Another reason why Don Quixote is one of the greatest novels

As Don Quixote proceeds on his wanderings through Manchega and Andalusia and continues to get beaten and battered in his various encounters, as he mistakes windmills for giants and inns for castles and the people he encounters as potential foes in arms, what strikes me is not so much the abuse that he takes, plentiful as it may be, but the sense of loyalty and kindness that Miguel de Cervantes develops through the novel - not only Sancho Panza's deep loyalty to Quixote - he says he's staying with Quixote because he expects Quixote to make him emperor of an island, but he's no idiot and he obviously realizes that Quixote cannot provide him with anything and he continues to stay with Quixote out of pure kindness - but also the various maids and damsels and innkeepers they meet along the way. The bedding and provisions are often horrible, but the people seem to recognize immediately that Quixote is a harmless lunatic and they tend to his needs and even coddle him in his amusing delusions. There is an obviously an element of class conflict and even hints of class exploitation throughout the novel, as noted in yesterday's post, but what we also see is the kindness of the working class and of the peasants - it's a novel with a great deal of violence (and humor - as in Sancho Panza's hilarious pledge never to take on any knights in battle, Quixote need not worry, and as for any knaves he forgives them beforehand for anything they might ever do to him)- but it is not a violent novel, it's truly a work of tenderness and compassion. The strange coexistence of this tenderness and the very rough conditions of life and the abusive treatment Quixote (and later Panza) endure make for the novel's greatness.