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** His portrayal of actual Muslim Algerians in the "Story of the Captive" is also surprisingly positive, considering that it is based on the author's own captivity in Algiers. At one point Cervantes plain says that Algerians are [[NotSoDifferentRemark just as brutalized]] by their Turkish overlords as their European prisoners are. However, the two most sympathetic Muslims in the story, who eventually follow the main character to freedom, turn out to be a Spaniard who pretended to convert to Islam but secretly remained a Christian, and a [[TheChiefsDaughter Moorish princess]] who looks forward to convert to Christianity. There is not a good Muslim who remains and wants to remain a Muslim, at least among the speaking parts.
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** His portrayal of actual Muslim Algerians in the "Story of the Captive" is also surprisingly positive, considering that it is based on the author's own captivity in Algiers. At one point Cervantes plain says that Algerians are [[NotSoDifferentRemark just as brutalized]] by their Turkish overlords as their European prisoners are. However, the two most sympathetic Muslims in the story, who eventually follow the main character to freedom, turn out to be a Spaniard who pretended to convert to Islam but secretly remained a Christian, and a [[TheChiefsDaughter Moorish princess]] who looks forward to convert converting to Christianity. There is not a good Muslim who remains and wants to remain a Muslim, at least among the speaking parts.
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The social commentary is so subtle precisely because it couldn't be otherwise
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** During the side story with the galley slaves, Don Quixote delivers a surprisingly forward-thinking speech about slavery and freedom, declaring that nobody should be chained against their will and freeing the slaves. While it's a bit naïve of him to think setting a nefarious criminal loose on the countryside is a good idea, he's spot on in his conviction that ''none'' should be slaves. Cervantes likely gave the speech to Don Quixote in particular because voicing abolitionist or anti-king views was in his day a great way to get himself in trouble and all his books burned, so he needed plausible deniability.
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* AlternativeAesopInterpretation: There's an interpretation of ''Don Quixote'' which claims the most important character is secretly the "wise and learned" Cide Hamete Benengeli, an Arab scholar who is credited as the one who originally wrote down Don Quixote's adventures. This would make the novel an ''incredibly'' stealthy social commentary promoting toleration of the Muslims and Jews that were about to be/just were kicked out of Spain (it was published in 2 parts), subtly reminding the contemporary audience of the diverse and intellectual culture that made [[UsefulNotes/MoorishSpain Al-Andalus]] so special.
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* AlternativeAesopInterpretation: AlternateAesopInterpretation: There's an interpretation of ''Don Quixote'' which claims the most important character is secretly the "wise and learned" Cide Hamete Benengeli, an Arab scholar who is credited as the one who originally wrote down Don Quixote's adventures. This would make the novel an ''incredibly'' stealthy social commentary promoting toleration of the Muslims and Jews that were about to be/just were kicked out of Spain (it was published in 2 parts), subtly reminding the contemporary audience of the diverse and intellectual culture that made [[UsefulNotes/MoorishSpain Al-Andalus]] so special.
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Could this go under Alternate Character Interpretation or Applicability?
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* AlternativeAesopInterpretation: There's an interpretation of ''Don Quixote'' which claims the most important character is secretly the "wise and learned" Cide Hamete Benengeli, an Arab scholar who is credited as the one who originally wrote down Don Quixote's adventures. This would make the novel an ''incredibly'' stealthy social commentary promoting toleration of the Muslims and Jews that were about to be/just were kicked out of Spain (it was published in 2 parts), subtly reminding the contemporary audience of the diverse and intellectual culture that made [[UsefulNotes/MoorishSpain Al-Andalus]] so special.
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**''Don Quixote'' contained a lot of references not only to now disappeared chivalry books, but to Spain's popular culture during the 17th century: respectful caricatures of then famous celebrities, ''unrespectful'' caricatures of contemporary writers, quotes from Cervantes' favorite poets, popular proverbs, then-contemporary UrbanLegends, phrases that can be taken in at least two different ways... all of them completely unknown to the modern reader, even a Spanish one, if not for the notes provided in most reprints. Cervantes' book was incredibly funny when he published it, but it's very difficult to see it like this now.
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** Another popular interpretation of Don Quixote is that he is neither insane nor making social work, but merely acting out to [[IRejectYourReality live a fulfilling fantasy instead of his boring real environment]], in the style of a {{LARP}} player. This mindset was lampshaded in the 2002 Spanish film adaptation ''El Caballero Don Quijote'', where after Quijano's death, a mournful Sancho Panza states (in original lines that aren't in the book) that despite knowing his master was insane, if Don Quixote got up and asked him to come along on more of his crazy adventures, he would do without a shadow of doubt.
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** Another popular interpretation of Don Quixote is that he is neither insane nor making social work, but merely acting out to [[IRejectYourReality live a fulfilling fantasy instead of his boring real environment]], in the style of a {{LARP}} player. This mindset was lampshaded in the 2002 Spanish film adaptation ''El Caballero Don Quijote'', where after Quijano's death, a mournful Sancho Panza states (in original lines that aren't in the book) that despite knowing his master was insane, if Don Quixote got up and asked him to come along on more of his crazy adventures, he would do so without a shadow of doubt.
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** His portrayal of actual Muslim Algerians in the "Story of the Captive" is also surprisingly positive, considering that it is based on the author's own captivity in Algiers. At one point Cervantes plain says that Algerians are [[NotSoDifferentRemark just as brutalized]] by their Turkish overlords as their European prisoners are. However, the two most sympathetic Muslims in the story, who eventually follow the main character to freedom, turn out to be a Spaniard who pretended to convert to Islam but secretly remained a Christian, and a [[TheChiefsDaughter Moorish princess]] who looks forward to convert to Christianity.
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** His portrayal of actual Muslim Algerians in the "Story of the Captive" is also surprisingly positive, considering that it is based on the author's own captivity in Algiers. At one point Cervantes plain says that Algerians are [[NotSoDifferentRemark just as brutalized]] by their Turkish overlords as their European prisoners are. However, the two most sympathetic Muslims in the story, who eventually follow the main character to freedom, turn out to be a Spaniard who pretended to convert to Islam but secretly remained a Christian, and a [[TheChiefsDaughter Moorish princess]] who looks forward to convert to Christianity. There is not a good Muslim who remains and wants to remain a Muslim, at least among the speaking parts.
