Vida del capitán Ruy Pérez de Viedma: La autobiografía soldadesca en Don Quijote (1.39)

Among the many aspects of the narrative of the “capitán cautivo” in Don Quixote (1.39-41), the story of Ruy Pérez de Viedma’s military life should also be recognized as a soldier’s relación given its express focus not on the secondary aspects of the character’s experience (i.e., being held captive), but on his primary social identity (i.e., being a military captain). Together with other elements, this tale represents the kind of autobiographical account that Cervantes knows well from personal experience, which allows him to better understand its biographical echoes within the context of a genre that he explores in other texts (such as “El casamiento engañoso” and “El licenciado Vidriera”).