Dulcinea
Encyclopedia
"Dulcinea del Toboso
" (real name Aldonza Lorenzo) is a fictional character
who is referred to (but does not appear) in Miguel de Cervantes
' novel Don Quixote. Seeking the traditions of the knights-errant
of old, Don Quixote finds a true love whom he calls Dulcinea. She is a simple peasant in his home town, but Quixote imagines her to be the most beautiful of all women. At times, Quixote goes into detail about her appearance, though he freely admits that he has seen her only fleetingly and has never spoken with her.
Don Quixote describes her appearance in the following terms: "... her name is Dulcinea, her country El Toboso
, a village of La Mancha
, her rank must be at least that of a princess, since she is my queen and lady, and her beauty superhuman, since all the impossible and fanciful attributes of beauty which the poets apply to their ladies are verified in her; for her hairs are gold
, her forehead Elysian fields
, her eyebrows rainbows, her eyes suns, her cheeks roses, her lips coral, her teeth pearls, her neck alabaster, her bosom marble, her hands ivory, her fairness snow, and what modesty conceals from sight such, I think and imagine, as rational reflection can only extol, not compare." [Volume 1/Chapter XIII]
In the Spanish
of the time, Dulcinea means something akin to an overly elegant "sweetness". In this way, Dulcinea is an entirely fictional person for whom Quixote relentlessly fights. To this day, a reference to someone as one's "Dulcinea" implies hopeless devotion and love for her, and particularly unrequited love.
She does appear in many stage and film adaptations of the book. In cinema and on stage, she has been played by (among others) Sophia Loren
, Joan Diener
, Rosemary Leach
, Hollis Resnik
, and Vanessa Williams
. In the Broadway
musical Man of La Mancha
, she is a self-described whore. Her given name is Aldonza, and a prominent arc of the musical follows her distrust and then fervent belief in Don Quixote's quest. She begins as someone who has no self-worth, Aldonza, and through Quixote's belief in her, she begins to believe in herself as someone of great worth and takes on the name Dulcinea. In the stage version (but not in the 1972 film), the local priest sings a song called "To Each His Dulcinea", in which he reflects that although Dulcinea does not exist, the idea of her is what keeps Don Quixote alive and on his quest.
The Jules Massenet
opera Don Quichotte
depicts Dulcinée as a major character, the local queen who sends the knight on a quest to retrieve her jewels.
El Toboso
El Toboso is a town and municipality located in the province of Toledo, central Spain. According to the 2009 data, El Toboso has a total population of 2,219 inhabitants...
" (real name Aldonza Lorenzo) is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
who is referred to (but does not appear) in Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
' novel Don Quixote. Seeking the traditions of the knights-errant
Knight-errant
A knight-errant is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. "Errant," meaning wandering or roving, indicates how the knight-errant would typically wander the land in search of adventures to prove himself as a knight, such as in a pas d'armes.The first known appearance of the term...
of old, Don Quixote finds a true love whom he calls Dulcinea. She is a simple peasant in his home town, but Quixote imagines her to be the most beautiful of all women. At times, Quixote goes into detail about her appearance, though he freely admits that he has seen her only fleetingly and has never spoken with her.
Don Quixote describes her appearance in the following terms: "... her name is Dulcinea, her country El Toboso
El Toboso
El Toboso is a town and municipality located in the province of Toledo, central Spain. According to the 2009 data, El Toboso has a total population of 2,219 inhabitants...
, a village of La Mancha
La Mancha
La Mancha is a natural and historical region or greater comarca located on an arid, fertile, elevated plateau of central Spain, south of Madrid, stretching between the Montes de Toledo and the western spurs of the Serrania de Cuenca. It is bounded on the south by the Sierra Morena and on the north...
, her rank must be at least that of a princess, since she is my queen and lady, and her beauty superhuman, since all the impossible and fanciful attributes of beauty which the poets apply to their ladies are verified in her; for her hairs are gold
Blond
Blond or blonde or fair-hair is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some sort of yellowish color...
, her forehead Elysian fields
Elysian Fields
-General use:* Elysium, in Greek mythology, the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous- Places :* Elysian Fields, Hoboken, New Jersey, site of the first organized baseball game* Elysian Fields Avenue, New Orleans* Elysian Fields, Texas...
, her eyebrows rainbows, her eyes suns, her cheeks roses, her lips coral, her teeth pearls, her neck alabaster, her bosom marble, her hands ivory, her fairness snow, and what modesty conceals from sight such, I think and imagine, as rational reflection can only extol, not compare." [Volume 1/Chapter XIII]
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
of the time, Dulcinea means something akin to an overly elegant "sweetness". In this way, Dulcinea is an entirely fictional person for whom Quixote relentlessly fights. To this day, a reference to someone as one's "Dulcinea" implies hopeless devotion and love for her, and particularly unrequited love.
She does appear in many stage and film adaptations of the book. In cinema and on stage, she has been played by (among others) Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
, Joan Diener
Joan Diener
Joan Diener was an American theatre actress and singer with a three-and-a-half-octave range.Born in Columbus, Ohio, Diener majored in psychology at Sarah Lawrence College and moonlighted as an actress while still a student...
, Rosemary Leach
Rosemary Leach
Rosemary Leach is a British stage, television and film actress.She was born at Much Wenlock, Shropshire. Her parents were teachers related to Edmund Leach. She attended grammar school and RADA...
, Hollis Resnik
Hollis Resnik
Hollis Resnik is an American singer and actress, especially in stage musicals.-Biography:Born in 1955 and raised in Euclid, Ohio , as a young girl she studied piano and took voice lessons and performed with the Cleveland Symphony Children's Choir. Attending Russell H...
