Book II: Preface-Chapter IV Summaries

Preface

In the "Preface to the Reader," Cervantes mentions "the author of the second Don Quixote," a writer who published a false sequel to Cervantes' original work. Cervantes takes the high ground and stresses the fact that the imposter's "sin will be his punishment." Cervantes dedicates the book to the great Conde de Lemos (Count of Lemos), and Cervantes also has kind words for the Archbishop of Toledo, Bernardo de Sandoval.

Cervantes reminds us that Cid Hamet Ben Engeli is the original composer of the story.

Chapter I

For the month after Don Quixote has been returned to his home, the priest and barber avoid him because they do not want to remind Quixote of his unfortunate days as a knight-errant. When they see Don Quixote, it is clear to them that the gentleman intends to find another quest in the near future. Although Don Quixote's books have been removed, the ex-knight-errant still has a keen memory of the details of the chivalric tales.

Chapter II

Sancho Panza attempts to visit his former master. When the housekeeper blocks the entrance, Sancho Panza insists that Don Quixote has promised him an island - and Sancho Panza intends to have his island! This talk does not make any sense to the housekeeper, and she and Don Quixote's niece begin a fierce argument with Sancho.

Don Quixote hears the squabble and he commands the housekeeper to permit Sancho Panza entry. This is not so much because Don Quixote wants to see Sancho Panza; rather, Don Quixote is dismayed by Sancho's loose tongue: Don Quixote is afraid that Sancho may reveal some embarrassing details.

In their private conversation, Sancho Panza tells his master that he has learned of a book in which Don Quixote's own adventures are recounted. This book is called The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha. Sancho Panza is flattered that although he is a mere squire, the novel mentions him by name.

Quixote wants to learn more about this book and Sancho states that the "history" was written by a Moor named Cid Hamet Berengena. Sancho Panza has learned of the book from a scholarly young man named Sampson Carrasco. Sancho agrees to get Sampson so that Don Quixote can talk to him.

Chapter III

While he is waiting for Sampson Carrasco arrive, Don Quixote wonders how a book about his exploits could already be published. His conclusion is that the author is a Moorish sage. Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and Sampson Carrasco have a pleasant conversation and Sampson Carrasco greatly admires the knight. Sampson also corrects Sancho's mispronunciation, indicating that the author's name is Cid Hamet Ben Engeli. Sancho argues that the book is wrong because it refers to Dulcinea as Doña, even though she is a common woman.

Chapter III

For his part, Don Quixote thinks that the book - as Sampson has described it, has too many discursive ramblings and digressions that involve the minor characters. In particular, Sampson Carrasco discusses the discrepancy regarding the disappearance and reappearance of Dapple, Sancho's mule. Sancho gives an explanation for Dapple's "disappearance" but Sampson says that Sancho's account does not make any sense. Sampson mentions a jousting tournament in Zaragosa, and suggests that Don Quixote should attend the competition, in the hopes of gaining honor.

Analysis

In terms of social commentary, Cervantes' critique of class relations and prejudices begins early. In his Preface, Cervantes writes that "the poor man may be honorable, but not the vicious: poverty may cloud nobility, but not wholly obscure itŠ" Money and class-consciousness receive far more treatment on Book Two than in Book One. What is particularly noteworthy here is the uncommon idea that poverty and nobility are not mutually exclusive. In Book Two, a number of poor and common people prove themselves to be virtuous, while some of their social superiors earn our contempt as vicious, perverse, and unnecessarily cruel.

Cervantes' reference to Conde de Lemos also reveals some information about the station of the writer in Cervantes' society. In Chapter VI, Don Quixote argues that there are only two ways for a man to enlarge his territory and gain fame and honor: either through "arms" or through "letters." Cervantes, a former soldier, illustrates the artist's reliance upon a patronage system in order to secure a living.

Writers also had fewer legal rights than what we are accustomed to today: Cervantes had no legal redress against Avellaneda, the man who published his own Don Quixote sequel in 1608.

Don Quixote has been quarantined because of his sickness, and his house functions as a metaphorical tomb. If Don Quixote's old sickness was his aggressively expansive imagination, his new sickness is a melancholy wanderlust. Being imprisoned and having his imagination curtailed (his books have been removed) is a metaphorical "death" for Don Quixote. This is reflected in Quixote's physical appearance. When the priest and barber visit their friend, he looks "so lean and shrivelled, that he seemed as if he was reduced to a mere mummy."

There is a note of irony in the "islands" discussed by Sancho Panza and Don Quixote's housekeeper and niece. The housekeeper asks Sancho Panza whether "islands are anything eatable," slighting Panza's overweight figure and equally famous love of food. Sancho Panza replies that "islands are not eaten but governed," though the housekeepers idea of "gluttonous" appetites serves as an unintended metaphor for Spain's imperial designs.

In Chapter II, the motif of "storytelling" becomes incredibly complicated ­ but this sets the tone for much of what we will read in Book Two. Most noteworthy is the fact that Sancho Panza and Don Quixote are aware of a published history of Don Quixote's adventures: a newly published novel entitled The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha. Throughout Book Two, the knight and squire will encounter commoners and nobles who have read this work - or are, at least, familiar with the book. To put it bluntly, Don Quixote is famous - he now seeks "honor" more than fame. Of course, he wouldn't mind if he was a little more famous, but Quixote's motives are fundamentally different than they were when he set out on his first two "sallies."

