Book I: Preface-Chapter 6 Summaries

Preface

Don Quixote begins with a preface by Cervantes. The author claims to be the "stepfather of Don Quixote" (as opposed to the father) because he is sharing an old story that was told to him long ago. At first, Cervantes decided that his book would have few allusions to classical or medieval stories‹as was the custom of the day. In the end, however, his friend convinced him that these allusions will make the book larger and will convince the readers that Cervantes is a well-educated man.

Chapter 1

There is an older gentleman (named Quixana or perhaps Quesada) and he lives in a Spanish village called La Mancha. As the story begins, this man has lost his wits. "His imagination was full of all that he read in his books"‹stories of medieval knights, chivalry, and bloody battles. As a result, he changes his name to Don Quixote and decides to become a knight-errant. Neither his niece nor his housekeeper can persuade him from dressing his old horse and setting off to battle giants.

Chapter 2

On the road, Don Quixote stumbles upon a very ordinary peasant woman. Quixote sees her as a beautiful noble lady and so he calls her Dulcinea and vows to fight for her honor and glory.

Chapter 3

Upon reaching an inn, Quixote envisions that the inn is a castle, that two lingering prostitutes are beautiful damsels, and that a dwarf opens the drawbridge to the castle. Quixote is crudely dressed as a warrior (with a helmet made of pasteboard). The innkeeper and guests are frightened by Quixote, but they soon become amused. The innkeeper plays along with Quixote's imaginations and agrees to knight Don Quixote in the morning. But when Quixote violently attacks one of the guests, the innkeeper hurriedly knights Don Quixote and sends him off.

The innkeeper advises Don Quixote that knights must travel with a few sets of clothing as well as a good amount of money.

Chapter 4

Don Quixote returns to La Mancha to get the necessary supplies, and on the way, he hears crying sounds from a bush. Don Quixote discovers a young laborer (Andres) being ruthlessly whipped by his master, John Haldudo the Rich. The boy claims that the master owes him unpaid wages, but the master claims that the boy is dishonest. Quixote sides with the boy against his master, but then believes the master when he assures Quixote that the boy will be promptly recompensed. Don Quixote perceives that justice has been done, and so he continues on his path. Once Don Quixote is safely gone, the master continues to whip his servant.

Chapter 5

Don Quixote also suffers a beating soon after, when he forces an altercation with a group of thirteen men. His body is bruised though his life is not endangered. A peasant from La Mancha discovers Don Quixote and leads the gentleman back to his home, where his anxious niece and housekeeper are waiting.

Chapter 6

While Don Quixote sleeps, the niece and housekeeper conspire with two of Don Quixote's friends (the priest and the barber). In the end, they decide to burn almost all of the gentleman's sin-provoking books‹those books that aren't burned in the hellish fire are removed from the house altogether.

Analysis

Authorship is one of the central themes of this novel. In the Preface, Cervantes claims that the story was originally recorded by a Moor. As "author," Cervantes has merely translated and embellished the work. Of course, this is not true. Ironically, authorship does become a major issue in terms of the publication of the sequel to Book I. Cervantes intended to publish a sequel to Book I; it arrived on the scene ten years later, in 1615. In the intervening decade, an "imposter" published a sequel to Book I. The book was denounced as a fraud, disclaimed by Cervantes, but nonetheless read and enjoyed by a very large audience.

In Book II, Cervantes responds to the "imposter sequel" and he noticeably takes authorship more seriously. These details certainly make Cervantes' Preface rather ironic, even if in retrospect. At any rate, the reader should not take the Preface seriously‹especially Cervantes' claim that he is publishing Don Quixote in order to "destroy the authority and acceptance" enjoyed by "books of chivalry." Within the larger story of Book I, a number of smaller stories will be told‹and questions of authorship will become one of Cervantes' favorite games.

As heroes go, Don Quixote gets off to a rather inauspicious start. In his attempts to become a knight-errant, Don Quixote is really a parody: His suit of armor is composed of rubbish and trash. His horse, Rocinante, is an old steed. Hardly a figure of renown, Don Quixote remains so undistinguished that even those familiar with him are not sure exactly what is name is (perhaps Quixana, Quesada or Quixana). Don Quixote's ambitions are as great and numerous as his inabilities and he spends a lot of time thinking about how the story of his "famous exploits" will be recorded.

Delusion is another major thematic concern of the novel. The books of chivalry have left Don Quixote incapable of seeing "reality." Many of Quixote's deluded interpretations are rather ironic. Perhaps Quixote is merely innocent and naïve when he mistakes the two prostitutes for damsels. Later in Book I, Quixote will argue that the idealization of a person makes this person ideal. True to the chivalric standard, Quixote idealizes women with little justification or provocation. When Don Quixote believes that the inn is a "castle" and the swineherd is a "dwarf," he is not merely idealizing. These delusions are self-serving; the castle and the dwarf fit into the story that Don Quixote wishes were true. To this day, the word "quixotic" is used to describe a person who is "foolishly impractical, especially in the pursuit of ideals." Certainly, this is true of Quixote when he explains that he did not bring any money or changes of clothes with him because he had "never read in the histories of knights-errant, that they carried any."

Don Quixote is definitely "in the pursuit of ideals," old chivalric ideals that were no longer the mode in his society. At the same time, the characterization of Quixote is rather complex. For an innocent, Quixote certainly causes a good amount of damage‹if Quixote is a hero, he is not an ordinary hero. Andres suffers far more than he would have, had Don Quixote never 'come to the rescue.' Throughout Book I, Don Quixote reveals himself to be both impatient and violent.

When Quixote causes a row at the inn, the innkeeper warns the other guests about accosting the knight: "The host cried out to them to let him [Don Quixote] alone, for he had already told them he [Don Quixote] was mad, and that he would be acquitted as a madman though he should kill them all." If nothing else, this passage gives us social context. This is the age of the Inquisition with its Index of forbidden books; these are years of law and order. As foreshadowed here, it will not be long before Quixote seriously trespasses the law. Quixote commits crimes because he pursues his ideals without giving any thought to the law; he does not take aim at the law.

In Don Quixote, deception functions as a parallel to delusion. Don Quixote suffers delusions of being a knight-errant. His family, friends, and acquaintances consistently deceive Quixote throughout Book I. Sometimes‹as we will see later‹these deceptions are intended to mock and ridicule Quixote. In these early chapters, Quixote's niece, and Quixote's two friends‹the priest and the barber‹seek to protect the would-be knight-errant from the books that have ravaged his sensibilities. Quixote's sane compatriots will frequently deceive him in order to protect him.

Finally, the reader should also be aware of Cervantes' self-reference in Chapter 6. Cervantes' work, Galatea, (published in 1585) is‹at least temporarily‹among the books that the priest and barber spare from the fire. The priest argues that the book cannot be adequately judged until "the second part" is published and critiqued. Only then, can Cervantes "obtain that entire pardon which is now denied him." This is quite the parallel to Michelangelo's self-depiction in the Sistine Chapel: a hollowed-out skin, dangling in the awkward space between heaven and hell. Today, literary critics generally look at Don Quixote as the formative step, the germ of the modern novel. Cervantes may not have used this language, but he knew that he was writing a different type of work. And so, we might expect this exorcism of The Author's nagging fears‹the demons of self-doubt and censorship; and we might have expected it to come early on in the story.

This is, however, only the beginning of a very long discourse on literature in general, focusing largely on aesthetics, poetics and criticism. Don Quixote is very much a book about reading and its consequences. But Don Quixote is also a book about the experiences of authors and storytellers.

Book I: Chapter 7-Chapter 10 Summaries

Chapter 7

Don Quixote has been brought back to his home in La Mancha, but he has not let go of his imaginations. Quixote still believes that he is a knight-errant and he will not be convinced otherwise. Quixote's niece, his housekeeper, the barber and the priest are discussing which books need to be burned when Quixote interrupts them. Specifically, Quixote is upset because they have blocked his entrance to the library. After the gentleman is put to bed, the housekeeper burns the books.

Don Quixote is looking for his books a few days later, but of course, he cannot find them. The housekeeper sees Quixote searching for his library and she tells him that there is no point in looking for the books‹because "the devil himself has carried all away." The niece explains that it wasn't the devil, but a sage named Muñaton. The niece and the housekeeper have already decided what they would tell Quixote. Don Quixote explains to his niece that the sage was named Friston, not Muñaton. Friston has taken Quixote's books because of a rivalry between Quixote and one of Friston's powerful knights.

Quixote's niece perceives that her plan has backfired: her uncle is determined to leave home again and he will not be persuaded to do otherwise. Traveling into town, Don Quixote meets Sancho Panza, a commoner, and convinces Sancho to serve as his squire. Sancho Panza is hesitant to leave his wife, Teresa, but Quixote convinces Panza that there are treasures to be won. At the very least, Panza will likely become the Governor of an island.

Chapter 8

On this, his second journey, Quixote is no less plagued by absurd imaginations. Traveling the countryside, Quixote soon stumbles into "the dreadful and never-before-imagined adventure of the windmills." Quixote prepares for "lawful war" against an army of giants, despite Sancho Panza's urgent warnings. Sancho realizes that Quixote's "giants" are merely windmills. Quixote insists upon charging at the windmills and he falls to the ground, when his lance jams into the sails of the windmill. Quixote is not badly hurt, though his horse, Rocinante, is more seriously wounded.

When it becomes clear to Quixote that this is a field of windmills, he argues that an evil enchanter has transformed the giants into windmills in order to rob Quixote of a dashing victory.

