ABSTRACT
To crown him with an adjective of his own choosing, Cervantes continues to be the exemplary novelist. It is a truism, of course, that he set the example for all other novelists to follow. The paradox is that, by exemplifying the effects of fantasy on the mind, he pointed the one way for fiction to attain the effect of truth. The undertones of humanitarian sympathy, implied when Don Quixote liberates the convicts, come to the surface when he finally reaches Barcelona, and people are brought face to face with galley slaves. Don Quixote's ideal of humanistic perfection is to be equally well versed in arms and letters. It might be opined that he fails because his military training has lagged so far behind his literary preparation. Something like the contrary might be maintained about his creator. The chapter that sees the convicts liberated is rather exceptional in its direct approach to reality.
