Miguel de Cervantes wrote the two parts of Don Quixote published in 1605 and 1615. His life helps us understand the world in which he wrote. Still, a narrator or character can express views of their own, so it helps to look at who is speaking before drawing conclusions about the author.
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Miguel de Cervantes: Key events in his life
His baptism in Alcalá de Henares is documented on October 9, 1547; September 29 as his birth date is a conjecture. He fought at Lepanto in 1571 and sustained injuries affecting his left hand. Captured in 1575, he remained a captive in Algiers until his ransom in 1580. He died in Madrid in 1616. Jean Canavaggio’s documentary chronology at the Centro Virtual Cervantes identifies supporting records and distinguishes facts from inference.
The two parts of Don Quixote
Part 1, published in 1605, contains 52 chapters; Part 2, published in 1615, has 74. The change is more than a publishing distinction. In II.3 the characters discuss the printed account of their adventures. In II.59 they encounter the continuation attributed to Avellaneda. The circulation of books becomes part of the plot and affects their responses.
Books of chivalry as a starting point
In I.1 the narrator connects the gentleman’s reading with his loss of judgment and his decision to become a knight. These literary models explain why he needs armor, a horse, a lady and a new name. You do not have to know every title to understand the joke. First recognize the rule he tries to apply to a particular encounter.
Society in the novel
The village, the road and Barataria provide different positions of authority and different ways of speaking. Sancho’s governorship in II.45 allows us to examine the distance between social standing and judgment. A scene may prompt historical questions, but answers need evidence beyond a general impression of the period.
Our suggestion is to work outward from a detail. A word, occupation or procedure may call for historical explanation. Avoid using a single idea about “the Spain of the time” to explain every person’s conduct.
Author, narrators and characters
The manuscript and translation in I.9 make the story’s mediation visible. Distinguishing these voices from Cervantes leaves room for irony and contradiction. A statement by Don Quixote first describes his situation and his way of understanding it; readers can then ask what it contributes to the novel.
Continue with themes and analysis or the summary of both parts.