That novel is a parody of a knighthood which was long forgotten. Don Quixote reads chivalric books instead of being the knight himself. He becomes sort of mad - he sees dragons and enemies where there are only windmills. He thinks his love Dulcinea will never age and will forever wait for him - whereas in reality she is just a normal peasant who doesn't even know him. The values of knighthood are mocked in this novel, and that is what makes it a parody.