The fact that Don Quixote has not read the work will certainly become a liability: Don Quixote fails to understand how others truly perceive him. Further, in Book Two, the characters are more psychologically complex than their counterparts in Book One. In a sense, the published "history" and concomitant fame make Don Quixote and especially Sancho Panza more self-conscious in general and class-conscious in particular.

Later on, there are complications derived from "rumors" that rival the true published history of Don Quixote. Furthermore, the personalities of Cervantes, Cid Hamet Ben Engeli, Sancho Panza's "Cid Hamet Berengena," and the multiple "translators" of the work create a blur around a few related issues: authorship, authenticity, and objectivity. Just as it became difficult to distinguish between the work of Cervantes and Avellaneda, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the labors of writer, translator, and author.

In the instance of Sancho's mule, Dapple, there is tension between Sancho's memory of what has happened and the potential for error - either by the "author" or the "printer." The irony here is that Sancho's memory is entirely the product of the author: Sancho cannot do anything other than what is written into his character. And Sancho cannot remember anything that has occurred unless it has occurred - and if it has occurred, it was recorded in the novel. One of the novel's brilliant features is the way in which questions like these are explored: Surely we don't expect that the novel describes every single thing that has occurred in Sancho Panza's life. But Sancho has no life outside of the novel.

As we read Cervantes' novel, a novel that aims for "realism," Cervantes reminds us that the recorded "history" can never capture the entirety of what has actually occurred.

Book II: Chapter V - Chapter X Summaries

Chapter V

At the beginning of Chapter V, Cervantes adds an editorial note, indicating that the "translator" does not believe the following episode is true. This is because Sancho's dialogue is rendered in a poetic style that is not appropriate for Sancho's social class.

Sancho confronts his wife, Teresa, and announces that he is resuming his travels with Don Quixote. Teresa urges her husband to be satisfied with what he already has. Sancho Panza insists that he pursues his island so that the Panza's daughter can marry a nobleman.

Chapter VI

While Sancho Panza talks to his wife, Don Quixote has a similar conversation with his housekeeper and niece. It seems to them that Don Quixote is embarking upon his third adventure, regardless of what they say to stop him. The housekeeper suggests that Quixote serve as a knight at the king's court, but Quixote responds that his particular calling is to be a knight-errant. Don Quixote's niece suggest that he should become a preacher, but Don Quixote says that he "would not mix things divine with human." Don Quixote concludes his argument with the supposition that: "There are two roadsŠby which men may arrive at riches and honors; the one by the way of letters, the other by that of arms." Don Quixote admits that he is heavily influences by the planet Mars and so, he must choose "arms."

Chapter VII

When the housekeeper becomes convinced that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are definitely preparing for their "third sally," she summons Sampson Carrasco and asks him to intercede. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are locked together in a room, making preparations for their adventure. When Sampson Carrasco joins them, he is supposed to dissuade Don Quixote from setting out on his third adventure. Perhaps because he has so enjoyed reading of Don Quixote's exploits, Sampson actually does the opposite, encouraging knight and squire to travel the high and difficult road of fortunate, glory, and fame. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza head towards the town of Toboso, so that Don Quixote can visit Dulcinea del Toboso.

Chapter VIII

When Don Quixote and Sancho Panza set out towards Toboso, they notice that Rosinante begins to neigh and Dapple begins to sigh. The knight and squire interpret this as a good omen. Don Quixote is eager to receive Dulcinea's blessing, but he fears that nightfall will arrive before he and Sancho reach Toboso.

Sancho Panza suddenly becomes concerned, realizing that he has never met Dulcinea - and Don Quixote is relying upon Sancho to seek her out. In Chapter XXXI of Book One, Sancho Panza invented an account of meeting Dulcinea but now, Sancho stresses that he has a "shallow memory" and does not recall these details. Don Quixote continues his discussion of fame, rejecting Sancho Panza's idea that they might instead become saints of the church. Don Quixote reasons that there is an abundance' of saints, but precious "few, who deserve the name of knights." Increasing their pace, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are able to reach Toboso just as night is falling.

Chapter IX

Toboso is a small and quite town, and Don Quixote interrupts this sleepy repose with his command to Sancho: "lead on before to Dulcinea's palace." Sancho's argument is that Dulcinea lives in a small house, not a castle, and that if Don Quixote would like to see castle in these parts, it would be easier for the knight to lead the way himself. At this point, Don Quixote admits that he has never seen "the peerless Dulcinea" and has fallen in love with her based solely upon the stories of her famous beauty. When Don Quixote stops a stranger and asks the man to direct him to the princess' castle, the confused stranger admits that the has not heard of any princesses living in the region.

Chapter X

Sancho Panza realizes that he cannot avoid the inevitable: Don Quixote compels him to lead the way to Dulcinea. Ultimately, Sancho conceives of a plan that might cause him the least harm. Sancho cannot "search the town for a woman" without inciting a mob, because the people of the region are known for their excessive choleric anger. Sancho's plan is only slightly more intelligent than this. Seeing three young women riding on a mule, Sancho announces that he sees Dulcinea advancing with two ladies-in-waiting.

