People keep asking me, "Did you really mean to make your heroine "Dulcinea"? And then they ask me if I know where it's from. (Various people, however, "know" that it comes from somewhere, and that's not the place it originates. Read on.)
The name "Dulcinea" should indeed resonate with you, for it was intended to do so. First and foremost, "Dulcinea" is the name Don Quixote de la Mancha gives to his perfect lady in Cervantes' novel, later made into the musical "Man of La Mancha."
"I shall impersonate someone. Come enter into my imagination and see him!"
Let a friend of mine explain. He writes:
Yes, having played a "Muleteer", a prisoner, and the innkeeper in "Man of La Mancha" (funny, it's missing out of my resume....should be in there, but ain't. Ah, well), I'm very familiar with Miguel de Cervantes. He wrote the most important literary classic in Spanish history, and certainly one of the best known books in the world: "El Ingienoso Senor Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha", or simply, "Don Quixote". In college I was going to write a thesis on him before I got kicked out.... ANYWAYS, Dulcinea's real name was Aldonza and only Don Quixote saw this woman of the world as a fair maiden, deserving of respect, love and honour.
In the play "Man of La Mancha", as in the book, Don Quixote believes that the simple country inn he finds is in reality a large and glorious castle, with a lord and lady...and rabble, of course. The Muleteers proposition Aldonza, the kitchen wench/whore. She believes in nothing except that all men are the same, so nothing matters. [It's All the Same] Don Quixote arrives and believes that Aldonza, is his "Dulcinea", a woman of unsurpassed beauty, charm, and purity. The Muleteers make fun of Don Quixote for his courtliness and chivalry towards the kitchen wench, and Aldonza for believing in him.
I have dreamed thee too long,
never seen thee or touched thee,
but known thee with all of my heart.
Half a prayer, half a song...
Thou hast always been with me,
though we have been always apart.
Dulcinea, Dulcinea.
I see heaven when I see thee, Dulcinea.
And thy name is like a prayer an angel whispers.
Dulcinea, Dulcinea.
If I reach out to thee,
do not tremble and shrink
from the touch of my hand on thy hair.
Let my fingers but see,
thou art warm and alive,
and no phantom to fade to the air.
Dulcinea, Dulcinea.
I have sought thee, sung thee, dreamed thee, Dulcinea.
Now I've found thee and the world shall know thy glory.
Dulcinea, Dulcinea.
MULETEERS (I was one): comically
Dulcinea, Dulcinea.
I see heaven when I see thee, Dulcinea.
And thy name is like a prayer an angel whispers.
Dulcinea, Dulcinea.
Dulcinea, Dulcinea.
I have sought thee, sung thee, dreamed thee, Dulcinea.
Now I've found thee and the world shall know thy glory.
Dulcinea, Dulcinea.
DON QUIXOTE:
Hear me now, oh thou bleak and unbearable world,
thou art base and debauched as can be,
and a knight with his banners all bravely unfurled
now hurls down his gauntlet to thee!
I am I, Don Quixote,
the Lord of La Mancha.
My destiny calls and I go.
And the wild winds of fortune
shall carry me onward,
oh, whither so ever they blow.
Whither so ever they blow,
Onward to glory I go!
SANCHO PANZA:
I'm Sancho,
yes, I'm Sancho.
I follow my master 'til the end.
I tell all
the world, proudly,
I'm his squire. I'm his friend.
DON QUIXOTE:
Hear me, heathens and wizards and serpents of sin,
All your dastardly doings are past,
for a holy endeavor is now to begin,
and virtue shall triumph at last.
Of course, there are those who will argue with me that "Dulcinea" is the title of the only platinum album from the musical group "Toad the Wet Sprocket." Somebody else reminded me (by mailing me a copy of the novel) that in Diana Wynne Jones' _Witch Week_, she refers to the Archwitch Dulcinea.
But I wanted the name because "Dulcinea" means, more or less, "sweetheart." For her to become the sweetheart takes most of the book, I think. But it's all part of her coming-of-age journey.
Shal
Order from the publisher: www.xlibris.com/Dulcinea.html
Take a closer look at Cervantes' character of Dulcinea.