Dulcinea del Toboso is a fictional character who is unseen in Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quijote. Don Quijote believes he must have a lady, under the mistaken view that chivalry requires it. As he does not have one, he invents her, making her the very model of female perfection: "er name is Dulcinea, her country El Toboso, a village of La Mancha, her rank must be at least that of a princess, since she is my queen and lady, and her beauty superhuman, since all the impossible and fanciful attributes of beauty which the poets apply to their ladies are verified in her; for her hairs are gold, her forehead Elysian fields, her eyebrows rainbows, her eyes suns, her cheeks roses, her lips coral, her teeth pearls, her neck alabaster, her bosom marble, her hands ivory, her fairness snow, and what modesty conceals from sight such, I think and imagine, as rational reflection can only extol, not compare". Don Quijote is throughout the novel portrayed as both admirable and ridiculous. We soon learn that Dulcinea is based on a "real" woman, the opposite of his fantasy of Dulcinea. Her peasant name is Aldonza Lorenzo. She is as earthy, even vulgar, as Dulcinea is exalted. She raises pigs. She is not concerned with her "virtue" and is a country prostitute. Sancho knows this and is enthusiastic for Dorothea in as much as "if your worship goes looking for dainties in the bottom of the sea". Dulcinea is based on the Spanish word dulce, and suggests an overly elegant "sweetness". To this day, a reference to someone as one's "Dulcinea" implies idealistic devotion and love for her. , Spain.
An unidentified writer using the pseudonym Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda in 1614 published Part II of Don Quijote. In it he says of Dulcinea that she is "a great ______"; the missing word, which he will not utter, is "whore". Although support for Avellaneda's view of Dulcinea is found in Part I of Don Quixote, he has little interest in the glorious, imaginary Dulcinea. Scholars commonly say that because of this and many similar misreadings by Avellaneda, which Cervantes found offensive, he was motivated to complete his own unfinished Part II, which was published the following year.
"Dulcinea" is referred to in US TV seriesAlly McBeal as a song her father sings to her as a child. In the final season 5 in episode 10 Ally defends a man who thinks he can fly, and pursued Ally to be his criminal defense lawyer after seeing her in court and thinking she looks like "Dulcinea".
Dulcinea appears in the Japanese series Zukkoke Knight – Don De La Mancha. Her real name is Fedora. She is daughter of the bandit king, Poormouth. Her role is to help her bankrupt father by stealing, but she fails almost every time. She fools Don Quixote into helping her. She is voiced by Mami Koyama.
"Dulcinea" is the title of the first episode of the Syfytelevision show, The Expanse.
"Dulcinea" is the name of the third track on the album In the Absence of Truth by Isis.