When Don Quixote argues that he merely sees three peasant girls riding old mules, Sancho counters that an enchantment has altered Dulcinea. When the girls pass by, Sancho seizes the nearest one, calling her Dulcinea. Don Quixote worships the girl, though she is hideously ugly and Quixote is greatly saddened by her transformation.

Analysis

Don Quixote has developed into a different character in Book Two, but there are some characteristics that remain consistent. The publication of his adventures has not satisfied Quixote's desire for fame and glory. In his dialogue with his niece and housekeeper, Quixote makes reference to the Pharaohs and Caesars. Just as in Book One, Don Quixote's ambitions dwarf his actual capabilities: his "grasp" extends his "reach."

In part, the narrative structure of the novel is supposed to secure Cervantes' position as the true author of Don Quixote. One of the devices that Cervantes uses is the recollection of details from Book One. In an early conversation, Don Quixote recalls the episode from Book One, Chapter XVII when Sancho Panza was tossed in a blanket by a band of rogues. In Book Two, Chapter VII, the housekeeper refers to the two occasions when Don Quixote has been brought home after his adventures. She distinctly recalls that the second, most recent time, Quixote "came home in an ox-wagon, locked up in a cage, in which he persuaded himself he was enchanted." As a parallel to Sancho's unsteady recollection of Dapple's disappearance, here we see that the housekeeper's "memory" is as clear as the original passages. Her foreshadowing words also encourage the reader to draw the logical conclusion. Don Quixote will again return home deluded, and having failed: disgraced.

To complicate the haze surrounding the "authorship" of the novel, Cervantes tells us (at the beginning of Chapter VIII) that a the beginning of his eighth chapter, Cid Hamet Ben Engeli wrote "Praised be the mighty Allah." Engeli repeated this phrase three times because he was overjoyed that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza "had again taken the field." "From this moment, the exploits and witty sayings of Don Quixote and his squire begin," we are told. Both Cervantes (in Book One) and Don Quixote (in Book Two) articulate their distrust in the Moorish inventor of the story, because they believe Moors to be distrustful. Setting aside the prejudiced excuse that is offered, the reader should be prepared for the deliberately unsteady and intentionally complicated narrative structure that follows.

One of the most significant details that we learn about Don Quixote is the fact that he has never seen Dulcinea. Arguing with Sancho Panza, Quixote calls his squire a "heretic," a word that refers to an individual who does not believe in a specified religious doctrine. Quixote's faith in Dulcinea, a faith that requires no visual evidence, parallels Sancho's religious faith. Indeed, Sancho's belief in his island and Don Quixote's persistent belief in the possibility of winning honor are variants of the same characteristic. Here, the novel suggests that just as society accepts certain forms of "faith" as morally acceptable, society might credit Don Quixote for being a man who is capable of faith - even if his well-intentioned delusions are misguided.

Sancho's deception recalls the antics of Don Quixote's friends in Book One. Then, as now, Don Quixote's friends feel compelled to support Quixote's delusions (in this case, Sancho creates a Dulcinea for his master). The "transformation" of Don Quixote's Dulcinea into an ugly peasant girl (with a hairy eight-inch mole) really underscores the novel's underlying "tragicomic" mood. In Book Two, it becomes clearer that the gaps between Don Quixote's high-minded ideals and the reality upon which he projects his ideals are evidence of Quixote's delusion.

But perhaps more important, these gaps expose the ugly failings of the "real world." Dulcinea is a name that Don Quixote deliberately chooses for aesthetic purposes: it means "sweet." When Sancho Panza randomly chooses a girl to stand in as Dulcinea, reality plays a cruel joke: an ugly girl with a hairy mole and a horrible smell.

We can best understand the increasingly pessimistic and modern tone of Book Two by juxtaposing this scene with an episode from Book One, Chapter XVI. While at an inn that he presumed to be an "enchanted castle," Don Quixote believed that a beautiful princess intended to greet him in his bed. In reality, Don Quixote embraced Maritornes, a half-blind hunchbacked woman who smelled very bad. Because Don Quixote was deep in his delusion, he enjoyed this encounter. Here in Book Two, Don Quixote's delusion isn't strong enough to wrap around the rough edges of reality's offerings.

Finally, there is some intellectual development on Sancho's part. Sancho is still loyal to his master but in Book Two, Sancho is willing to deceive Don Quixote as his equal. Sancho Panza was willing to lie in Book One, but in Book Two, Sancho is willing to claim his lie to be an "enchantment," as Don Quixote's other friends had done in Book One. In Book Two, Sancho Panza becomes an equal player: one of the character s permitted to create imaginations for others.

Book II: Chapter XI - Chapter XV Summaries

Chapter XI

Don Quixote really believes himself to be "the most unfortunate of men." Though it is dark and late, the two travelers continue on the road. They pass by a troupe of masked and disguised actors who are riding in a wagon labeled as the "cart of the Parliament of Death."