Chapter 9

Armed with a tree branch (to replace the broken lance), Quixote continues on his quest. On a side road, Quixote attacks two monks who are accompanying a lady. Quixote argues that the lady has been kidnapped and is imprisoned in her carriage. Sancho tries to dissuade the knight, but he is unsuccessful. Sancho then joins in the battle and attempts to steal the monks' clothes. At this point, the monks' servants intervene and give Sancho a rather serious beating. Quixote is wounded in the ear, but he nearly kills one of the lady's attendants, a man called "the valiant Biscainer." Staying true to the code of chivalry, Quixote says that he will spare the attendant's life if the man agrees to "present himself before the peerless Dulcinea, that she may dispose of him as she shall think fit." The company of the lady, her attendants, the monks and their servants are all bewildered by Quixote's request. Nonetheless, they enthusiastically agree to Quixote's demands because they can see that he is dangerous.

Chapter 10

After the two groups part ways, Sancho asks to become governor of his island. Quixote cannot yet make good on this promise, but he assures Sancho that their rewards and treasures will come soon.

Analysis

The scene in Chapter 8, when Quixote perceives the windmills as giants, is perhaps the most famous scene of the novel. Don Quixote's imagination turns the dull Spanish countryside into a magical place. Jostling between Sancho and Quixote's point-of-view, the reader sees the juxtaposition of an ordinary landscape and an absurd daydream. Because Cervantes shows us what Quixote sees, it is easier for us to empathize with the knight. At the same time, we can also understand why Sancho feels so confused by his irrational master.

Sancho Panza is described as "honest, poor, shallow-brained" and he becomes Don Quixote's squire. Panza is not deluded, but he has too much faith in Don Quixote and the squire will suffer for it. As a practical man, Sancho Panza fears the Holy Brotherhood once Don Quixote has committed violence against the Benedictine monks. Quixote, an educated man, is unable to grasp reality. On the other hand, Quixote is so well-versed in the nuances of chivalry and adventures that he is able to correct his niece when she incorrectly names the evil sage: "Friston he meant to sayŠ" This especially ironic because the niece is lying, simply repeating a story she has already rehearsed. Literacy is also expressed as an issue of social "class' in the interactions between Quixote and his squire. When Sancho raises a concern, Quixote can pose the question: "Have you read in storyŠ?" This effectively silences Sancho and foreshadows the point in the novel when Quixote commands Sancho not to speak.

Don Quixote is determined to follow the texts that he has read, even if that means breaking the law and violating the religious codes and morals of his society. So far, Quixote proves to be rather orthodox and unswerving in regards to following the text. There is tension between the projects of the author-narrator and the main character. At one point, Quixote says to his squire: "Sancho, let not that trouble you, which gives me pleasure; nor endeavor to make a new world, or to throw knight-errantry off its hinges." In a sense, the hero only wants to duplicate and share the glories of the previous knights. But this recalls Cervantes' own tongue-in-cheek explanation of why he published Don Quixote. As stated in the Prologue, the novel is intended "to destroy the authority and acceptance the books of chivalry have had in the world."

The two major themes in this section are delusion and deception. Quixote's experience with the windmills is definitive of delusion and the motif of "mills" will recur several times in the novel. The theme of deception is initiated once Don Quixote is deceived by his friends and family. This will continue throughout Books I and II. Indeed, it will become important to separate the "delusion" of Quixote from the "deception" of others, if only because both run rampant. Quixote's friends and loved ones ultimately spend considerable time and energy deceiving Quixote as a means of protecting our hero from himself.

Book I: Chapter 11-Chapter 15 Summaries

Chapter 11

Looking for a place to sleep, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza stumble upon a group of goatherds. The goatherds are immediately friendly‹and curious about Don Quixote. The goatherds invite Quixote and Panza to sit around the fire and eat with them. Sancho declines the offer because he thinks it is inappropriate to sit and eat alongside his master. After Quixote's insists, Panza agrees to join the group. While Sancho indulges in the wine, his master begins a very long lecture on the "jargon of squires and knights-errant." The goatherds do not understand Quixote's speech, but having sensed that the gentleman means well, they appreciate his good will. Quixote ends his speech by calling them his "brother goatherds."

Chapter 12

After the speech, the goatherds offer Don Quixote "some diversion and amusement" when Antonio arrives on scene. Antonio is a goatherd who composes ballads and love songs. Antonio sings a few of his songs to the group. After Antonio's song, another goatherd, Peter, arrives with sad news: A young shepherd named Chrysostom has died, heartbroken because of his unrequited love for Marcela. Marcela is a shepherdess who comes from a wealthy family. Despite her fortune, she has refused to marry or be courted. This is very frustrating for the men of the town because Marcela's beauty is unparalleled. Chrystostom's death outrages the goatherds against Marcela.

When Don Quixote expresses his sadness and sympathy for Chrysostom, the goatherds invite Quixote to attend the next day's burial service. Just as he did the previous night, Quixote spends the night wide-awake while others sleep. He spends these hours thinking about his lady, Dulcinea.

Chapters 13 and 14

Early the next morning, Don Quixote is full of alacrity: one would never guess that he had not had any sleep. On the road, the group encounters Señor Vivaldo, who is traveling in the same direction. When Vivaldo sees Don Quixote he asks him why he wears armor though he travels though a safe and peaceful country. Quixote explains the order of chivalry and refers to the English histories of King Arthur. Vivaldo seems impressed with the discipline and strictures of Quixote's service, likening the knight to a monk. Quixote argues that "we soldiers and knights really execute what [monks and priests] pray for, defending it with the strength of our arms and the edge of our swords." As the company nears the funeral site, Vivaldo and Quixote continue their discussion of the religious and spiritual aspects of knight-errantry. Chrysostom has given instructions to burn his writings after his burial; Vivaldo pleads for Chrysostom's friend Ambrosio not to do this. At Ambrosio's request, Vivaldo recites one of Chrysostom's poems, "The Song of Despair." The poet mourns that Marcela never loved him. He also writes, "No common language can express" his pain. The gathered mourners approve Chrysostom's song, disparaging Marcela as a cold cruel torturer. When Marcela appears on scene, she flatly rejects the mourners' argument. First, Marcela holds that not she, but God, is the accountable creator of her beauty. Second, though Marcela's beauty may win the love of others, the fact of being loved does not oblige Marcela to love her suitors, in return. Marcela says "I was born free" and she intentionally secludes herself "that [she] might live free." Marcela has never led any suitor to believe that she loved him and, for her chastity, Marcela offers no apology. Marcela leaves abruptly, and Don Quixote defends the shepherdess, promising to slay any man who follows her. Quixote then persists after Marcela, offering her the sturdy services of a knight-errant. (She declines.)

Chapter 15

Knight and squire retire to a grassy field to enjoy their lunch. Don Quixote's horse, Rocinante, sees a small herd of fillies and he trots towards them. The Yangüesian horse-breeders violently chase off Rocinante, and they attack Don Quixote and Sancho Panza as well. Don Quixote is seriously wounded and the knight asks Sancho to carry him to "some castle where [he] may be cured of [his] wounds." Sancho becomes disillusioned but Quixote reiterates his promises: the knight and squire will soon be "filling the sails of [their] desires" and Sancho will soon have the "islands" that Quixote has promised. Don Quixote reflects on his previous adventures and gains confidence by recalling the literary examples of valiant knights‹heroes who were similarly met with obstacles. Self-assured, Don Quixote decides that he and Sancho Panza will continue along their path. But Quixote cannot walk; indeed he can barely sit upon his horse. Rocinante has suffered such a beating; the horse can barely drag itself down the road, let alone support Quixote's weight. Quixote sits upon Sancho's donkey, and Rocinante, unable to lead, is tied (by the head) to the donkey's tail. Fortunately, Sancho does not have to struggle for long as there is lodging nearby. The two men arrive at an inn, which Don Quixote perceives as a castle. Sancho argues with his master and refuses to capitulate.

Analysis

Pulling up to another inn, Don Quixote is convinced that the inn is a castle. In a sense, it is as if Don Quixote's character is not developing at all. His delusions run deep but there seems to be a logical structure. INN = CASTLE for Don Quixote and this equation does not change until much later in the novel. The foreshadowing is usually grim: there will be accidents, confusion, and violence. Don Quixote will cause some unintended damage. But these iterations become more and more hilarious. What follows for the remainder of the novel, is almost entirely farce.

Unlike the tales of chivalry and medieval romance, Don Quixote is a novel full of commoners and ordinary people. Within the narrative, we can attribute this to the fact that Don Quixote is traveling the road: he is more likely to meet itinerants and rustics than landed gentry. In literary terms, however, Cervantes contributions to the genre of the novel helped the form to evolve as an expression of the "middle-class" as opposed to the upper classes. Along these lines, we see the "pastoral" motif in this section of the novel. The "pastoral" refers to pastures, shepherds and goatherds, and the idea that utopia exists outside of the town or village (outside of society). True to tradition, these herders are a source of music and poetry, and they are devoted to love.

The goatherd named Chrysostom is named after a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

St. John the Chrysostom was a doctor who earned the moniker "Chrystostom," which means "golden mouthed," because he was an eloquent preacher. There is irony in Don Quixote's Chrysostom‹a love-struck poet who gives us the lyric: "For Ah! No common language can express/ the cruel pains that torture my sad heart." The saint was eloquent in spreading the gospel; the goatherd is inarticulate in expressing his pain, a pain that language is incapable of expressing.

Don Quixote long rant alludes to the "prelapsarian" idea of Eden. "Prelapsarian" means before (pre-) the fall (lapse), referring to the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. The idea, according to literary critics, is that language functioned in a perfect way before Sin. After Sin, language also lost its perfection and became corrupted. On one hand, the knight's ranting helps to confirm that Don Quixote truly believes that he is doing well, despite the obvious evidence to the contrary.

It is also interesting to note that practically all of Don Quixote's model knights are originally from Britain, France, or Italy. King Artús is simply a Spanish translation of King Arthur. The importance of a national literature is discussed in passages of Book II. Considering Cervantes' decision to write his novel in Spanish, as opposed to Latin or French, we can see Don Quixote as a Spanish alternative to the unrealistic and foreign literary creations that prefigured him.

