It goes without saying that as readers, most of us eagerly await the conclusion of the novels, sometimes choosing to ignore details that we find insignificant for the advancement of the plot. However, Cervantes seems to ignore this trait, constantly interrupting his stories at critical moments. This technique not only creates suspense and tension, but also helps prove something about the readers; they are not just passive members of the audience, but rather participants in this sometimes convoluted story. While some critics have criticized Cervantes for placing tales that seem almost "out of place", it is clear that these tales actually incorporate some of the broader themes that Cervantes attempts to emphasize throughout the novel, one being that the women are always women. fall of men. One of the first stories introduced by Cervantes is the pastoral episode of Grisóstomo and Marcela. Marcela, a wealthy orphan, chose not to marry and decided to become a shepherdess and live happily in the woods. Grisóstomo, out of love for Marcela, decides to dress as a shepherd to try to obtain her hand in marriage. Realizing that Marcela is simply not interested in getting married, Grisóstomo commits suicide. At that moment, a shepherd arrives and brings the news of Grisóstomo's death and announces that he will be buried the next day. At the funeral, Vivaldo praises Marcela's beauty, but also laments her cruelty, as he believes she led Grisóstomo to think he had a chance with her. However, Marcela appears and claims that she never gave Grisóstomo, or any other man, any hope of winning her affections. While Cervantes allows Marcela to give a speech to explain herself, Cervantes still seems to pin middle of paper......as the cause of all things villainous. In Cervantes' novel, it goes without saying that the male characters play the main and famous roles, but through the novel as a whole and the tales told, it is clear that women are the driving forces behind many of the men's actions. . Although the women in Don Quixote appear to play crucial roles, their characters tend to lack development and exist only as names or extensions of their male counterparts. Although they lack description and inner insight, these female characters are nonetheless idolized by the male characters, who seem to place high expectations on them. However, what we soon learn through the novel is that these women never live up to the expectations placed on them, and on the contrary seem to only harm the men around them, which only what to emphasize Cervantes' idea that women are the downfall of men..