Don Quixote stops the cart and in the ensuing exchange, Dapple disappears. Sancho has been spooked by the ominous image of "Death" painted on the Cart's side. Believing the actors to be evil enchanters, Sancho exclaims that "the devil has run away with Dapple." The actors have merely played a joke, however, and they return Dapple unharmed. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza part ways with the actors and a potentially violent event is pre-empted when Sancho successfully dissuades his master from enacting revenge.

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza settle under a tree to eat their "supper" and Don Quixote insists that it would have been better for him to have attacked the wagon and secured some small treasure for Sancho.

Chapter XII

Sancho Panza and Don Quixote discuss philosophy and Don Quixote comments on Sancho's growing wisdom. Sancho claims that he grows wiser the longer he associates with Quixote. The two fall asleep under a pair of trees, but they are soon awakened by the noise of two men approaching on horseback. Don Quixote is excited because he senses a new adventure. The two men are The Knight of the Wood and his squire, The Squire of the Wood. The Knight of the Wood plays the lute and sings a mournful sonnet, expressing his love for his cruel mistress, Casildea de Vandalia. The two knights have a conversation together, while Sancho and the Squire of the Wood have their own conversation.

Chapter XIII

While the two knights have a very "grave" conversation, the two squires exchange pleasantries. Each squire admits that he follows his respective knight because he has been promised "some island, or some pretty earldom." The two squires discuss some of the anticipated difficulties of island governance. The Squire of the Wood has three children and Sancho has two: both squires anticipate that the politics of island acquisition will benefit their children in the long run.

The conversation between the squires also reveals that the Knight of the Wood, unlike Don Quixote, is hardly an idealist. He is more of a criminal than anything else. Both squires agree that their masters are "crack-brained," though Sancho thinks that Don Quixote, unlike the Knight of the Wood, has a good heart. Sancho Panza admits that he does not know how long he will continue to follow Don Quixote, but at the very least, he will follow his master to Zaragosa.

Chapter XIV

Cervantes initially introduced The Knight of the Wood as "the brawn Knight of the Looking-Glasses," though it is not immediately clear why this is the case. In Chapter XIV, this mystery is casually revealed with the break of daylight. When Don Quixote sees the Knight of the Wood's shiny glittering armor, he renames the knight on account of the armor's mirror-like appearance.

It is decided that the two knights will duel and that the two squires will also duel. True to character, Sancho Panza is not especially pleased with the arrangement, but he grudgingly assents. In the morning, Sancho Panza refuses to battle the Squire of the Wood because he (Sancho) is frightened by the gigantic size of the Squire's nose. Sancho does not believe the Squire to be human, concluding that to battle this "hobgoblin" would invite disaster.

The Squire of the Wood insists upon fighting and so, Sancho must escape somehow. While the Knight of the Looking-Glasses prepares to charge Don Quixote, Quixote is busy hoisting Sancho Panza into a tree. When the Knight of the Looking-Glasses sees this, he slows his advance towards Don Quixote and heads for the tree to lend assistance. Don Quixote thinks that the Knight of the Looking-Glasses is charging him, however. Accordingly, Don Quixote rushes towards the knight at full speed, catching him the knight off guard and knocking him off his horse.

Chapter XV

Don Quixote compels the knight to confess Dulcinea's beauty. Removing the knight's visor, Don Quixote reveals the knight to be Sampson Carrasco.

Carrasco confesses that he has been plotting with the priest and barber to defeat Don Quixote. If the Knight of the Looking-Glasses had defeated Don Quixote, the Knight would have compelled Don Quixote to return home to La Mancha. Don Quixote does not believe his eyes (or ears). Rather, he interprets Sampson as an enchantment, strategically placed to derail Quixote's progress. Sancho Panza reveals the Squire's nose to be made of mulberry-colored pasteboard - obviously fake, not monstrous. In fact, the Squire is one of Sancho's neighbors, Tom Cecial.

Analysis

Despite the comedy of the scene involving the "cart of the Parliament of Death," there are plenty of grim allusions that contribute to the very negative imagery of the cart. Quixote, himself, confesses that the actors' vehicle resembles "Charon's ferry-boat." Charon is the somber boatman of Greek mythology who ferries the dead along the famous River Styx of Hades (the underworld0. The images of Cupid, Death, an angel and an emperor all suggests that the principle events in man's life are out of his control (death, love, peace and governance).

If nothing else, the cart foreshadows Don Quixote's own death at the end of Book Two. The actors' reference to "Corpus Christi, [which] we have been performing" is a Latin, Roman Catholic phrase referring to the dead and resurrected "body of Christ." Without the prospect of his own resurrection, only death inevitably looms for the novel's hero.

Sancho harangues the actors as a band of "enchanters," and there is an ironic validity in Sancho's words. The actors' use of masks, disguises, and dramatic singing voices do constitute a parallel to the novel's two enchantments: Don Quixote's superimposed and idealized projections and the "false" enchantments that Quixote's friends bring about with the help of dresses, beards, and other props.