In terms of characterization, knight and squire are continually described through contrasts, though there is frequently an irony involved. Sancho Panza likes to drink and he sleeps soundly. Don Quixote consistently abstains from food and drink, and during the night, he remains wide awake, as alert as a sentinel. But Sancho's drunkenness never gets in the way of his rational, clear-headed thinking. And Quixote, though he is sharp and alert, is no less delusional. Behavioral characteristics are in ironic contrast to character features that would suggest the opposite.

When Quixote does go to sleep, the next day, he decides to dream "in imitation of Marcela's lovers." Don Quixote inhabits the role of "knight-errant" by imitating his predecessors. When the knight finds contemporary love-sick medievalist fools, his foolhardy resolve is strengthened. The goatherds supply Quixote with more examples for imitation. As characters go, Marcela is very rational and prudent. She is a woman who is immune to the folly that seems contagious among the company of men. The motif of the "tyrannical" female who spurns romantic advances is not Cervantes' alone, having been established in the poetry of Petrarch, Shakespeare, and Edmund Spenser, among many others. Here, Cervantes critiques the "Tyrannesse" motif by allowing Marcela to respond with logic. This does not happen in the older works.

Finally, the motif of book burning recurs with the debate on whether or not to bury the dead man's poetry along with him. Just as earlier in the novel, the words are spared. This tempers Cervantes' claim of seeking to obliterate the books of chivalry. A dove-tailing takes place in Don Quixote, the books of chivalry are reiterated for a final time‹the modern novel provides the continuation. Books of chivalry do not need to be burned: modern novels need to be written.

Book I: Chapter 16-Chapter 22 Summaries

Chapter 16

The innkeeper sees Don Quixote's wounds and he asks Sancho what has happened. Sancho says that Quixote has fallen and injured his ribs. The innkeeper's wife, his beautiful daughter, and his half-blind servant girl, Maritornes, all tend to Quixote's wounds. They suspect the wounds are on account of a beating, as opposed to a mere "fall." Quixote is a marvel for the innkeeper and company: they have never heard of a knight-errant and they surely do not consider the inn to be an enchanted castle.

Chapter 17

Quixote imagines that the innkeeper's daughter has promised to come to his bed during the knight. Quixote is titillated by the prospect though, of course, he will not be disloyal to his Dulcinea. The innkeeper's daughter never enters the room where Quixote sleeps (along with Sancho, and a mule carrier). The mule carrier is Maritornes' lover but when Maritornes enters the room, looking for the carrier‹Quixote apprehends her, perceiving the servant to be the daughter. Maritornes is bewildered; her lover is enraged, especially when he realizes that Quixote's solicitude is unwelcome, indeed. The carrier attacks Quixote, crushes his jaw and trampling his ribs. Maritornes is tossed from the bed-pallet, landing on Sancho. These two then begin to fight with vigor. The innkeeper has heard the commotion and he enters the room, bearing a light. He immediately chastises Maritornes and they begin exchanging blows.

An officer of the Holy Brotherhood, lodging at the inn, enters the room on account of the violent noises. Quixote is an unconscious sprawl, the other four combatants doing well enough on their own. Thinking that Quixote is dead, the officer leaves the room to seek assistance, shouting: "Shut the inn door, see that nobody gets out; for they have killed a man here." This immediately ends the fight: the innkeeper leaves with his candle; the carrier and servant retreat to their separate sleeping spaces; Sancho retreats to his master's side.

Chapter 18

Revived, Quixote believes that he has suffered the evil of an "enchanted Moor." Sancho does not interpret their calamity as an enchantment, however. The officer returns, astonished to see that Quixote is alive. Quixote explains that he is in need of a healing tonic called "the true balsam of Fierabras." He prepares the balsam, according to recipe, drinks the solution and then vomits. Quixote then suffers convulsions, sleeps for three hours and then wakes up, feeling perfectly healthy.

When Quixote gives the balsam to Sancho, Sancho suffers so terribly that those present fear that the squire is going to die. Several hours later, Sancho has not fully recovered but Quixote insists on leaving. The innkeeper wants Quixote to pay for lodging, but Quixote is insulted that the lord of a castle (an enchanted one, no less) would ask a knight for compensation. Don Quixote and Sancho leave but the innkeeper sends a gang of rogues after them, to collect his payment. Quixote escapes but Sancho is captured, tied inside of a blanket, and tossed into the air repeatedly. The rogues also steal Sancho's bags‹though Sancho does not realize this, at first.

Chapter 19

Sancho is angry because he has suffered and yet, Don Quixote neither defended nor avenged him. The two travelers continue along their road and Sancho sees "two great flocks of sheep" in the distance. Quixote, on the other hand, sees two opposing armies preparing for battle‹and he aims to intervene and assist the weaker side. Sancho begs Don Quixote to abandon his plan and refrain from attacking the harmless sheep. The knight sees two armies and, in fact, he is able to name the various warriors who are marching into battle, Alifanfaron, "a furious pagan," chief among them. Sancho cannot help but marvel at Quixote's ability to provide such an extensive history of the knights, considering that the knights were sheep. Quixote intervenes and manages to slay about seven sheep with his lance before the shepherds and herdsmen pelt him with stones. His ribs are bruised and his teeth are knocked out.

The shepherds leave with their flocks and Sancho rushes to Quixote's side. Quixote says that his enemy has transformed the soldiers into sheep. Quixote tells Sancho to be courageous because they have many more adventures ahead. They continue riding, though Quixote is quite sore.

Chapter 20

Later in the night, the two travelers see a procession of "walking lights" heading towards them. It is a funeral procession of over twenty people in white robes, and six more in black mourning clothes. They are wearing funeral masks and they hum a sad plaintive song. Quixote is outraged, believing them to be devils. Quixote demands that one of them give an account of their business after he has already wounded one of the mourners. One of the mourners is named Alonso Lopez and he explains that the group is traveling to bury the bones of a man who has died of pestilential fever. Quixote allows them to continue without further harm.

In conversation with Sancho, Quixote expresses his concern that he has wounded a holy man and so, he might be excommunicated from the church. This does not prevent the knight and squire from enjoying the food that they stole from the holy travelers, upon apprehending the group. It is late in the night, but there is no inn close by. Knight and squire decide to settle in the grass and sleep outside, but their repose is disturbed by a loud sound, as if it were rushing water. Quixote insists upon investigating but Sancho urges him to wait until morning. Sancho offers to tell Quixote a story, but Quixote keeps interrupting Sancho‹who follows the storytelling custom of his town by repeating everything that he says twice. Sancho does not like the questions that Quixote asks, and he soon gives up.

Chapter 21

In the morning, Quixote stalks his new adventure, creeping closer and closer to the source of the noise only to discover that the noise emanates from a set of fulling-hammers (large mills that beat wool into a refined material). Sancho cannot suppress his laughter but he pays dearly when Quixote gives him two whacks with the lance. Quixote commands Sancho to show more respect.

It starts to rain and so Don Quixote and Sancho try to move quickly, though their destination is unclear. Quixote sees a man ahead who is wearing a gold and glittering helmet: the famed helmet of Mambrino. The "helmet" is simply a brass basin‹the man is a barber on his way to work. The barber is unprepared for Quixote's advance. He is knocked off his donkey but he soon scrambles to his feet and flees, leaving his basin behind. Quixote concludes that the helmet must have fallen into the hands of a man who clearly did not know its value. Sancho claims that the helmet is a barber's basin and Quixote does admit that the helmet does resemble a basin.

Chapter 22

Quixote only creates more trouble when he comes across a chain of galley-slaves, criminals who are chained together and are being led to their punishment. Sympathizing with the criminals as victims of love, Quixote attacks the armed guard and in the chaos that ensues, the criminals are able to escape. Sancho is worried that Don Quixote will surely be apprehended by the officers of the Holy Brotherhood and arrested. Quixote asks that freed men present themselves to Dulcinea and pay homage but the criminals refuse, fearing that they will be caught. They throw stones at Quixote, slightly injuring him, before they escape. The knight is baffled to find himself so mistreated by the very people he has assisted.

Analysis

In these chapters, Don Quixote becomes a more complicated character. He is not entirely devoted and loyal. The scene in Chapter 22, when Don Quixote frees the enslaved prisoners is bizarre. Quixote does not merely challenge the law and cause harm to society, but is questionable whether the knight is truly defending his own values. In assessing the damages that Quixote causes, "imagination" is held to be the culprit.

Sancho Panza wants the enchanted treasure but he disbelieves in the enchanted violence. Sancho does not believe the inn to be a castle, and he perceives the criminals to be who they are‹but Sancho persists in believing that Quixote will make him a governor. Don Quixote has an "intrepid heart" and the "breast of Mars." Mars is the Roman name for the Greek god of war, Ares. Sancho Panza is a naturally fearful man who serves in a submissive role to Quixote; Panza was "born to sleep." Panza does not have heroic attributes but Panza does not cause trouble. Quixote has heroic potential but his energy is too chaotic. Postulating on good and evil, the knight unwittingly describes himself when he is in fact describing the devil as "the devil, who sleeps not, and troubles all things." Quixote looks at the troubles that surround him‹troubles of his own creation‹and he blames them on the devil.

The theme of delusion is demonstrated when Quixote mistakes the inn-keeper's daughter to be a beautiful princess Just as an inn equals a castle, a basin equals a helmet‹though it is a dunce cap for Quixote. The literal darkness of the room blinds Quixote to the fact that he embraces Maritornes, and not another woman. But his delusion overpowers his senses: he ought to vomit but instead he enjoys Maritornes despite her foul smells.

