DULCINEA

A feminist reclamation of Don Quixote’s Dulcinea that explores what happens when the woman who inspired the character is able to confront the writer.

Dolça Llull Prat is the daughter of a wealthy merchant. She’s confident, enjoys reading and painting, and, as her father says, “her curiosity is matched only by her impetuosity, and both are as long as a sennight of ceaseless rain.” She is multidimensional, unlike Don Quixote’s Dulcinea. The book opens with the arrival of distant relative Miguel de Cerbantes de Cortinas at Dolça’s family home in Barcelona. Upon meeting, Dolça and Miguel are immediately attracted to one another, and they begin a secret romance. Dolça prefers to read and speak in Catalan, so she calls him Miquel, because, she says, “that’s what it is in my tongue.” The plot and setting are firmly anchored with excellent historical details, and author Veciana-Suarez takes particular care to ensure the prominent languages in Spain at the time are well represented. Miquel the “poet-soldier” is not a man of Dolça’s status, so her parents disapprove of him—but this doesn’t dissuade Dolça. Miquel visits and writes often, until he abruptly stops. In his absence, Dolça’s parents arrange a marriage to Françesc d’Oms Calders, who they feel can provide the life to which she’s accustomed. Before the wedding takes place, however, Dolça receives news that Miquel was taken hostage, which explains his disappearance. She feels conflicted but goes ahead with the marriage anyway. When Miquel is released, they continue their affair despite the fact that she’s married. Years later, Miquel, who writes under the name Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, publishes El Quixote, which includes a character named Dulcinea. The character’s description is unflattering, and the closeness to her name causes rumors about his and Dolça’s relationship to flourish. Dolça feels betrayed. Dulcinea, “the hidalgo’s muse,” inspires everything the title character does, which Miquel feels is a compliment. Chapters alternate between Dolça's page-turning memories in the late 1500s, following her romance with Miquel and their falling-out, with more slowly moving chapters set in the early 1600s as she travels to see him one last time.

A well-researched and compelling homage to Cervantes’ Dulcinea.