Love Interest

Character Role Analysis

Dulcinea del Toboso

For someone who doesn't exist, Dulcinea del Toboso is a major figure in this book. The product of Don Quixote's frantic imagination, Dulcinea inspires nearly every action Don Quixote makes. In Part 1, Don Quixote spends all his time trying to perform great deeds so he can impress this fictional woman. In Part 2, he rides around trying to fight giants and wizards with the hope that he'll be able to break a curse that has been cast on his beloved Dulcinea. Mind you, Dulcinea is based on a real woman in the book. But it's a woman Don Quixote has never met or seen, so she might as well be a total figment of his imagination.