Don Quixote has not respected the law but the Holy Brotherhood appears on the scene just as Don Quixote is need of assistance. The lantern is an object-symbol of light, representing law and justice. We see human nature in action when the cry of 'murder' is sounded. The characters flee even though there has been no murder. Later, on the King's Highway in Chapter 19, Don Quixote expresses the idea that revenge is his law. Of course, this is not the sort of argument that can be justified if applied universally. Quixote is bent on revenge and honor. Quixote disregards the law in the hopes of achieving a sort of glory that justifies his adventurous breaches of the law. But in the course of these adventures, Quixote comes to need the law and its protection. "The Knight of the Sorrowful Figure" is merely an elder gentleman with his teeth knocked out. But give him a lance, and see Quixote give insanity, chance, and chaos equal rein. Attacking a procession of funeral mourners, Quixote risks excommunication from the Church and this would be sure damnation to Hell. Having attacked two flocks of sheep (killing seven members), perceiving them to be "pagan warriors" on horseback, Quixote has already committed a symbolic crime of the highest order. The fact of Quixote's delusion cannot atone for his rather merciless assault on persons and beings that represent peace, innocence, and the civil life. Quixote ultimately evades all forms of legal prosecution and punishment, but the knight will lose a few more teeth and a good deal more before the novel has ended.

It is difficult to empathize with Don Quixote when he commits blatant wrongs and then remains unapologetic. A pattern emerges in the plot: Don Quixote kills the sheep because he is following his delusion. Sancho Panza sees reality but Don Quixote discounts Sancho Panza's wise advice. Sancho Panza impeaches himself by willingly following Don Quixote into sure disaster, only to subsequently continue the argument.

Cervantes is being sarcastic when he describes the conversations between knight and squire as "sage discourse." Quixote misdirects his own intellect while Sancho betrays his own common sense. While traveling, Sancho Panza uses astronomy as his guide, whereas Don Quixote uses his stories as maps. In one discussion, the knight says to Sancho: "I know not what kingdom, for I believe it is not in the map." Sancho knows that the path of the knight is lined with "numberless hardships," for the very same reason that he, Sancho, relies upon astronomy and the fixed stars as his guide. Once Don Quixote has made up his own mind to plow ahead, Sancho can do little but follow the knight into disaster.

Book I: Chapter 23-Chapter 26 Summaries

Chapter 23

Don Quixote agrees with Sancho Panza's warning to leave the area, and they travel into a nearby forest called Sierra Morena. This decision turns out to be ill fated, however, when one of the freed prisoners steals Sancho's donkey. At this point, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza must walk on foot. Along this route, Don Quixote discovers the belongings of a traveler who has deserted the area. Sancho Panza is happy to take the traveler's money and Don Quixote reads the traveler's notebook. Don Quixote opens the man's notebook and discovers a love letter. The traveler has suffered from unrequited love‹and because he has been rejected, he has gone mad.

Soon after reading the letter, Don Quixote sees a half-naked man running in the distant hills. Of course, the knight intends to seek the man out, though Sancho Panza disagrees with this plan. Sancho Panza's obvious concern is that he suspects that the half-naked man is the traveler who has left his saddlebag on the side of the road; Sancho is worried that the man will ask for his money back.

A goatherd then explains to Don Quixote and Sancho Panza that the half-naked man is a stranger to the region. He appeared one day, asking directions, because he intended to go to the most craggy and thorny part of the wilderness. The Sierra Morena goatherds became concerned because this wild man began hijacking villagers on the road and stealing their food. After this occurred, they offered to leave food for the man.

A man called "The Ragged Knight of the Sorry Countenance" advances towards Don Quixote, and the two men embrace "as if they were old friends." They are not old friends, however, and Don Quixote has the man tell his story.

Chapter 24

The Ragged Knight of the Sorry Countenance agrees to tell his story but he warns that he will immediately end the story if anyone interrupts him.

The Ragged Knight is an aristocrat, named Cardenio, and he intended to marry a woman named Lucinda. Unfortunately, Cardenio is called away from home to work for the Duke and he is separated from Lucinda. Cardenio begins a very complicated explanation of how the Duke's son, Don Fernando, becomes infatuated with Lucinda. Don Quixote interrupts (and ends) the story, when he comments on Lucinda's interest in the same books that he enjoys. Cardenio and Don Quixote begin arguing about chivalry. Cardenio then attacks the group and runs back into the mountains.

Chapter 25

Don Quixote decides that he will emulate Cardenio's example by going mad because Dulcinea has been unfaithful to him. When Sancho Panza points out that Don Quixote does not know this to be true, Don Quixote argues that what he imagines is more important than what has actually happened. Don Quixote gives Sancho a letter to deliver to Dulcinea and Sancho is repulsed: Sancho has just realized that "Dulcinea" is a common woman, not a princess. Don Quixote argues that Dulcinea is a princess because he has decided that she is a princess.

Don Quixote wants Sancho to go home and tell Dulcinea that he has gone mad because of his love for her. "Mad I am and mad I must be," Don Quixote says ­and Don Quixote proves his madness by taking off most of his clothes, rolling around on the ground, jumping up and down, and attempted a rather feeble headstand. Quixote thinks about the stories that he has read, so that he can be sure to go mad in the proper way. The knight wanders through the trees, saying prayers and carving love songs into the tree trunks.

Chapter 26

Sancho encounters the priest and the barber and they ask about Don Quixote. Sancho Panza explains Quixote's condition but Sancho still believes that Don Quixote will keep his promise to make him governor of an island. The priest and barber see that Sancho has been following Don Quixote but they do not realize that Sancho is gullible. Instead, the priest and the barber decide that Sancho Panza has gone insane!

The priest and the barber are worried about Don Quixote but they do not take Sancho very seriously, telling him jokes to make him think that his island is in jeopardy. At the end of Chapter 26, the priest and barber begin planning a disguise that will help them trick Don Quixote into coming back home. Sancho Panza, however, is not included in these plans.

Analysis

When they meet each other for the first time, Don Quixote and the Ragged Knight are "old friends" because they are part of the same delusion. Both "knights" are locked into the world of chivalry and so it is easy for them to recognize each other, misfits in an increasingly hostile world. This foreshadows some of the encounters that Quixote has in Book II with various "knights" who range in friendliness, integrity, and adherence to the chivalric ideals.

In these chapters, the idea is expressed that the common poor tend to be sensible people. On the other hand, the upper classes, nobility and gentlemen are prone to various forms of insanity. The crazy mountain man, for example, was once a noble‹making his fall from grace all the more dramatic and severe.

Dulcinea is a peasant and Sancho Panza now knows her history, but this history conflicts with Don Quixote's story. In one sense, lineage is necessary for establishing the distinctions between the characters of the novel (principally, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza). Nonetheless, Don Quixote gives Dulcinea nobility without lineage.

There is social commentary in the scene when Don Quixote silences Sancho. He gives the squire two options: serve as lackey or go home and rule his own house. It never occurs to Quixote (or Sancho, for that matter) that the two men are equals. When Don Quixote takes his clothes off, there is an allusion to the drunkenness of Noah, in the Biblical book of Genesis. Sancho Panza forbids himself from viewing his lord and is motivated to assist the older man on account of compassion, sympathy and genuine concern. As we see in Chapter 26, Sancho Panza is compassionate but also gullible. The barber and priest suspect that Sancho is also mad.

The narrative structure of the novel is developed with more nuances and variations in these chapters. Because the Ragged Knight is interrupted in the middle of his story, he tells no more. This recalls Sancho Panza's complaint, in Chapter 20, when Don Quixote chastises him for repeating several details. Sancho Panza replies that he is simply telling his story in the same way in which stories are told in his town. Don Quixote is a novel full of interruptions, but the story always continues where it left off. Here, we read a story within a story. The story is cut off when Don Quixote interrupts to discuss chivalry. (We will get the continuation of the Ragged Knight's story later on in the novel).

Dapple the mule was stolen by the thief in Chapter 23, but Sancho Panza has Dapple in Chapter 25. This has led some modern readers to erroneously conclude that the novel was originally serialized. Most literary scholars conclude that Cervantes simply made a mistake here‹but this only reaffirms this nuanced idea of the faulty, inaccurate text.

Don Quixote parallels Hamlet as we explore the question of whether or not his madness is feigned. On one hand, we might argue that part of Quixote's madness is the very fact that he now articulates a plan to appear insane. On the other hand, there is the argument that Quixote is simply playing a role, with a heavy focus on having witnesses attest to his performance. Quixote says: "Mad I am and mad I must be." It sounds as if madness where Quixote's vocation, but at the same time, these words don't make sense. These are words that only a mad man would say. Already suffering from delusions, Quixote has decided to coax himself into a sham lunacy. The barber and the priest decide to trick Don Quixote for his own good. This takes up the second half of Book I.

Book I: Chapter 27-Chapter 29 Summaries

Chapter 27

Sancho Panza gives the barber and the priest more information about Don Quixote's madness and the three men travel towards Sierra Morena. The priest and barber hope that they will not have to resort to trickery in order to bring Don Quixote back home. Sancho Panza is to lie to Don Quixote, claiming that he has delivered the letter to Dulcinea and as a result, Dulcinea demands that Quixote present himself to her. Sancho goes ahead of the barber and the priest, and the latter end up meeting Cardenio, the madman of Sierra Morena. Cardenio is singing a song that beings "What causes all my grief and pain?" referring, of course, to his failed relationship with Lucinda.

We now get the full story from Cardenio because Don Quixote is not present to interrupt the storytelling. When Cardenio served the Duke, he befriended the Duke's son, Don Fernando. On one occasion, Don Fernando visited Cardenio's house and within the leaves of Cardenio's copy of the book Amadis de Gaul (a classic tale of chivalry), Don Fernando found a letter that Lucinda had sent to Cardenio. The letter expressed Lucinda's love with such clarity and energy that Don Fernando found himself in love with Lucinda, and he resolved to have her. Don Fernando sends Cardenio back to the Duke's palace and, in Cardenio's absence, befriends Lucinda's parents‹ultimately forcing her hand in marriage. Cardenio has gone mad because he feels that both Don Fernando and Lucinda betrayed him.

