Don Quixote de la Mancha’s Narrative Structure within the Literary Tradition

Abstract

The objective of this study is to present the meaning, complexity, innovation, and relevance of Don Quixote’s narrative structure within the literary tradition. First, this chapter reviews the diverse perspectives and interpretations among scholars when attempting to establish the narrative structure created by Cervantes. It highlights the directions in which scholars have, over time, been arguing about the narrative structure of Don Quixote, to show how some enigmas remain unsolved. Second, this piece re-examines previous literature with the goal of solving some of the unexplained gaps in the narrative and framing the relevance of the structure in Don Quixote, which is one of the main pillars supporting the argument that Cervantes’s masterpiece is the first modern novel.