We never meet Dulcinea in Don Quixote. She is a figment of his imagination. Don Quixote believes the peasant girl Aldonza Lorenzo to be the Princess Dulcinea; yet he never speaks to her and only loves her from afar. Dulcinea, however, plays an important role in Don Quixote as her presence is felt throughout the novel.Every deed, every journey and every quest is made in her name.
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Monument to Don Quixote and Dulcinea in
El Toboso, Castile-La Mancha, Spain.
Don Quixote
The knight of immortal youth
at the age of fifty found his mind in his heart
and on July morning went out to capture
the right, the beautiful, the just.
Facing him a world of silly and arrogant giants,
he on his sad but brave Rocinante.
I know what it means to be longing for something,
but if your heart weighs only a pound and sixteen ounces,
there's no sense, my Don, in fighting these senseless windmills.
But you are right, of course, Dulcinea is your woman,
the most beautiful in the world;
I'm sure you'll shout this fact
at the face of street-traders;
but they'll pull you down from your horse
and beat you up.
But you, the unbeatable knight of our curse,
will continue to glow behind the heavy iron visor
and Dulcinea will become even more beautiful
By Nazim Hikmet, translated by Taner Baybars
Research done here