Language like "farcical devil" and "phantoms" blurs a moral critique of lying (deception) with the moral critique of malice (unmerited cruelty) and fate. Readers might also look at Sancho's negotiation with Quixote, persuading the knight to forego avenging the brief theft of Dapple, in light of the scene in which Don Quixote absurdly attacks a company of mourners. Their veiled and masked demeanor similarly conveyed a sense of death and foreboding. Indeed, the cart of death also mirrors the ox-cart recollected by the housekeeper in Book Two, Chapter VII. Transportation adds another metaphor to the motif of deceptions, transformations, and "enchantments."

In Chapter XII, Don Quixote makes an aesthetic argument that "actors and authorsŠ are all instruments of much benefitŠ setting at every step a looking-glass before our eyes, in which we see very lively representations of the actions of human life." Cervantes believes Don Quixote to be superior to the tales of chivalry precisely because Don Quixote's characters are genuinely human, whereas the chivalric tales fail to resemble reality.

There is an interesting contrast between Don Quixote's metaphor of literature as a looking-glass (mirror) and the Knight of the Looking-Glasses, whom Don Quixote meets soon after. The Knight is truly an actor with a complicated set of motives and emotions. In that the Knight is ultimately imitating Don Quixote, it does stand to reason that the Knight of the Looking-Glasses is a reflection of Don Quixote himself. Additionally, the motif of the looking-glass is one of the devices that complicates the ego and self-consciousness of the characters in Book Two. Unlike the aesthetic discourses of Book One, in this discourse, Sancho Panza and Don Quixote refer to their own experiences as interchangeable with the themes and experiences that Quixote recounts from literature that he has read. These characters have become able to view and critique themselves, as if they could read their story, as if they could see themselves in the mirror.

The irony of the name "Knight of the Looking-Glasses" is that the armor of mirrors conceals Sampson Carrasco's true identity. Sampson uses mirrors not to reveal and expose himself, but to hide himself. The mirrors are turned so that Don Quixote can see himself, not Sampson. Even when Sampson's face is revealed, Don Quixote cannot stop "seeing himself" as a knight-errant, and he believes Sampson to be an enchantment.

Don Quixote cannot bear the logical repercussions of this trick. Sampson's ability to deceive Don Quixote into believing him to be a knight-errant only underscores the fragility of the whole idea of knights-errant. Something so easily attempted and faked does not ring true. Despite Don Quixote's fiercest and most orthodox adherence, he essentially adheres to a nothingness.

Sampson Carrasco's deception continues the trajectory of the priest's schemes, although there are notable contrasts in this, the first plot of Don Quixote's friends in Book Two. As in Book One, the plot engages Don Quixote's fantasy. Level-headed people dress up, play roles, and pretend to be part of Quixote's fantasy world. In Book One, Don Quixote was tricked into believing that he had done something honorable. Here, Sampson Carrasco's goal was to defeat Don Quixote and essentially retire him in ignominy and shame.

In that Carrasco swears revenge, one wonders about his motives. The reader should note that neither the priest nor the barber has read the new novel about Don Quixote. Sampson has, and he may be seeking fame as a fake knight who scores a real win in the fake world of a book published in the real world. We can see Cervantes' humorous parody of the rhetoric of censorship and book burning. In Book One, Don Quixote proved to us the dangers of literature, or at least, the danger of unsupervised reading. Now we see the moral hazards of reading The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha. Both Carrasco and Quixote are fame-seekers, and distinguishing the knave from the knight is not as easy as we might think. Both men desire to be written into history. We may argue that Don Quixote truly believes in knight-errantry, whereas Sampson Carrasco does not. But Don Quixote is using knight-errantry as his vehicle; Sampson Carrasco does not use ideology to advance his own selfish pursuits. We should not readily believe Sampson Carrasco's claim that he has conspired with the priest and barber. Certainly, this is probable and likely. Still, Carrasco's vow to have revenge upon Don Quixote should remind us that Sampson Carrasco is the one who originally encouraged Don Quixote to embark upon the journey.

Sampson Carrasco's previous actions run counter to the goals he currently claims to hold. And when Sampson Carrasco persuaded Don Quixote to leave La Mancha, he expressly violated the housekeeper's trust. At best, Sampson is confused and ambivalent. At worst, he is a manipulative liar with dark opaque intentions. Either way, Sampson Carrasco makes a parody of his Biblical name. Sampson was an Old Testament "Hercules," renown for his prowess as a warrior and generally known as the strongest man alive. Sampson Carrasco, a scrawny bachelor-student, uses tactics much closer to the ultimately failed efforts of the Biblical Sampson's enemies.

In Chapter XIII, the arrangement of the pairs of knights and squires provides the opportunity for some insightful social commentary. Don Quixote comments on the impertinence of the Squire of the Wood, who dares to speak in the presence of a knight. The reader should recall Quixote's repeated censures forbidding Sancho to speak in Book One.

The squires' conversation clearly expresses a fantasy on the part of the lower classes. Earlier in the novel, Don Quixote, a gentleman, stresses the fact that he can achieve honor either through "letters" or through "arms." To put it bluntly - Sancho is illiterate, middle-aged, rotund and alcoholic. It is highly unlikely that a man in Sancho Panza's station would have been literate and equally unlikely that he would ever be awarded a position in which he might receive military honor.