Chapter 28

In the next part of the story, Cardenio joins the barber and the priest and after walking a short distance, they encounter Dorotea‹a woman dressed up as a man. They ask Dorotea if she is in some sort of trouble, and her answer exceeds their expectations. Dorotea is the daughter of a farmer who has been hired to do work for a wealthier man. Complications arose when this manager's son became fond of Dorotea and ultimately coerced her into having sex with him. This debacle ruined Dorotea's reputation and she was run out of town in disgrace. The man had promised to marry Dorotea but in fact, he was already married and after having sex with Dorotea, he returned to the town where his wife lived.

As it turns out, Don Fernando is the man who has deceived Dorotea. When Cardenio and Dorotea compare stories, Cardenio learns that Lucinda continued to love him even when she was forced to marry Don Fernando. Cardenio and Dorotea join forces, hoping to punish Don Fernando and reunite the true lovers, Cardenio and Lucinda.

Chapter 29

Sancho Panza hurries back to the scene, informing the (significantly larger) group that Don Quixote feels that he has been dishonored. Don Quixote requires of himself some arduous task in which he can redeem himself and regain his honor. Ultimately, Don Quixote refuses to present himself to Dulcinea until he has appropriately regained his honor. The group begins plotting a way to bring Don Quixote home, but Sancho Panza is kept in the dark because he is too loyal to Don Quixote to agree to deception. Hence, even Sancho Panza is fooled into believing that Dorotea is actually a Princess who goes by the name of Micomicona. Her official title is "the mighty Princess Micomicona, queen of the great kingdom of Micomicon in Ethiopia."

Coincidentally, Princess Micomicona is need of the services of just such a knight as Don Quixote, to "kill a great lubberly giant." The giant has chased the Princess away, but with Don Quixote's help, she might be restored to her kingdom. Two promises are extracted from the knight: first, that he will agree to assist the Princess and second, that he will decline to accept any other missions until he has fulfilled this one. Sancho Panza is worried that he will become governor of a territory in Micomicon and this displeases him because his subjects will be black Africans. After the Princess has won Don Quixote's assent, the priest approaches Don Quixote but Quixote does not seem recognize his good friend. The priest complains that he has been robbed by an escaped convict. This worries Sancho Panza because he is aware of Don Quixote's guilt in this matter.

Analysis

Here we find females who resist idealization and the nonsense of chivalry. Lucinda, like Marcela (the shepherdess in Chapter 14) refuses to play a "Juliet" role. Though Lucinda is romantically involved, she is practical and decidedly non-suicidal. Dorotea is supposedly in need of rescue but in the end, she assists in the deception of Don Quixote. Dorotea helps rescue Don Quixote by pretending that she needs assistance.

As in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the characters' storytelling becomes part of the narrative structure. Here, the novel's plot is interrupted by Cardenio's story of his relationship with Lucinda. Aspects of the inner (Cardenio) and outer (Quixote) stories are similar. The refusal to come home, for example, is a motif that punctuates both Cardenio and Quixote's life.

In terms of narrative structure, we get a story within the story within a story, when Don Fernando and Lucinda begin plotting and story-telling. Coincidence plays an incredibly overbearing role in the story about Cardenio, contributing to parody and plot. Cervantes mocks this convention, but he uses it anyway. The plausibility of the narrative is tested by the storytelling process itself. One of the characters recounts a love letter that was exchanged, and he repeats the text verbatim: "He said he remembered it perfectly well." But how well do we trust a fictional character? Even the "author" is a character in this novel, with Cervantes constantly at odds with the Arab interpreter of the work, Cid Hamet Ben Engeli. Chapter 27 marks the end of Cid Hamet's 3rd part. Even if the characters are telling the truth, Cid Hamet Ben Engeli might be lying.

As characters of the modern novel, these men and women engage in strategy, cooperation, vengeance. As if a combination of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, Cervantes actually prefigured both writers in crossing the "novel of strategy" with the "comedy of errors." The logistics of romantic warfare (as in Austen) are derailed by the often comedic misfortunes of day-to-day life (as in Dickens). By chapter 29, there is clearly a hierarchy among the characters: we can divide them into the storytellers and the deceived. Storytelling and deceit become the strategy of the successful. The deceived and deluded characters stumble through life and love, providing comic entertainment for the reader. In Cardenio and Don Quixote's friends, we see the theme of deception in terms of abused trust. This foreshadows violations of trust that are still to come. Both in Cardenio's story and in Don Quixote's travails, we see masks, shields and transvestitism are the props and devices of dramatic comedy, modes of deception that are sturdy enough for 'strategy' but flimsy enough for 'comedy.'

In Book II, Don Quixote comments on Book I (which has already been published, though the knight has not read it) suggesting that the focus on minor characters was gratuitous and unnecessary. Plenty of literary critics have agreed. What remains significant is the fact that the novel's primary mode of characterization is the successive introduction of new characters. The main character, Don Quixote, is not developed in the latter half of Book I. In fact, Don Quixote is often off-stage, and while on stage he varies little. Don Quixote shocks us with his actions, but his character does not surprise us.

Delusion might be considered as a form of psychological escape from reality. In these chapters, nostalgia is treated as another theme representing "escape." For Cardenio, Memory is cursed as "mortal enemy of my repose" because the past is a personal tragedy. Cervantes juxtaposes grief-stricken Cardenio with Don Quixote, who poses in grief. Don Quixote does not truly suffer the memory of lost love. As a parallel to "memory," Don Quixote remembers his books‹and this becomes nostalgia for the medieval era, an era that the knight has never seen. The medieval period was more welcoming of the chivalric ideals. Still, the reader should be clear on the fact that the knight-errant was a literary trope. This aspect of culture was celebrated by a very small group of people and was never the political reality of a society. Not knights-errant but rogue thieves roamed and prowled the unpaved highways and fringes of medieval European town life.

Book I: Chapter 30-Chapter 32 Summaries

Chapter 30

In the course of leading Don Quixote to "the great kingdom of Micomicon," Dorotea and the others intend to lead Don Quixote back to his home in La Mancha. At several points, the priest has to intervene and help "Princess Micomicona," as she is telling her story to Don Quixote. Though Princess Micomicona offers her hand in marriage, Don Quixote is entirely devoted to his lady, Dulcinea. Quixote demands that Sancho give him the details of the trip to deliver the letter to Dulcinea.

This request puts Sancho in a situation much like Dorotea's, for he is forced to create a hopefully plausible story without extensive preparation. Quixote asks whether Dulcinea was stringing pearls or embroidering something for him, but Sancho replies that Dulcinea was merely "winnowing two bushels of wheat in a backyard of her house." Quixote keeps demanding fanciful and romantic details, but Sancho denies Quixote his pleasure. In the end, Sancho Panza explains that not only is Dulcinea illiterate, but she is also far too busy to pause in the middle of the day to read a love letter.

Chapter 31

In Chapter 4, a young man named Andres was severely beaten by his master, John Haldudo the Rich. Don Quixote threatened to kill Haldudo for severely beating Andres and also for refusing to pay Andres for his labors. Haldudo promised to repay Andres, but when Quixote continued down the road, Haldudo beat Andres even more severely and then fired the boy, as opposed to paying Andres for his labor. At the end of Chapter 30, Andres crosses paths with Don Quixote and he does not have pleasant words. Indeed, Andres mocks Quixote as an incompetent knight. For his part, Don Quixote vows to kill Haldudo once he has learned what has happened. Andres assures Quixote that he need not waste his time because he will only "cause more harm than good." Don Quixote chases Andres down the road, intending to chastise the young man for his insolence. Andres easily escapes and Quixote is sorely embarrassed because his reputation has been tarnished.

Chapter 32

In Chapter 32, the group of six travelers (Cardenio, Princess Micomicona, Sancho Panza, Don Quixote, the barber, and the priest) arrive at the same inn that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza hurriedly exited at the close of Chapter 17. Don Quixote is removed to sleep in a quiet room, for the innkeeper remembers Don Quixote's madness. Don Quixote is the topic of conversation and nearly every one participates (including the innkeeper, his wife, his daughter, and Maritornes the half-blind hunchbacked laborer). Sancho Panza does not offer much of a defense of his master's behavior and the group is generally disapproving of Quixote's frivolity. Most of the individuals do believe that Quixote's madness is the result of reading too much‹and specifically, too much chivalry. The chapter ends when the innkeeper discloses that a guest has left an antique trunk of books and papers. The priest is intrigued and he begins to read a story from the collection.

Analysis

Don Quixote does not understand the impropriety of his decision to free the galley slaves. Is Don Quixote a hero? He helps the unfortunate with no respect to their crimes. The re-appearance of Andres in Chapter 31, reminds us of Don Quixote's ignorant error in Chapter 4. Don Quixote is unable to render justice. In chapter 32, Don Quixote is asleep, all others convinced of his insanity. In terms of the immediate plot-drama, Quixote is almost a non-entity. Even when he is awake, it is as if Quixote is sleeping or has his eyes closed. The "players" can shed their disguises and yet Don Quixote does not perceive this fact upon sight.

In terms of genre, the novel increasingly resembles a cycle of stories, like The Decameron or Canterbury Tales. Unlike those works, this novel does not feature storytelling characters on a pilgrimage. In chapter 32, the inn assumes the traditional literary role (symbol of hospitality). At the same time, it represents a microcosm of Don Quixote's society. Here, the characters have separate destinations and not all of them are travelers. Several, though not all of the characters get the opportunity to display their storytelling talent, and this group ultimately includes individuals who might not have been given a voice otherwise: women, the poor, young people, Moors (non-Christians).

The theme of storytelling intersects with ideas of truth-telling and deception. "This, gentlemen, is my history" is a suitable statement for a character to make when presenting her autobiography; Dorotea, however, tells a false autobiography. She hesitates at the beginning and cannot remember her name (Princess Micomicona, daughter of Tinacrio the Wise and Queen Xaramilla). The priest prompts Dorotea and corrects the errors throughout her story. We can wonder about the logical repercussions here, and the semantics of Dorotea's factual error within her lie, within a fictional work. It seems somewhat paradoxical that Dorotea could make a genuine mistake in the middle of telling a made-up lie. The priest's correction was no truer than Dorotea's original erroneous claim.

