# Luscinda — Don Quixote character guide

> Luscinda in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** This Luscinda, Lady Luscinda

**First appearance:** 0034-part-i-xxviii

## Snapshot

A gentlewoman whose pledged love for Cardenio is shattered when a powerful duke's son seizes her for himself, forcing her into a marriage she never wanted.

## Who they are

Luscinda belongs to the world of well-born lovers whose private vows collide with the ruthless ambitions of noblemen like Don Fernando. Her constancy to Cardenio is tested by force and family pressure, and her anguish becomes one of the strands that draws Don Quixote and Sancho into the Sierra Morena's tangle of broken hearts. Her plight matters because it shows how the novel's romance plots mirror the very chivalric fictions its hero has swallowed whole.

## Relationships

### [Don Quixote](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/characters/don_quixote)

_social_

Don Quixote encounters Luscinda as a distressed damsel in the interwoven love stories, offering chivalric aid.

### [Sancho Panza](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/characters/sancho_panza)

_social_

Sancho interacts with Luscinda as a fellow traveler caught up in the romantic entanglements of the inn.

### [Don Quixote](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/characters/don_quixote)

_social_

Don Quixote encounters Luscinda as a distressed damsel in the interwoven love stories, offering chivalric aid.

### [Sancho Panza](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/characters/sancho_panza)

_social_

Sancho interacts with Luscinda as a fellow traveler caught up in the romantic entanglements of the inn.

### [Don Quixote](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/characters/don_quixote)

_social_

Don Quixote encounters Luscinda as a distressed damsel in the interwoven love stories, offering chivalric aid.

### [Sancho Panza](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/characters/sancho_panza)

_social_

Sancho interacts with Luscinda as a fellow traveler caught up in the romantic entanglements of the inn.

## In the story

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/chapters/part-i-xxiv)

Mentioned as Cardenio's beloved, a noble and rich damsel whom he loved from childhood.

### [Of how the curate and the barber proceeded with their scheme; together with other matters worthy of record in this great history.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/chapters/part-i-xxvii)

Cardenio's beloved, who is forced into marriage with Don Fernando and faints during the ceremony.

### [XXXVI Which treats of more curious incidents that occurred at the inn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/chapters/part-i-xxxvi)

Veiled and brought by Don Fernando; reveals herself and declares her faithfulness to Cardenio.

### [XXXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/chapters/part-i-xxxvii)

Shares in the general happiness; suggested to play Dorothea's part in the deception.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/characters/luscinda
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/don_quixote_se/characters