Sancho's New World fantasy is one of very ways that a man of low means could vault himself into respectable society. Still, Sancho's specific project is a pure fantasy, derived from Don Quixote's delusions. Don Quixote seeks an honor to bring back to Dulcinea, but Sancho is waiting for an honor to take home to his wife. Sancho seeks an honor to pass on to his children. Don Quixote's motives are chivalric because Quixote can afford this "leisure." Sancho Panza's motives are economic: this "sally" is neither a vacation nor an adventure. It is an investment.

Book II: Chapter XVI - Chapter XVIII Summaries

Chapter XVI

After the adventure with the Knight of the Looking-Glasses, Sancho Panza and Don Quixote have two very different emotional responses. Don Quixote continues with "pleasure, satisfaction, and self-conceit." Sancho Panza is very confused about Tom Cecial and his pasteboard nose. Don Quixote suggests that both Tom Cecial and Sampson Carrasco were enchantments. But Sancho recalls his conversation with the Squire, and the details that were discussed. How could the Squire have been an enchantment when, in retrospect, the details of the Squire's family life so resemble Tom Cecial's?

Don Quixote sees a man on the road who is dressed all in green and armed with "a Moorish scimitar." Quixote introduces himself as the Knight of the Sorrowful Figure. The traveler is named Don Diego de Miranda. Don Diego counts himself among those who believe that the stories of knights-errant are not "fictitious." In meeting Don Quixote, Don Diego is overjoyed on two counts: First, Don Diego is pleased to know that Spain has not abandoned the tradition of knight-errantry. The security that knights provide is all too necessary, in Don Diego's opinion. Second, Don Diego is pleased to hear Don Quixote's discussions of the newly published novel, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha. Don Diego has not yet read the book, but he suspects that the book will enlighten its audience about the finer points of chivalry.

Don Diego's son has decided to become a poet rather than a scientist. Don Diego seems somewhat displeased at this, but Don Quixote extols the virtues of poetry as a source of good and purity in the world. Quixote appears very learned in his discourse, mentioning the classical writers Homer, Virgil, and Horace. Don Quixote pauses in his commentary, as he perceives a carriage with royal banners. The carriage is advancing towards the same side-road that Quixote intends to take.

Chapter XVII

Meanwhile, Sancho Panza has found some shepherds nearby, from whom he purchases curds and milk. Don Quixote sees the royal cart and prepares for a new adventure. Quixote summons Sancho, telling him that "Preparation is half the battle, and nothing is lost by being upon one's guard." Sancho needs a container for his curds and milk, and he chooses Don Quixote's helmet. When Don Quixote dons the helmet, he fears that his skull is softening or else, his brain must be melting. Sancho gives his master a cloth to clean his head and face. Don Quixote then accuses Sancho Panza of being a "vile traitor" for placing the curds in his helmet. Sancho insists that this accident must be the work of an enchanter.

The royal cart contains "two fierce lions" which are a gift to the King, from the general of Oran. Don Quixote demands that the carter open the cages so that he (Quixote) can battle the lions. After significant objection, the carter obliges Quixote. The lions are lazy and sluggish, however, and they refuse to stir. Don Quixote gives up on the idea of battling the lions and Don Diego and Sancho Panza both praise Quixote for his bravery. In honor of this victory-by-default, Don Quixote renames himself "Knight of the Lions." After accepting Don Diego's invitation for a visit, Quixote renames Don Diego de Miranda as "The Knight of the Green Riding-Coat."

Chapter XVIII

Don Diego lives in a spacious country home and when he arrives at the house, Don Quixote perceives the building to be a castle. Don Diego introduces Don Quixote and Sancho Panza to his wife, Doña Christina, and his poet son, Don Lorenzo. Don Lorenzo spends much time considering whether or not Don Quixote is mad. At the end of Quixote's four day visit, Don Lorenzo does conclude that Don Quixote is insane.

While visiting with Don Diego's family, Quixote manages to be both insane and intelligent. Quixote enjoys Don Lorenzo's poetry and offers a valuable critique. For his part, Don Lorenzo tells his father that Quixote's insanity "is a medley full of lucid intervals." Much like Don Quixote's audience in Book One, Chapters XXXVII and XXXVIII, Don Lorenzo is floored by the knight's ability to shuttle back and forth between pure madness and sound reason.

Analysis

Sancho's dissatisfaction with Don Quixote's explanation of the enchantment of Sampson Carrasco and Tom Cecial stems from several sources. First, Sancho remembers the numerous "enchantments" of Book One, beginning with the notorious windmills episode. History has taught Sancho that many of Don Quixote's enchantments are delusions. Second, an element of Sancho's life (his neighbor, not Don Quixote's) has been introduced into the enchantment. Sancho Panza may be willing to trust Don Quixote on the finer notes of sage magicians and knight-errantry, but Sancho is unwilling to ceded ground on the details of his own life. Sancho Panza is willing to believe Don Quixote's delusions so long as they remain within Don Quixote's contained sphere of influence. Finally, Sancho Panza knows that at least one of Don Quixote's "enchantments" is the product of deception. Sancho crossed a line when he claimed that the ugly peasant girl was Dulcinea in an "enchanted" form. This perversion of a vocabulary that Quixote holds sacred makes it difficult for Sancho Panza to ever believe in enchantments. Sancho Panza can be frightened into immediately concluding that he is seeing some form of magic, but the folly does not persist. Sancho Panza knows that some enchantments are more than Quixote's delusions - they are other people's tricks. Quixote's subsequent references to Dulcinea's transformation as "evidence" are self-defeating, as Sancho Panza knows that he himself invented this transformation. All Sancho Panza can say on the topic of transformations is a pitch-perfect understatement: "God knows the truth."

