History YMMV / DonQuixote

** Another case of WeirdAlEffect in Don Quixote is that both books were a satire and as such, contained a lot of references not only to now disappeared chivalry books, (the second part contains entire parodies to "Tirant lo blanch", one of the better chivalry books and a Cervante's favorite) but to Spain's popular culture at the XVII century: (respectful) [[{{NoCelebritiesWereHarmed}} caricatures of then famous celebrities]], unrespectful [[{{TakeThat}} caricatures of contemporary writers]], [[{{ShoutOut}} quotes from Cervantes’s favorite poets]], [[{{HurricaneOfAphorisms}} popular proverbs]], then contemporary UrbanLegends, [[{{DoubleEntendre}} phrases that can be taken in at least two different ways]], [[{{OnceMoreWithEndnotes}} all of them completely unknown for the modern reader if not by the notes provided in the reprints]]. [[{{DontExplainTheJoke}} Cervantes's book was incredibly funny when he published it, but it's very difficult to see it like this now]].

** Perhaps related to the fact that the first part was written while Cervantes was in Jail (Sancho Panza's wife has 2 different names in the same page, none which would be the definitive Teresa Panza).

* NeverLiveItDown: Sancho Panza’s reputation as a BigEater. In the first part of the novel, Sancho Panza has several scenes enjoying food and drink to show his easygoing nature. When Avellaneda [[{{Fanfiction}} published his own second part of the novel]], he accused Sancho of being a BigEater. In Cervante’s second part of the novel, Don Quixote’s niece accuses Sancho of this ([[MaliciousSlander she hates him]]) and later, [[OhCrapThereAreFanficsOfUs when they know about Avellaneda’s second part]], Sancho defends himself against this accusation at chapter LXII of the Second Part:

* MagnumOpusDissonance: At TheCavalierYears in Spain, money was found in {{Theater}}, and glory was found in {{Poetry}}.When Cervantes wrote a comedy book he didn't know he was creating the first modern novel, and the book didn't get noticed by the critics. Nonetheless, it was successful enough for the editor to kept asking for a {{sequel}} because MoneyDearBoy. But Cervantes had AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder and wanted to write a lot of projects that would bring him glory, like ''Los trabajos de Persiles y Segismunda''. [[ComedyGhetto No one took the comedy book seriously, least of all, Cervantes himself.]] Maybe that continuation would have never seen the light of day if not for Avellaneda's {{fanfiction}}: A FixFic, because Avellaneda thought Cervantes wrote some characters deserving of a better writer. Cervantes [[EvenBetterSequel decided to write the best second part he could]] and considered DonQuixote a work that would survive centuries.

* MagnificentBastard: Gines de Pasamonte is an ungrateful galley slave whom Don Quixote frees. Gines is [[{{LargeHam}} a vain, shameless, cynical]][[{{ArsonMurderAndJaywalking}} bandit, thief, swindler and picaresque writer]]. Then, in the second part, we discover that Gines is a [[spoiler: MasterOfDisguise]].

** At Part I, Chapter XLVIII, [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep The]] [[MeaningfulName canon]] adduces that this trope is the reason he has [[{{Fanfic}} wrote a hundred pages of a chivalry book]], [[DeadFic but he will not finish it]].

** At Part Part I, Chapter XLVIII,[[{{EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep}}The]] [[{{MeaningfulName}} canon]] adduces that this trope is the reason he has [[{{Fanfic}} wrote a hundred pages of a chivalry book]], [[{{DeadFic}} but he will not finish it]].

* FridgeBrilliance: In the first part, Don Quixote uses AntiquatedLinguistics/[[{{YeOldeButcheredEnglish}} El Viejo Español Masacrado]], but in the Second Part, he almost doesn't use it. This is because in the first Part he is a DiscoDan in a world when ChivalricRomance is DeaderThanDisco, so he uses this trope to [[{{IRejectYourReality}} Reject everyone’s reality and substitute her own]]. In the Second Part, [[MemeticMutation everyone has read the first Part]], knew about ChivalricRomance and stage {{MassiveMultiplayerScam}}s to convince Don Quixote he really is an KnightErrant… so this trope is unnecessary for him.

* {{Applicability}} Literary critic Harold Bloom's wrote in his article,[[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/dec/13/classics.miguelcervantes ''The Knight in the Mirror'':]] ''"The aesthetic wonder is ... when we stand back from the huge book and ponder its shape and endless range of meaning. No critic's account of Cervantes's masterpiece agrees with, or even resembles, any other critic's impressions. Don Quixote is a mirror held up not to nature, but to the reader. How can this bashed and mocked knight errant be, as he is, a universal paradigm?"'' That means that every reader will interpret ''Don Quixote'' in his own way, and all of those interpretations will be valid. It also means that none of them could be valid, because every reader’s impression ''of himself is reflected by the novel''. You can interpret all other novels, but in ''[[{{Literature/DonQuixote}} Don Quijote's]]'' case, [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou the novel interprets YOU!!]].

