Don Quixote is  book written many years ago however, the themes and interactions that occur within the story are still relevant in modern times.

Views on Women

Marcela in the story was a very beautiful woman that was adored by many men.Because of this beauty, men at the time assumed that just because they felt passionate towards her, she should reciprocate the same feelings back to them. This viewpoint of women being property to men is sadly enough still in the process of being eradicated from society. In our discussion groups in class we came to a general agreement that women should not feel pressured to have feelings for a man. However we are in a different time period than they were in the story. Cervante’s takes this situation to the extreme when he writes about a man (Chrysostom) killing himself over his love for Marcela.

Mockery

In chapter 12, Don Quixote goes to Chrysostom’s funeral after being invited by a goatherd named Peter. On the way to the burial, A man named Vivaldo appears and starts asking Don Quixote rhetorical questions to make him look like an idiot. My discussion group was stuck between whether or not, characters in the novel were actually curious about Don Quixotes answers or whether or not they were just asking him questions to make fun of him. We can to the conclusion that just like today, there are people who make fun of others for their own personal interest and amusement.