All the same, Don Quixote believes what stories "resemble the style and manner of his foolish books." The priest's correction is more correct in a stylistic or aesthetic sense. For further clarity, the reader can consider two similar quirks of the work. Recall that in Chapter 7, Quixote's niece lies and tells the knight that "the sage Muñaton" has wrested away the library. Quixote replies that it was not Muñaton, but Friston. We can also consider the return of Sancho's mule, Dapple. This is a discrepancy within a work of fiction, the error of the humans who produced the book, not the error of a fictional being. (In Book II, however, this discrepancy will be accounted for and explained away, though not in the most convincing manner.)

These details are important because of the context of the novel. Cervantes' work, published in 1605, was already sensitive to a number of meta-literary concerns. On a primary level, we can say that Book I is concerned about books: Don Quixote loves literature; literature affects Quixote's life. But these levels are increasingly complex: Quixote wants to become like literary characters; literary ideals conflict with the real world; books are burned. And Quixote is not the only character for us to focus upon: Cid Hamet Ben Engeli has translated a fictional work and injected his own opinions. The author, Cervantes, has invented Cid Hamet Ben Engeli, a "straw man" with whom to argue. Cervantes says that he wants to eradicate the influence of the anti-realism of chivalric books. Characters argue about the aesthetics of realistic portrayal and what makes a book good or bad. Numerous characters tell stories, write letters, compose poems, and debate the merits of literature as well as literary characters.

In between the publication of Books I and II, an imposter sequel is published: a man only known today as "Avellaneda" created his own Book II, published it as Cervantes' own, and reaped profit. As a consequence, Cervantes' sensitivity to meta-literary concerns is greatly heightened in Book II, and these "quirks" of Book I are discussed in the sequel.

In these chapters, premature literary criticism takes the form of a critique of the novel as a potential genre. Remember that the novel was not an established writing form at this point. It matters when the characters discuss a story's claim to present the whole truth. It matters that the novel is able to allow different characters to speak and that letters, arrest warrants, and elegiac poems can be read out aloud 'into the record,' so to speak.

The book fetish is intended to be a simple motif. The book is mysterious and potentially dangerous: a manuscript has been left in a trunk and abandoned. The trunk implies travel and foreigners or perhaps, a foreign land. Travel suggests wanderlust and imagination, like Quixote's‹an open door. The danger of foreignness occurs even as the narrative warns about Cid Hamet's literary treachery‹a closed door. We are left to wonder: Is one of these books Don Quixote? In his "Preface," Cervantes set out to blast the books of chivalry but now there is empathy with almost every text portrayed.

Book I: Chapter 33-Chapter 35 Summaries

Chapter 33

Chapters 33, 34, and 35 consist of the story that the priest reads to the group: "The Novel of the Curious Impertinent." The story takes place in Florence, Italy and largely involves two friends named Lothario and Anselmo. Anselmo is married to Camilla and, for no good reason, Anselmo decides to test Camilla's fidelity. When Anselmo insists that Lothario help him, Lothario says that "the enterprise itself is downright madness." Anselmo wants Lothario to attempt to seduce Camilla, to see whether or not she will succumb to the advances of another man. Lothario finally agrees, and he soon returns to Anselmo, telling him that Camilla has remained faithful.

Not much later, Anselmo finds out that Lothario has been lying: Lothario never attempted to seduce Camilla. Anselmo then makes Lothario pledge to make good on his promise to seduce Camilla. Anselmo leaves town to make the seduction easier, and Camilla soon writes letters urging him to return. Lothario has truly fallen in love with Camilla; in her letters, Camilla warns Anselmo that Lothario is trying to seduce her. Camilla does not realize that Anselmo is aware of Lothario's advances. Anselmo does not realize that Lothario is truly in love with Camilla.

Because Anselmo does not return, Camilla grows weary under pressure and she falls in love with Lothario. The two continue their affair when Anselmo returns home. In part, this is easier because Camilla's servant, Leonela, keeps Camilla's secret.

Chapter 34

Complications arise because Leonela has a secret lover of her own. One day, Lothario sees Leonela's lover exiting Camilla's house just as he is arriving. Lothario concludes that Camilla has found yet another lover. Lothario then tells Camilla's husband, Anselmo, that he has finally seduced Camilla. Lothario gives Anselmo a time and place where Anselmo will see Lothario seduce Camilla; then, Anselmo can judge the situation on his own. Anselmo is now distraught.

Later in the day, when Lothario and Camilla meet, Camilla discloses Leonela's secret lover. Lothario then realizes his jealous error and he confesses everything to Camilla. Camilla and Lothario then create a plan to be rid of Anselmo, once and for all. When Camilla and Lothario meet, Camilla pretends that she does not know that Anselmo is watching. When the time comes for her to kiss Lothario, Camilla states that she would rather die than commit infidelity, though she does love Lothario.

Camilla eloquently states "since fortune denies a complete satisfaction to my just desires, it shall not, however, be in its power to defeat that satisfaction entirely." Camilla then struggles to keep her dagger away from Lothario and ultimately, she stabs herself in the chest and falls to the ground.

Lothario is immediately shocked because Camilla was only to pretend to stab herself, but when he looks closely he sees that Camilla has only wounded herself slightly. Lothario then begins to grieve loudly and with Leonela's help, he carries Camilla's body away. Anselmo is now convinced of Camilla's honesty. As a result, Camilla is able to continue her affair once she recovers from her minor stab wound.

Chapter 35

Sancho Panza interrupts the story to announce that Don Quixote has just killed the giant. This is madness and the group fears the worst, when they enter Quixote's room. Quixote is thrashing in his sleep and what Sancho thought to be the giant's head is actually a set of valuable wineskins owned by the innkeeper. Don Quixote's has destroyed them while thrashing because of his violent dream. The characters return to the common room, where the priest concludes 'The Novel of the Curious Impertinent.' In the last section of the story, Anselmo suffers for his excessive curiosity.

Leonela's lover accidentally reveals himself and Anselmo confronts Leonela. Leonela fears that Anselmo is going to kill her and so she says that she has a valuable secret to disclose to him the next day. Anselmo recounts the incident to Camilla‹and Camilla fears that Leonela will disclose her (Camilla's) affair with Lothario. With few options before them, Lothario and Camilla run away that very night. Unsurprisingly, Leonela runs away the next day. Anselmo searches for all three of them in vain, and accidentally discovers (from a stranger) that Camilla and Lothario have been deceiving him for some time. Anselmo begins writing an account of his own sad story, but Anselmo's sadness is so profound that he actually dies before he finishes writing his account.

The 'Novel of the Curious Impertinent' starts a discussion on the merits of the story. The priest is very well read and everyone listens to his critique of the story. In the end, he decides that he likes "the manner" in which the story was written, though he sees Anselmo as an implausibly, unrealistically naïve and idiotic character.

Analysis

The aesthetic argument made by the priest is that the manner in which the story is told is more important than the content's probability. Certainly, this is true for Don Quixote. Is Don Quixote a "more accurate" novel because the priest's narrated story includes the text of the letter? The Priest's narrated story starts in Chapter 33 and continues at the start of Chapter 34 without interruption. Ultimately, the narrative structure combines Don Quixote's story with Anselmo's. The "Conclusion of the Novel of the Curious Impertinent" is integrated with Don Quixote's "battle."

The battle is a critical moment but not the climax. If the characters of Don Quixote stray too far, the novel becomes discredited not realistic. The novel's characters can create the most far-fetched and outrageous characters for their stories‹and so, they will seem more realistic by contrast. Don Quixote battles in his sleep not in his delusion. It is Sancho Panza who has misperceived, mistaking some wineskins to be a giant's head. It seems that Don Quixote has contaminated Sancho Panza and the very fact of Quixote's madness being contagious justified the book-burning in the early chapters.

Don Quixote expresses paternalism in his over-protection of women and his domination of Sancho Panza. The Priest's story alludes to Eve as "woman is an imperfect creature, and that one should not lay stumbling-blocks" before her. This story provides a foundation for paternalism. Ironically, Don Quixote is in no position to function in the paternalistic mode, as paternalism is reversed upon Quixote himself. Because Quixote is "an imperfect creature," his books have been removed and his friends now surround him. The weak need to be protected‹and Don Quixote is weak.

In exchange for the common sense of common people, Sancho Panza is adopting "the absurdities of master and man." Sancho grieves "my earldom will melt away like salt in water" and the irony of logic recalls Dorotea's error and Quixote's correction "Friston." Sancho never had an earldom. His earldom is as secure as it never was. Because of Quixote's dream, Sancho's dream has become a less durable fiction‹but it is still no less a fantasy.

Lothario resembles Don Quixote's friends and just as we read in the previous stories within the story, the theme of deception continues to loom. Don Quixote and Anselmo are both tempting fate and looking for trouble. Often, the distance between the story and the story-within is used to create a foil, a character whose contrasts to the main character offer more clarity and distinction to the main character. Here, Anselmo is not a foil for Quixote; he is a parallel, a co-definer. We realize that Quixote is also a "curious impertinent." Both men become rejected outsiders; Quixote will suffer sadness and confusion just as Anselmo has. Both men adhere to a strict and private ideology. Their ideas are different from the ideas held by their friends. As ideological purists, these men are too stubborn to enjoy positive, meaningful social interactions.

Book I: Chapter 36-Chapter 41 Summaries

Chapter 36

It is late at night, but the inn is still receiving more guests. Old friends and lovers are reunited in the process. Lucinda and her husband, Don Fernando, are disguised when they arrive on scene. They have traveled with men wearing black masks on their faces. This provokes Dorotea to veil her face. Cardenio and Lucinda are reunited and Don Fernando apologizes to Dorotea for deserting her. Don Fernando promises to marry Dorotea and she is satisfied with his promise. Sancho is upset because he has just realized that Dorotea is not the Princess Micomicona‹and so he will not become a governor of her territory.

