I hated the ending of Don Quixote.

By hidden_wren

I was genuinely impressed (and honestly amused) by how Avellaneda’s bogus “Second History” gets worked into the story, and all the constant little shots at how it’s written. That part had me laughing a bunch. Then the last chapter just flips a switch and Don Quixote is suddenly totally sane again as Alonso Quixano, renounces all the crazy stuff he did, and even dumps his lifelong obsession with chivalric romances. And the way his death is handled feels weirdly overdone too—like it’s mainly there to make a big point about him swearing off more stories, not to actually land emotionally. The whole meta stuff has been one of the best parts of the book before, but here it kind of messes with what the story is supposed to feel like. Up until then, you can see him trying, with this earnest drive to do good even if he’s misguided. At the end it feels like Cervantes goes “nope,” turns everything into just a mistake, and basically repeats how much he mocks the whole chivalry ideal. Earlier it felt more like a careful cut to show how outdated it was; this feels like someone swinging a sledgehammer to make sure you get the message. I can’t help thinking maybe Cervantes has been pretty hard on Quixote from the start, and maybe what people like me liked was just that patronizing “aww, look at the fool” kind of thing that gets mocked in the second part. But I don’t know—I still saw him as “wrong,” sure, but also as reacting to the muddy mess of modern life, trying to hold onto some clear, simple sense of right and duty. His heart felt in the right place even when his actions weren’t. This ending just feels like making this big beautiful statue and then smashing it yourself so nobody can enjoy it. I really wish someone could convince me I misread it or that there’s another way to see it, because right now I would’ve been happier if it just ended more open—like him going off to bed in the penultimate chapter and leaving it there.