*** In Part II, Chapter XI, Don Quixote claims: ''"from a child I was fond of the play, and in my youth a keen lover of the actor's art."''. Several critics have toyed with the idea that Don Quixote never lost that passion for theater and behaves like an actor: [[{{Obfuscating Insanity}} he does not believe to be a knight, but pretends to be one]], as if he's on stage.

*** Let's be fair, though: A lot of people like to point and giggle at Quixote's insanity, but a lot of them would also love to have a hallucination that elaborate, assuming they could recover. Why else would we have games like ''TheLegendOfZelda'' or ''FinalFantasy''?

* MagnumOpusDissonance: At TheCavalierYears in Spain, money was found in {{Theater}}, and glory was found in {{Poetry}}. Miguel de Cervantes wrote a comedy book that didn’t get noticed by the critics. Nonetheless, it was successful enough for the editor kept asking for a {{continuation}} because MoneyDearBoy. But Cervantes had AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder and wanted to write a lot of projects that would bring him glory, like “Los trabajos de Persiles y Segismunda”. [[ComedyGhetto No one took the comedy book seriously, not even Cervantes.]] Maybe that continuation would have never seen the light of day if not for a {{fanfiction}} writer that wrote himself the second part, doing the worst insult you can do to an author: A FixFic, because Cervantes wrote some characters deserving of a better writer. Cervantes [[EvenBetterSequel decided to write the best second part he could]], and so we have now DonQuixote.

* FridgeBrilliance: In the first part, Don Quixote uses AntiquatedLinguistics/[[{{YeOldeButcheredEnglish}} El Viejo Español Masacrado}}, but in the Second Part, he almost doesn't use it. This is because in the first Part he is a DiscoDan in a world when ChivalricRomance is DeaderThanDisco, so he uses this trope to [[{{IRejectYourReality}} Reject everyone’s reality and substitute her own]]. In the Second Part, [[MemeticMutation everyone has read the first Part]], knew about ChivalricRomance and stage {{MassiveMultiplayerScam}}s to convince Don Quixote he really is an KnightErrant… so this trope is unnecessary for him.

** Actually the second part is littered with [[TakeThat Take Thats]] to the {{Fanon}}.
*** Actually, the matter is that the {{Fanon}} was not [[MoneyDearBoy exactly writing about the Quixote for the sake of it]].

* {{Applicability}} Literary critic Harold Bloom's wrote in his article,[[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/dec/13/classics.miguelcervantes ''The Knight in the Mirror'':]] ''"The aesthetic wonder is ... when we stand back from the huge book and ponder its shape and endless range of meaning. No critic's account of Cervantes's masterpiece agrees with, or even resembles, any other critic's impressions. Don Quixote is a mirror held up not to nature, but to the reader. How can this bashed and mocked knight errant be, as he is, a universal paradigm?"'' That means that every reader will interpret ''Don Quixote'' in his own way, and all of those interpretations will be valid. It also means that none of them could be valid, because every reader’s impression ''of himself is reflected by the novel''. [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou You reader can interpreted all other novels, but in ''[[{{Literature/DonQuixote}} Don Quijote's]]'' case, the novel interprets YOU!!]].

* {{Applicability}} Literary critic Harold Bloom's wrote in his article,[[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/dec/13/classics.miguelcervantes ''The Knight in the Mirror'':]] ''"The aesthetic wonder is ... when we stand back from the huge book and ponder its shape and endless range of meaning. No critic's account of Cervantes's masterpiece agrees with, or even resembles, any other critic's impressions. Don Quixote is a mirror held up not to nature, but to the reader. How can this bashed and mocked knight errant be, as he is, a universal paradigm?"'' That means that every reader will interpret ''Don Quixote'' in his own way, and all of those interpretations will be valid. It also means that none of them could be valid, because every reader’s impression ''of himself is reflected by the novel''. [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou You reader can interpreted all other novels, but in ''Literature/DonQuixote'''s case, the novel interprets YOU!!]].

* {{Applicability}} Literary critic Harold Bloom's wrote in his article,[[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/dec/13/classics.miguelcervantes ''The Knight in the Mirror'':]] ''"The aesthetic wonder is ... when we stand back from the huge book and ponder its shape and endless range of meaning. No critic's account of Cervantes's masterpiece agrees with, or even resembles, any other critic's impressions. Don Quixote is a mirror held up not to nature, but to the reader. How can this bashed and mocked knight errant be, as he is, a universal paradigm?"'' That means that every reader will interpret DonQuixote on his own way, and all of those interpretations will be valid. It also means that none of them could be valid, because every reader’s impression ''of himself is reflected by the novel''. [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou You reader can interpreted all other novels, but in DonQuixote case, the novel interprets YOU!!]].

