Don Quixote and the liberation of the convicts: ideological implications in the episode of the galley slaves

Abstract

This study examines the episode of the galley slaves and the ideological gaps that seem to justify the actions of Don Quixote in a context in which crimes considered both serious and venial could mean harsh penalties meted out by the monarchy’s judicial administration. The chapter will be analysed in accordance with the ideological bases with which Cervantes seems to align himself, founded on two of the core principles that run through his seminal work: justice and liberty. The legal grounds on which the sentences were handed to the offenders will also be reviewed, enabling us to evaluate the actions of the knight and propose that they are the most rebellious and ideologically marked in the entire novel.