Chapter 37

Sancho awakens Don Quixote and confronts him with this news, but Quixote does not believe Sancho. Don Quixote argues that Sancho has been deluded by one of the castle's enchantments. Sancho's words backfire because Dorotea continues with the plan to bring Don Quixote home. When Dorotea confirms to Don Quixote that she is, in fact, the Princess Micomicona, Quixote becomes angry with Sancho.

Chapters 38-39

Another set of travelers arrives at the inn, including a man referred to as "the captive" and a beautiful Moorish noblewoman named Lela Zoraida. She wants to become baptized into the Catholic faith with the name Maria. After Don Quixote gives a speech praising the glories of knighthood, the captive tells his story. The captive grew up "in the mountains of Leon," one of several sons born to a gentleman with a penchant for squandering his money. Worried that he would leave his sons penniless, the father summoned the young men and told them that he would soon give them their inheritance, lest he spend it and leave them with nothing. He advises them to pursue a career in one of three fields: "the church, the sea, or the court." The captive chose the latter of these three options, serving in the king's army.

The captive fought in a number of wars that took him to Genoa, Milan, Flanders, Algiers, Malta, and Constantinople. In Constantinople, one of the captive's comrades, a man named Don Pedro de Aguilar, escaped from prison and presumably "recovered his liberty." Indeed, Don Fernando explains that he is Don Pedro de Aguilar's brother.

Chapters 40-41

The captive was imprisoned in Algiers, which is where Lela Zoraida fell in love with him. She had never met the captive, but she saw him and fell in love with him nonetheless. One day, Zoraida goes to the prison window and slips a small bundled package to the captive. She has given him money to escape and a letter. She professes her love for him, her conversion to Christianity, and her desire for him to marry her and help her escape to Spain.

The captive frees himself and also frees some of his fellow captives. After the captive makes preparations for the passage to Spain, he "kidnaps" Lela Zoraida. Unfortunately, Lela's father wakes up in the middle of the kidnapping and the captive and his friends have no alternative but to carry Lela's father onto the ship. Realizing the extent of his daughter's willing betrayal (conversion, escape) Zoraida tries to jump off the ship and drown himself. The Spaniards on deck are Christians and they will not allow Zoraida to commit suicide. Instead, the Spaniards deposit Zoraida on shore once their ship is a safe distance away from Algiers.

Safely in Spain, the captive hopes for Lela to be baptized so that they can be wed. The captive also says that he would like to find his father.

Analysis

The narrative structure of these chapters relies upon "uncommon accidents" much like those of the stories told by the characters themselves: the likelihood of Don Quixote's giants, Sancho Panza's island, the numerous lovers joined, the "Curious Impertinent." The reunion motif is exploited to excess‹not only with lovers, but with Don Pedro de Aguilar and Don Fernando, as well. The novel of Strategy wins out over the comedy of Errors, so long as Quixote is kept at bay. The characters work out their problems and entanglements without Don Quixote's active assistance‹indeed, the plot accelerates when Quixote is not present to "interrupt." When Dorotea tells Don Quixote that she "never would have found this happiness except for you," she refers more to chance occurrences and not to a chivalrous act that the knight-errant might have performed. It is not often that a titular and central character (Don Quixote, in this case) is excluded from the novel's drama, as a means of bringing about the denouement (climax and conclusion) of the plot.

Don Quixote is deluded but his delusions are consistent. Just as INN = CASTLE, BEAUTIFUL WOMAN = NOBLE LADY. Sancho Panza should have recognized the parallel between Dorotea and Dulcinea. Quixote contended that Dulcinea was a noble lady, simply because he imagined her to be one, and Dorotea is similarly commended. When Sancho argues against Dorotea's nobility, Don Quixote accuses Sancho Panza of being a base, low-class "liar." Sancho, alone, expects Quixote to distinguish between true and false. Quixote is not capable of this task. True to character, Don Quixote believes the lie and punishes the truth-teller.

Zoraida is a rather empowered woman, though she does not tell her own story. She has rejected both her father and her religion. She is considered as an "ideal" woman and she has a suitor. Zoraida and the captive were once like Dulcinea and Quixote, in that there was no actual contact or communication between them. But unlike Dulcinea, Zoraida has actually performed on the captive's behalf. And unlike Quixote, the captive has now enjoyed contact with his beloved. Zoraida had the money to release the captive from prison, but she did not have the freedom to free herself. The baptism symbolizes a new life after the alteration and transformation that religious conversion brings. Lela Zoraida wants to change her name to Maria. This parallels Don Quixote's own self-renaming when he donned a basin and pursued a new calling.

In Chapter 37, Don Quixote begins a lucid discussion, and these scenes are in high relief‹such a contrast from Quixote's mania. This recalls Don Quixote's early philosophical reflections and gives us hope that Don Quixote is salvageable. At one point, Don Quixote argues that "what costs most attaining is, and ought to be, most esteemed." Sadly, this is not true in reality. At the conclusion of Book I, Quixote is not kindly rewarded for his expensive attempt at grandeur. In Book II, he fares little better. Quixote's words foreshadow the conclusion. In discussing the balance of fame, fortune, and glory, Quixote seems to invite his incipient judgment.

Finally, Don Quixote argues that a warrior is superior to a man of letters. We should keep Cervantes' autobiographical details in mind. Cervantes was a soldier before he began writing. Cervantes was also held captive as a prisoner of war and this adds to the autobiographical detail of this section. The wars that the "captive" describes are not actual wars, however; they do not correspond with the historical or political context of the novel.

Book I: Chapter 42-Chapter 46 Summaries

Chapter 42

The captive finishes his story as the inn receives another group of guests. A judge named Licentiate Juan Perez de Viedma arrives with his daughter, Doña Clara, and their attendants. Not long after Viedma explains that he is from Leon, the captive realizes that he is Viedma's brother. The priest intervenes and speaks to Viedma to determine whether or not the captive should confront Viedma with the truth. The priest learns that the judge loves his missing brother very much; furthermore, Viedma's father is still alive‹but ailing. The aging father offers "incessant prayers," hoping to live long enough to see his missing son (the captive) again. When the brothers are reunited, there is great jubilation.

Chapter 43

Don Quixote exits the inn and stands outside as a "sentinel at the castle gate"‹just as he promises to do. In the middle of the night, a young man approaches the inn and sings love songs. Cardenio sneaks into the room where the women are sleeping and he wakes Dorotea. Once Dorotea hears the song, she wakes Doña Clara because the singer has a beautiful voice. Doña Clara recognizes the voice as soon as she hears it. The young man is in love with Doña Clara, and he has followed her in disguised pursuit. Clara has never had a conversation with the young man, and they have maintained their courtship at a distance and without any form of communication. Nonetheless, Clara wishes to marry this young man, who once lived next door to her. Dorotea and Maritornes decide to intervene on Doña Clara's behalf: perhaps tonight, the two lovers might speak to each other for the first time.

Chapter 44

Maritornes securely fastens Don Quixote's wrist to a doorpost‹just to insure that the knight will not cause trouble. Quixote's posture is uncomfortable and awkward. Quixote is still on Rocinante's back, but his arm his tied so high upon the post that the knight is forced to stand-up in his stirrups. When four horsemen approach the inn, they deride Quixote because he looks ridiculous. Vulnerable and out-numbered, Quixote is in a worse situation when Rocinante moves: Quixote's feet slip out of the stirrups and the knight remains suspended by his tied arm. Quixote's feet almost reach the ground; stretching towards the ground, however, only tightens the pain in Quixote's choking wrist. The knight lets out a terrible roar that rouses the innkeeper to investigate the scene.

Chapter 45

The young man who would be Doña Clara's lover is Don Louis. The four horsemen, in the service of Don Louis' father, bid Don Louis to return home. Doña Clara's father, the judge, now sees through the disguise and recognizes his neighbor's son. The judge listens to Don Louis tell of his love for Doña Clara and he considers the marriage proposal. Two guests attempt to leave the inn without paying and, despite the innkeeper's insistence, Quixote abstains from intervening. The knight has sworn to abstain from "new" adventures until he has completed the terms of his service to Princess Micomicona. Nonetheless, when the two guests begin beating the innkeeper, Quixote successfully reasons with the rogues and bids them pause.

Towards the end of these chapters, justice finally catches up with Don Quixote. First, the barber from whom Quixote has stolen a basin now returns to the inn. Quixote stands by his original premise that the basin is actually "Mambrino's helmet." The barber defies Quixote, accusing the knight of blatant theft. The crowd of guests enjoys the bickering between the barber and the knight, mockingly defending Quixote's claim that the basin is truly Mambrino's helmet.

When the barber and his friends become violent, both the judge and Quixote's friend, the priest, call for peace and calm the crowd. As could be expected, a few members of the Holy Brotherhood make themselves visible, having been attracted to the commotion. Surveying the scene, one officer realizes that they have a warrant for Quixote's arrest: the "knight-errant" stands accused of "setting at liberty" a group of "galley-slaves."

Chapter 46

The officer intends to take Quixote into custody but the knight rebuffs the officer. Quixote launches into a hilarious speech, arguing that it is illogical and inane to subdue a knight with a warrant. Referring to the author of the warrant, Quixote asks: "Who was he that knew not that knights-errant are exempt from all judicial authority, that their sword is their law, their bravery their privileges, and their will their edicts?" The priest intercedes on Quixote's behalf, explaining that Quixote is merely a deranged gentleman: the gentleman's insanity fairly exempts the knight from punishment. After the priest guarantees that Quixote will behave, the Holy Brotherhood agrees not to arrest the knight.

