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Dulcinea

fictional character
Also known as: Dulcinea del Toboso
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Dulcinea, fictional character in the two-part picaresque novel Don Quixote (Part I, 1605; Part II, 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes. Aldonza Lorenzo, a sturdy Spanish peasant girl, is renamed Dulcinea by the crazed knight-errant Don Quixote when he selects her to be his lady. Don Quixote perceives Dulcinea as a golden-haired highborn young woman of incomparable loveliness for whom he will perform brave deeds as her paladin.

In full:
Dulcinea del Toboso
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The name Dulcinea, like Dulcibella, came to be used generically to mean mistress or sweetheart.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.