, and Vanessa Williams
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
. In the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...
, she is a self-described whore. Her given name is Aldonza, and a prominent arc of the musical follows her distrust and then fervent belief in Don Quixote's quest. She begins as someone who has no self-worth, Aldonza, and through Quixote's belief in her, she begins to believe in herself as someone of great worth and takes on the name Dulcinea. In the stage version (but not in the 1972 film), the local priest sings a song called "To Each His Dulcinea", in which he reflects that although Dulcinea does not exist, the idea of her is what keeps Don Quixote alive and on his quest.
The Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
opera Don Quichotte
Don Quichotte
Don Quichotte is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn.Massenet's comédie-héroïque, like so many other dramatized versions of the story of Don Quixote, relates only indirectly to the great novel by Miguel de Cervantes...
depicts Dulcinée as a major character, the local queen who sends the knight on a quest to retrieve her jewels.
In popular culture
- A Scottish TerrierScottish TerrierThe Scottish Terrier , popularly called the Scottie, is a breed of dog. Initially one of the highland breeds of Terrier that were grouped under the name of Skye Terrier, it is one of five breeds of terrier that originated in Scotland, the other four being the modern Skye, Cairn, Dandie Dinmont, and...
named Dulcinea is a scene-stealer in the SpanglishSpanglish.Spanglish refers to the blend of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. The Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of...
book Yo-Yo Boing! by Puerto Rican novelist Giannina BraschiGiannina BraschiGiannina Braschi is a Puerto Rican writer. She is credited with writing the first Spanglish novel YO-YO BOING! and the poetry trilogy Empire of Dreams , which chronicles the Latin American immigrant's experiences in the United States...
; early in her career, decades prior to creating this canine heroine, the author wrote a critical essay on the novel Don Quixote entitled "Cinco personajes fugaces en el camino de Don Quijote". (ISBN 0935480978) - "Dulcinea" is the title of the third song from the post-metal band IsisIsis (band)Isis was a Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, with a career spanning from 1997 to 2010...
's album In the Absence of TruthIn the Absence of TruthIn the Absence of Truth is the fourth full-length studio album by Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band Isis, released by Ipecac Recordings on October 31, 2006...
. - "Dulcinea" is a song on the 2008 album Zerre by Turkish rock band ReplikasReplikasReplikas is a avant-rock, experimental rock band from Istanbul, Turkey.-History:Their debut album, Köledoyuran was released in 2000, on Ada. Their second album, Dadaruhi followed in 2002. After signing with Doublemoon records, the band released their third studio album, Avaz in 2005...
. - "La Dulcinea" is a song on the 1993 album Pain Makes You BeautifulPain Makes You Beautiful- Track listing :#All Day Afternoon #Ugly on the Outside #Being Simple #An Intense Beige #Geography #Wasting Time #Incredible Bittersweet #Scarlett #Trip Me Up #La Dulcinea #My Dead Friend...
by alternative rock band The Judybats. - DulcineaDulcinea (album)Dulcinea is an album by Toad the Wet Sprocket released in 1994. It is their fourth studio album with Columbia Records and the follow-up to their popular album fear, which was released in 1991. Two songs from Dulcinea reached Top 40 designation on the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts: "Fall...
is the 1994 album of alternative rock band Toad the Wet SprocketToad the Wet SprocketToad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986. The band consists of singer/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss. The band enjoyed chart success in the 1990s with the singles "Walk on the Ocean," "All I Want,"...
. - "Dulcinea" is the second track in the EP The Penance and the PatienceThe Penance and the PatienceThe Penance and the Patience is the debut EP by Australian rock band Closure in Moscow, released on 18 April 2008 through Taperjean Records. The band advertised the EP as an 'albumette'....
by Australian band Closure In MoscowClosure In MoscowClosure in Moscow are an Australian progressive rock band that formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 2006. The group is currently composed of guitarist-singer Mansur Zennelli, lead guitarist Michael Barrett, drummer Salvatore Aidone and lead singer Christopher de Cinque...
. - Dulcinea appears in the Japanese series Zukkoke KnightMutsumi Inomatais a Japanese illustrator and animator.-Biography:An anime fan, Inomata began her career as an animator with Toei Animation, soon after graduating from her senior year at high school...
- Don De La Mancha. Her real name is Fedora (in the English dub). She is daughter of the bandit king, Poormouth. Her role is to help her bankrupt father by stealing, but she fails almost every time. She fools Don Quixote into helping her. She is voiced by Mami KoyamaMami KoyamaMami Koyama is a veteran seiyū and J-pop vocalist who was born in Nishio, Aichi. She was once married to fellow seiyū Tōru Furuya, her co-star in Mobile Suit Gundam, Urusei Yatsura, Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, and Casshern Sins...
. - In Episode 13 of Season 4 of the TV show HeroesHeroes (TV series)Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
, Hiro NakamuraHiro Nakamurais a fictional character on the NBC fantasy drama Heroes who possesses the ability of space-time manipulation. This means that Hiro is able to alter the flow of time. Previously, his ability allowed him to teleport, stop time, or travel through time, but recent events in the series have prevented...
, who has had his memory erased and can only remember science fiction and popular culture references, defends a woman from a mugger and then calls her his Dulcinea. - Dulcinea is referenced frequently in the TV series Ally McBealAlly McBealAlly McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
. - Dulcinea is referenced in the science fiction TV series Quantum LeapQuantum LeapQuantum Leap is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from March 26, 1989 to May 5, 1993, for a total of five seasons. The series was created by Donald Bellisario, and starred Scott Bakula as Dr...
when Sam Beckett leaps into the understudy of an actor that plays Don Quixote.