Sancho Panza and Don Quixote are beginning to fall within a traditional master-servant relationship. In Book One, Sancho Panza was a lackey who eagerly believed in Don Quixote's promises. By Chapter XVII of Book Two, Sancho has begun to resent his squire labors. He is more formidable in his ability to debate. He freely speaks to Don Quixote. He uses the rhetoric of "enchantment" to humiliate his master, a master who has not yet made good on his promise (Sancho's island).

Sancho Panza's assessment of the "enchantment" of Sampson Carrasco is the perfect contrast (contradistinction) to Don Diego's initial analysis of Don Quixote. Don Diego's faith in the reality of knights-errant is validated on two counts. First, Don Diego sees an actual knight, Quixote, standing before him. Second, this same knight's exploits have been documented in an accessible and recent account. Here, literature provides additional proof, a supplemental body of evidence. The "story" (historia) merges with "history" (Historia).

One of the underlying tensions in Cervantes' work is the uneasy and unsettling similarity between the postures of Don Quixote's mad delusions and the habits and structures of religious faith. In Book Two, Cervantes reins in much of the sacrilege of Don Quixote's actions. At the same time, the more important issues - the distinction between pitiable delusion and justifiable faith - is probed more deeply. To the extent that Don Quixote fashions himself as a secular militant, a literary crusader, his words early in Chapter XVII are intentionally similar to scriptural passages that surely resonated with Cervantes' audience. One of Don Quixote's more memorable quotes is, in fact, a collage (a "pastiche") of a few well-known verses from the New Testament. These verses treat the subject of the Christian warrior's need for faithful preparation, and Cervantes' readers would have detected the scriptural strains within Don Quixote's words: "Preparation is half the battle, and nothing is lost by being upon ones guard. I know by experience, that I have enemies both visible and invisible, and I know not when, nor from what quarter, nor at what time, nor in what shape, they will encounter me."

Another aspect of Cervantes' cultural context comes into view in Don Quixote's initial conversation with Don Diego. Don Diego's son has become a poet. In this era, the young poet faces the question of whether to write in the vernacular spoken language, Spanish, or Latin, the classical and more esteemed language. Working with all due respect to the classical works, writers like Cervantes deliberately focused upon establishing a literature written in their own language. The political unification of Spain mandated and enforced the imposition of Castilian as the Spanish language (as opposed to one of the four rival dialects). Don Quixote became the first major Castilian work of enduring literary quality, and Cervantes essentially did for Spanish language and literature what Dante had done for the Italian language a few centuries before.

Book II: Chapter XIX - Chapter XXI Summaries

Chapter XIX

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza leave Don Diego's house and, on the road, they encounter a group of four men: two ecclesiastics and two country fellows. Don Quixote introduces himself both as Don Quixote and as "The Knight of the Lions." The two ecclesiastical scholars quickly see that Quixote is crazy. The four men are on their way to a wedding. The beautiful Quiteria the Fair will soon marry Camacho the Rich, whose wealthy "solders up an abundance of flaws." A man named Basilius truly loves Quiteria. Although, Basilius is not wealthy, he is extremely handsome. Quiteria's parents have decided that she will marry Camacho, however. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza accompany the four men to the village where the wedding will take place.

Chapter XX

Just as the travelers predicted, Basilius makes a scene at Quiteria's wedding. After giving a short and eloquent speech, Basilius stabs himself with a dagger. This suicidal act places Basilius' soul in danger of eternal damnation. Despite the hasty suggestions of the officiating priest, Basilius refuses to make a confession. Basilius then relents, and agrees to confess if Quiteria will marry him. Then, she can wed Camacho as the "widow of the brave Basilius."

Chapter XXI

Those attending the wedding urge Quiteria to quickly wed Basilius before he dies. Quiteria truly loves Basilius and so she freely agrees. After vows are exchanged, Basilius reveals that his wound is slight and his injury intentional: it is "a stratagem."

Camacho decides to kill Basilius but Don Quixote intervenes, arguing that "it is not fit to take revenge for the injuries done us by love." Quixote adds that Basilius' strategy was to be expected by Camacho, for in love, as in war, "it is lawful and customary to employ cunning and stratagems to defeat the enemy." Camacho relents and Basilius and Quiteria are happy with the turn of events.

Analysis

In these chapters, Don Quixote does not have an actual destination, and his course is utterly unpredictable. In much of Book One, the narrative structure was defined by the introduction of minor characters who were often travelers visiting an inn ("castle") where Quixote lodged. These minor characters would then give us a "story within a story," most notably "The Novel of the Curious Impertinent." In Book Two, the narrative structure is modified to address the critique that Don Quixote leveled against The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha in Chapter III: There were too many "digressions" in the first part of the story. Here in Book Two, the narrative structure follows the rambling course of Quixote's adventures. Certainly, Cervantes' need to rebut and "undo" the imposter novel's scenes is one major reason for this shift.

