Thomas Hart examines Erich Auerbachs contention that Don Quixote is not a tragedy but a comedy and suggests that Auerbachs view was shaped by his reading of Ariostos chivalric romance Orlando furioso. At the same time Hart argues that neither Don Quixote nor Orlando furioso is so free from political intention as Auerbach believed they were. He demonstrates that Cervantes shared not only Ariostos attachment to the moral code of chivalry but also his doubts that it could be practiced effectively in the contemporary world.