* LowestCommonDenominator: DonQuixote and a lot of people in the novel, even those who don’t like chivalry books:
** [[strike:DonQuixote]] Alonso Quijano: What other way can you describe a man that belittles Cid Ruy Diaz, (a real badass warrior) and prefers a silly character of fiction? Part I Chapter I:

* SignatureScene: DonQuixote charging against windmills believing they are giants.
* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: Although DonQuixote is published as a one volume today, it is generally agreed that the mostly philosophical second part is better that the mostly farcical first one.

* ValuesResonance: {{DonQuixote}}’s {{Satire}} will live as long as the [[InherentInTheSystem justice system will be]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney made of]] [[HumansAreFlawed human judges]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney capable of corruption]] [[BuyThemOff that let criminals go for a price]]. Or as [[SleazyPolitician the people who direct]] TheGovernment only care about ruling the people without making any effort to enhance the live of his subjects. Or while the MoralGuardians are useless because his own PityingPerversion. Or while [[FanDumb there are people who fanatically defend any kind of entertainment work no matter its faults]]. Those examples are only a few of the issues the book attacks.

** Romantic writers praised ''Don Quixote'' as a praise of hopeless noble ideals in an increasingly cynical and materialistic world. Then, followers of literary Naturalism praised the novel... for {{deconstruct}}ing groundless Romantic enthusiasm.

*** If you are an Hispanist or a Spanish Literature student, you'll know that's not even the tip of the iceberg when discussing alternative interpretations of The Quijote and its characters, particularly the titular character, Sancho and Dulcinea. Even in the same books, the characters don't stay the same. The most accepted characterization changes through history as well. From a funny loon in its original time, to an Idealistic or a Romantic hero on Modern times, etc.

* {{Applicability}} Literary critic Harold Bloom's wrote in his article,[[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/dec/13/classics.miguelcervantes ''The Knight in the Mirror'':]] ''"The aesthetic wonder is ... when we stand back from the huge book and ponder its shape and endless range of meaning. No critic's account of Cervantes's masterpiece agrees with, or even resembles, any other critic's impressions. Don Quixote is a mirror held up not to nature, but to the reader. How can this bashed and mocked knight errant be, as he is, a universal paradigm?"'' That means that every reader will interpret DonQuixote on his own way, and all of those interpretations will be valid. It also means that none of them could be valid, because every reader’s impression ''of himself is reflected by the novel''. All other novels can be interpreted, except DonQuixote, because [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou You readers don’t interpret DonQuixote. DonQuixote interprets YOU!!]].

* {{Applicability}} Literary critic Harold Bloom's wrote in his article,[[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/dec/13/classics.miguelcervantes ''"The Knight in the Mirror"'':]] ''"The aesthetic wonder is ... when we stand back from the huge book and ponder its shape and endless range of meaning. No critic's account of Cervantes's masterpiece agrees with, or even resembles, any other critic's impressions. Don Quixote is a mirror held up not to nature, but to the reader. How can this bashed and mocked knight errant be, as he is, a universal paradigm?"'' That means that every reader will interpret DonQuixote on his own way, and all of those interpretations will be valid. It also means that none of them could be valid, because every reader’s impression ''of himself is reflected by the novel''. All other novels can be interpreted, except DonQuixote, because [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou You readers don’t interpret DonQuixote. DonQuixote interprets YOU!!]].

* {{Applicability}} Literary critic Harold Bloom's wrote in his article,[[ http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/dec/13/classics.miguelcervantes The Knight in the Mirror:]] ''"The aesthetic wonder is ... when we stand back from the huge book and ponder its shape and endless range of meaning. No critic's account of Cervantes's masterpiece agrees with, or even resembles, any other critic's impressions. Don Quixote is a mirror held up not to nature, but to the reader. How can this bashed and mocked knight errant be, as he is, a universal paradigm?"'' That means that every reader will interpret DonQuixote on his own way, and all of those interpretations will be valid. It also means that none of them could be valid, because every reader’s impression ''of himself is reflected by the novel''. All other novels can be interpreted, except DonQuixote, because [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou You readers don’t interpret DonQuixote. DonQuixote interprets YOU!!]].

* {{Applicability}} From Harold Bloom's article: The Knight in the Mirror:
-->''"The aesthetic wonder is that this enormity fades when we stand back from the huge book and ponder its shape and endless range of meaning. No critic's account of Cervantes's masterpiece agrees with, or even resembles, any other critic's impressions. Don Quixote is a mirror held up not to nature, but to the reader. How can this bashed and mocked knight errant be, as he is, a universal paradigm?"''

*** Part I, chapter I: Who is Alonso Quixano’s favorite knight? Well, [[{{HeroicSociopath}} Reinaldos of Montalban]]. And why? ''[[{{CompletelyMissingThePoint}} "because he robbed everyone he meet!"]]''

* TheWoobie: Particularly in the era where Don Quixote was considered a tragic hero. [[CompletelyMissingThePoint Admit it, sometimes you just want to give him a hug]].