Don Quixote

Don Qui·xo·te

D0339300 (kē-hō′tē, kwĭk′sət)n. An impractical idealist bent on righting incorrigible wrongs.

[After Don Quixote, , hero of a satirical chivalric romance by Miguel de Cervantes.]

Don Quixote

(ˈdɒn kiːˈhəʊtiː; ˈkwɪksət; Spanish don kiˈxote) n (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) an impractical idealist[after the hero of Cervantes' Don Quixote de la Mancha]

Don Quix•o•te

(ˌdɒn kiˈhoʊ ti, -teɪ, dɒn ˈkwɪk sət)
n. the hero of a novel by Cervantes who was inspired by lofty but impractical ideals.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Don Quixote - the hero of a romance by Cervantes; chivalrous but impractical
	2.	Don Quixote - any impractical idealist (after Cervantes' hero)idealist, dreamer - someone guided more by ideals than by practical considerations

Translations

Don Quijote

Don Quixote

(also Don Quijote), the hero of M. Cervantes’ novel El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha (2 vols., 1605-15).

While wandering about the ruined and oppressed Spain of the late 16th century, Don Quixote is always prepared to undertake knightly deeds in the name of love for humanity, even though life roughly crushes his illusions. The incongruity of the latter with historical reality leads to innumerable ironical and grotesque situations. Don Quixote embodies the tragedy of a humanist who becomes convinced that the ideals of justice and harmony in human relations cannot be realized. His tragicomic and humanistic meaning has universal human significance. Don Quixote, the “knight of the doleful countenance,” has been variously interpreted in works of world literature and art, and his name has come to be used to designate a man who is noble, bold, and magnanimous but remote from reality. Don Quixote has often been mentioned in the critical and journalistic essays of many Russian writers, including V. G. Belinskii, N. A. Dobroliubov, D. I. Pisarev, I. S. Turgenev, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, F. M. Dostoevsky, and A. V. Lunacharskii.

REFERENCES

Turgenev, I. S. “Gamlet i Don-Kikhot.” In Polnoe sobranie sochinenii i pisem v 28 tomakh. Soch., vol. 8. Moscow-Leningrad, 1964. Pages 169-92.
Derzhavin, K. N. Servantes: Zhizn’ i tvorchestvo. Moscow, 1958. Snetkova, N. Don Kikhot Servantesa. Moscow-Leningrad, 1965. Servantes i vsemirnaia literatura: Sb. statei. Moscow, 1969. Predmore, R. L. The World of Don Quixote. Cambridge (Mass.), 1967.

M. A. GOL’DMAN

Quixote, Don

knight-errant ready to rescue distressed damsels. [Span. Lit.: Don Quixote]See: Chivalry

Quixote, Don

spends his life redressing the wrongs of the whole world. [Sp. Lit.: Cervantes Don Quixote]See: Dedication

Quixote, Don

falls into a trance and has visions of Montesinos and other heroes. [Sp. Lit.: Cervantes Don Quixote]See: Dreaming

Quixote, Don

ascribes all his misfortunes to the machinations of enchanters. [Span. Lit.: Cervantes Don Quixote]See: Enchantment

Quixote, Don

completely taken in by all the tales and plans of his squire and others who humor his delusions. [Span. Lit.: Cervantes Don Quixote]See: Gullibility

Quixote, Don

attacks windmills thinking them giants. [Span. Lit.: Don Quixote]See: Illusion

Don Quixote

Don Qui·xo·te

Don Quixote

Don Quix•o•te

Don Quixote

Don Quixote

REFERENCES

Quixote, Don

Quixote, Don

Quixote, Don

Quixote, Don

Quixote, Don

Quixote, Don

Don Quixote

Words related to Don Quixote

noun any impractical idealist (after Cervantes' hero)

Related Words