Sancho tells Don Quixote that the Princess Micomicona is not a princess; Sancho has seen her kiss Don Fernando. Quixote is enraged, believing that Sancho is lying. Dorotea insists that she is the Princess Micomicona but, sympathizing with Sancho, she suggests that Sancho has been enchanted‹duped into believing that she kissed Don Fernando. The barber and the priest decide to convey Quixote home immediately. The knight is captured and bound; his friends then put him inside of a cage that is fastened to an ox-cart. The barber dresses up as a sage, issuing prophesy that Quixote will win great honors at home. And so, Quixote believes that he is traveling inside of some enchantment‹not a cage.

Analysis

The narrative structure returns to the inn and the plot action has been precipitated by new entrances (it has been a very long night). The novel describes these scenes as the "continuation of the unheard-of adventures." There is a sentimental parallel between the two triangles: Beautiful Clara is wooed by the singer, hoping to appease her father, the judge. Beautiful Zoraida was wooed by the captive, unable to appease her father, an obstinate Muslim. The lover who has never spoken to Clara (but loves her nonetheless) is much like Quixote, who has no substantive relationship with Dulcinea. Though the plot is very simplistic in these chapters, there is some variety of outcomes. We see the happy reunion of a Catholic Spanish family juxtaposed with the permanent rift between a convert, Zoraida, and her Muslim ("infidel") father.

As in the previous chapters, Don Quixote remains outside of the fabric of young lovers and storytellers. When Don Quixote stands as a sentinel outside the inn, he becomes a parody of himself. Physically, he is incapable of mounting a defense. Throughout the novel, Quixote has played the role of a knight. Quixote never played the role convincingly. Once fettered and disarmed, Quixote is another level removed from the ideal of the knight. Realistically, he insures the safety of the others by keeping his distance. He stands‹away‹as a guard against himself. In Chapter 44, Don Quixote does not use his prowess as a knight to ward off the thieves. He uses plain talk to fend them off.

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are criminals, as the presence of the judge reminds us. Don Quixote cannot escape the law forever. When the Holy Brotherhood appear on the scene, in Chapter 45, with a warrant for Quixote's arrest they are long foreshadowed. The priest's role becomes more complicated as he is forced to mediate between the religious authorities and the best interests of his friend. Quixote receives mercy only because he is convincingly insane.

Just as Quixote is tied to the post, he is soon trapped in a cage and carted home. The imagery of fire expresses the burning of books as a quasi-medical means of eliminating a contagious threat. Here, the cage is a prison for Quixote, designed to impose spatial limitations on a man who has a dangerously expansive imagination. Don Quixote claims to be of an order that is "exempt from all judicial authority" and adds "that their sword is their law." He punctures the law, violates the rights of others, and has wandered miles from home. If Quixote holds that the "sword" is his "law," his cage-prison is the parody and consequence of his suit of armor. Quixote has dressed himself as the law, but without legitimate power, his armor was pure symbol and costume. Quixote is insane and so he is exempt from the law, but his friends lock him inside the cage with the express permission of the Holy Brotherhood. Indeed, it is required.

The priest says "in matters of chivalryŠyield him the preference," but he does not argue that Quixote should have free rein. Rather, Quixote can define his delusions however he pleases, but the sane and rational outsiders should contain Quixote's delusions without destroying them. Put Quixote in a cage, but let him call the cage an enchantment.

In terms of aesthetics, this is a rephrasing of the form vs. content argument raised by the priest in Chapter 35. Now we can sum up the Priest's argument: The author of the madness is right about the details, regardless of whether it is madness or not (Friston, not Muñaton). The details of a lie can be right or wrong, regardless of the truth of the lie (Dorotea may have forgotten her name, but the Priest is right to remind her that she is called the Princess Micomicona).

The irony and humiliation of Quixote's fall create a somber mood. Quixote created real dangers but the law easily managed to survive Quixote's rebellion. On the other hand, the humor of Quixote's imagination does not survive the cage. When the barber pretends to be a prophetic sage, he is only speaking to Quixote and he predicts the precise opposite of what is true. There is no glory. Some argue that Don Quixote's friends are simply making mockery of Quixote for their own amusement. However, their persistent deception provides a mechanism to get Quixote to go home‹and it also gives him a fair amount of emotional comfort. Mercy and efficiency do not necessarily go hand in hand, though. The barber's own words remind us how important glory and honor are for Quixote. Being carted in a cage in broad daylight is far crueler than the efforts of the laborer in Chapter 5. Even though he is not a close acquaintance of Quixote, the laborer waits for the cover of night before carrying the gentleman's abused body back into town.

The cage marks the climax of Book I because Don Quixote is definitely going home now. The cage is a plot device to secure Don Quixote so that this narrative thread can end. The cage seals off the possibility of any further complications. Some critics argue that the climax should have occurred earlier in the novel, but we have already read that the story continues beyond Book I. This is the resolution of Quixote's second expedition.

Book I: Chapter 47-Chapter 52 Summaries

Chapter 47

Cooped up in the cart, Don Quixote says that he has never read of enchanted knights being transported in this form, and so it must be a new form of enchantment. Sancho argues with the knight and tries to explain, logically, that there is no enchantment. The barber threatens to throw Sancho inside the cart and so, the squire is quiet.

Chapter 48

Meanwhile, the priest is interested in reading a manuscript that he had obtained from the innkeeper, just before leaving.

Chapter 49

While traveling, the group encounters a "canon" who serves a religious function. The canon is not a fan of the books of chivalry, though he once attempted to pen such a story himself.

Chapters 50-51

Later, the group has lunch and the priest opens the cage and permits Don Quixote to exit. Quixote discusses chivalry with the canon and he manages to be both brilliant and ridiculous in his arguments. Besides recounting his own adventures to the canon, Quixote also tells the tale of the Knight of the Lake. During lunch, a goatherd named Eugenio approaches the group.

Chapter 52

Eugenio, the goatherd, ends up fighting with Quixote, much to the amusement of the group. Don Quixote causes more trouble by attacking a group of holy pilgrims. They are carrying an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary within a cart: Quixote believes that they are criminals who have kidnapped and imprisoned a good lady. Holy or not, the group defends itself and Sancho is convinced that Don Quixote has received his last beating. Panza offers a very moving elegy for his dead master, but Quixote is not dead, of course. Quixote has been beaten so severely that he now goes home willingly.

Sancho returns home to his wife, Juana (at other points, her name is "Teresa"). "Juana" wants to know what Sancho has brought home as justification for his long time away from home. The squire says that he has won a governorship. Cervantes, as narrator, tells us in the final pages of Book I that even though Don Quixote is quietly taken in at home, his housekeeper and niece are right to fear that the "knight-errant" will soon grow restless.

Finally, Cervantes discusses the manuscripts of Quixote's adventures, telling us that he has found additional texts that he will prepare for translation and subsequent publication. We have more of Don Quixote's stories to look forward to, then: a third expedition.

Analysis

In Chapter 48, yet another religious figure (the canon) offers literary criticism. The canon argues that works of comedy appeal to the masses but offend serious literary critics, whereas, serious works that disengage the masses are acclaimed by the critics. The canon's remarks are amusing in light of Cervantes' literary output: the novelist's early works were both less comedic and less acclaimed than Don Quixote. As Book I comes to a close, the canon's references to government censorship and literary taste, recall the novel's earliest chapters.

In conversation, the canon is amazed that Don Quixote integrates reason and foolishness. If Quixote has gone mad, he has not gone completely mad. In the canon's eyes, Don Quixote parallels Don Quixote, as seen through our eyes. Like the character, the novel presents the plausible and the absurd, with little regard for the distinctions between them.

The enchantment constitutes a change in Don Quixote's environment, but this enchantment does not resemble what Quixote knows from his stories. Still, he concludes that the relevant passage of text must have been lost. This enchantment cannot be a new thing. Don Quixote remains devoted to his orthodoxy.

Sancho Panza stands out as the one character willing to reason with Quixote, in part, because Sancho knows that he will not win his island if Quixote returns home. In Chapter 49, Sancho Panza expands upon the theme of delusion and truth-telling by incorporating forms of logic, evidence and proof. Using deductive reasoning, Sancho argues that Quixote is not suffering from an enchantment because Quixote needs to relieve himself. The storied descriptions of enchantment make no mention of the enchanted suffering the urgency of bodily functions. Quixote replies that the omission of this detail does not preclude the possibility. In Chapter 3, Quixote follows the (first) innkeeper's advice to carry shirts and money with him, even though Quixote "never read in the histories of knights-errant, that they carried any." The innkeeper's logic is that with "the authors thinking it superfluous to specify a thing so plain, and so indispensably necessary to be carried, as money and clean shirts, it was not therefore to be inferred, that [the knights] had none."

The larger question involves the form and function of the modern novel, and the extent to which the novel can and ought to capture the details of everyday life. Critics enjoy pointing out that Cervantes introduces a question that remains controversial three centuries later. Virginia Woolf railed against James Joyce's 1922 novel, Ulysses, because the fourth chapter narrates a character's minutes in the outhouse.

Don Quixote illustrates the fear that man might revert into a beast without social structures and constraints. Set free from his cage, Quixote battles a goatherd, and enacts a parody of his own story of "The Knight of the Lake." He attacks a pilgrimage, perceiving an icon of the Virgin Mary to be the hostage of the penitents. He is a hostage, newly freed, and he seeks glory by freeing a perceived hostage.

The end leaves very much undone: Sancho returns home, persistent in his belief that he will become governor of an island. Quixote has made no decision regarding Dulcinea. Quixote has not been arrested, nor has there been an exorcism, nor a conversion. Indeed, Quixote has said precious little to suggest an alteration in his future plans.

• Biography of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
• About Don Quixote Book I
• Character List
• Major Themes
• Glossary of Terms
• Short Summary
• Full Summary and Analysis
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 1-6
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 7-10
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 11-15
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 16-22
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 23-26
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 27-29
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 30-32
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 33-35
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 36-41
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 42-46
• Summary and Analysis of Book I, Chapters 47-52
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