Zoraida and Her Father
Don QuixoteThis thread traces Zoraida’s planned conversion and escape, and the painful parting from her loving father.
increasing
Bearing strength in each event
decreasing
A Hidden Faith

A Hidden Faith
A private devotion
Zoraida learns Christian prayers from a captive woman and comes to revere the Virgin Mary. She secretly seeks help to reach Christian lands.
Family secrecy
She fears her father, Hadji Morato, would punish her if he learned her plan. Her affection for him coexists with a desire for religious change.
The Escape Plan

The Escape Plan
A letter and funds
Zoraida sends money and instructions to Ruy Perez de Viedma and the other captives. She proposes buying a vessel and meeting at her father's garden.
Risk grows
The plan requires secrecy from her father and the authorities. Viedma and his companions prepare to free themselves and take Zoraida with them.
Departure from the Garden

Departure from the Garden
Father taken aboard
The captives enter Hadji Morato's garden and bring Zoraida and her father's wealth to the vessel. Morato wakes and discovers the Christians.
A forced parting
Zoraida asks that her father be released, but the group fears pursuit. She leaves Algiers with him still captive.
A Father’s Rebuke

A Father’s Rebuke
Morato learns the truth
Hadji Morato discovers that his daughter has become Christian and chosen to leave. He calls her disloyal and throws himself into the sea.
Rescue and sorrow
The captives pull him back aboard, and Zoraida weeps over him. Their affection persists even as their beliefs and choices divide them.
A New Life in Spain

A New Life in Spain
Refuge and conversion
Zoraida reaches Christian soil with Viedma and is welcomed at Velez Malaga. She expresses a desire for baptism and a life with him.
Separation remains
Her father stays behind, grieving on the shore. Zoraida's new freedom carries the cost of leaving her family.
During captivity in Algiers
Before the escape from Algiers
On the night of the escape
During the flight along the Barbary coast
After reaching the Spanish coast