Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors
used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Books and Manuscripts
The books and manuscripts that appear everywhere in Don
Quixote symbolize the importance and influence of fiction
and literature in everyday life. The books instruct and inform the
ignorant and provide an imaginative outlet for characters with otherwise
dull lives.
Horses
Horses symbolize movement and status in the novel and
often denote a character’s worth or class. The pilgrims outside
Barcelona, for instance, walk to the city. The noblemen ride in
carriages, and the robbers and Don Quixote ride on horseback. In
Don Quixote’s mind, at least, the appearance of horses on the horizon
symbolizes the coming of a new adventure. Indeed, Rocinante and
Dapple play an important role in the journeys of Don Quixote and
Sancho; they are not only means of transport and symbols of status
but also companions.
Inns
The inns that appear throughout the novel are meeting
places for people of all classes. They are the only locations in
the novel where ordinarily segregated individuals speak and exchange
stories. Inns symbolize rest and food but also corruption and greed,
since many innkeepers in the novel are devious. Sancho often longs
to stay at an inn rather than follow Don Quixote’s chivalric desire
to sleep under the stars. These opposing preferences show Sancho’s
connection with reality and society and his instinctive desire for
comfort, in contrast to Don Quixote’s alienation from society and
its norms. Even when he does stay at inns, Don Quixote is noticeably
alienated from the major events that take place there, such as the
reunification of the four lovers in the First Part.
