickly.

First appears in chapter 5

Don Quixote's niece, who shares his household and is alarmed by the madness his books have encouraged. With the housekeeper and her uncle's friends, she tries to remove the romances and keep him safely at home.

First appears in chapter 5

The village priest and an old friend of Don Quixote. Concerned for the gentleman's health, he helps bring him home after the first expedition and examines the library that seems to have fueled his delusions.

Also known as Master Nicholas

First appears in chapter 5

The village barber and one of Don Quixote's friends. He joins the priest and the household in trying to cure the would-be knight and becomes a willing participant in their practical deceptions.

First appears in chapter 7

A poor, practical farmer from Don Quixote's village, recruited as a squire with promises that he may govern an island. Sancho is attached to food, wages, and proverbs, and he can see much that his master misreads, yet ambition and growing affection keep him on the road.

First appears in chapter 16

A servant at an inn where Don Quixote and Sancho lodge. She is blunt, compassionate in practical matters, and drawn into confusion when Don Quixote interprets a nocturnal encounter according to his romantic fantasies.

First appears in chapter 22

A clever galley prisoner with a long criminal record who is being marched to punishment with other convicts. He speaks readily for the group when Don Quixote questions them and treats the knight's intervention as an opportunity rather than an obligation.

First appears in chapter 24

A disheveled young gentleman hiding in the Sierra Morena. Betrayal in love has driven him into grief, rage, and isolation; when calm, he begins telling Don Quixote and his companions how friendship and courtship brought him there.

First appears in chapter 28

A resourceful young woman found in the mountains disguised in male clothing. She has fled after Don Fernando broke the promises he made to her, and she agrees to impersonate a distressed princess as part of the priest's effort to lead Don Quixote home.

First appears in chapter 55

A recent graduate from Don Quixote's village who tells him that an account of his first adventures has already become famous. Intelligent and playful, he engages seriously with the question of how the published history represents its living subjects.

First appears in chapter 57

Sancho's sensible wife, introduced at home as he prepares for another journey. She distrusts extravagant promises of advancement and wants any improved fortune to provide solid security for their children rather than empty rank.

First appears in chapter 82

An aristocratic couple who recognize Don Quixote and Sancho from the printed history of their adventures. They welcome the travelers with elaborate respect and invite them to their estate, treating the pair's beliefs as material for courtly entertainment.