Sancho Panza and Don Quixote reveal their philosophical differences in the discussion of Quiteria's intended marriage to Camacho. Don Quixote cites the romances of chivalry and bemoans the lack of true love to bind the union. Conversely, Sp commends the prudence of Quiteria's parents. The reader should recall Sancho Panza's discussion with his wife Teresa in Book Two, Chapter V. Against Teresa's insistence, Sancho seeks the governance of an island so that he can marry his daughter off to a nobleman. Teresa's argument, that women are unhappy when they marry out of their class, is a pragmatic critique of Sancho's equally pragmatic argument. Though they disagree with each other, the Panzas share a pragmatism that is wholly unlike Don Quixote's lofty notions of "true love."

One wonders whether Basilius has read The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha, as his shallow stab-wound trick recalls the ruse that Camilla uses to deceive her husband, Anselmo, in "the Novel of the Curious Impertinent" (Book One, Chapter XXXIV).

Book II: Chapter XXII - Chapter XXIV Summaries

Chapter XXII

As a knight-errant, Don Quixote is pleased that he was able to advocate for Basilius and Quiteria. He sees the wedding as a triumph of love over baser interests. Sancho is disgusted at this foolishness, and he begins muttering that Don Quixote should take the pulpit. When Don Quixote challenges Sancho, the squire reminds Don Quixote that just as a knight knows more about knight-errantry, a husband knows more about marriage. When Don Quixote asks Sancho about his wife, Sancho replies that "She is not very bad, but she is not very good neither, at least not quite so good as I would have her." Don Quixote thinks that is a dishonorable thing for a man to say about his own wife.

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza stay with Basilius and Quiteria for three days, at which point they travel to the Cave of Montesinos with Basilio's cousin. Basilio's cousin (whose name we never learn) is a famous scholar, "much addicted to reading books of chivalry."

At Montesinos' Cave, Sancho and Basilio's cousin tie a rope around Don Quixote's waist and lower him into the cave, which is a deep hole. Quixote's task is to explore what is below, but after an half-hour, it is clear that Quixote has fallen asleep "in the deep cave of Montesinos." Don Quixote is pulled out of the cave.

Chapter XXIII

When asked about what he has seen, Quixote replies with a lucid description of a dream-vision. Quixote claims that he was transported to a crystal palace, wherein an old man greeted him by name. The old man was Montesinos. Montesinos told Quixote a grisly story about the death of his "great friend," Durandarte. When Durandarte died, Montesinos made good on a promise to cut out Durandarte's heart and deliver it to Belerma, Durandarte's wife.

Don Quixote learns that Merlin, the magician of King Arthur's court, has cast a spell that prevents Montesinos from leaving. However, Merlin foresaw that Don Quixote would undo this curse and free Montesinos and his company.

Because Sancho Panza constructed the "enchantment" of Dulcinea, Sancho does not believe Sancho' claim to have seen Dulcinea in her transformed state. Indeed, this leads Sancho Panza to discount the entire episode. Don Quixote does not get angry, however. After some consideration, Don Quixote calmly concludes: "It is your love of me, Sancho, that makes you talk at this rateŠ but the time will comeŠ when I shall tell you some other of the things I have seen below, which will make you give credit to what I have now told you."

Chapter XXIV

Cervantes interrupts the narrative thread to tell us that the translator of Cid Hamet Ben Engeli's work found a note in Engeli's handwriting, recorded in the margins of the original text. Engeli does not believe that Don Quixote tells the truth, arguing that Quixote actually recounted the story on his deathbed. Cid Hamet Ben Engeli also added that because Sancho Panza was so impertinent and disrespectful to Don Quixote, the account seems all the more likely to be apocryphal.

Continuing, the story, Cervantes tells us that Basilio's cousin loves Don Quixote's account of his time in the cave. The scholar vows to record the story and Quixote is clearly pleased with this.

Quixote and company then encounter a man who is heavily armed. Quixote decides to follow the man to a nearby inn, so that he can hear the man's story.

Analysis

Cervantes continues the literary debate of the vernacular vs. the classical language in a humorous way. Among the Basilio's cousin's parodies is a "burlesque" entitled "The Metamorphoses, or Spanish Ovid." Here, the real "metamorphosis" is the translation from Latin to Spanish. Basilio's cousin has also written a "Supplement to Polydore Virgil" and this work ironically recalls Cervantes' own dilemma with his imposter's supplement. In Chapter LXX, we will hear Don Quixote's attack on the imposter novel.

Montesinos' cave parallels Hades, the Greek underworld. At the very least, Quixote's dream is a sort of living-death and Montesinos makes reference to "the world above," While buried alive in a cave, DW dreams of the underworld. Just as Basilio's cousin revises the classics, Cervantes' story revises and "riffs" off of at least four well-established literary works.

The dominant allusion regards Aeneas, the warrior-king of Virgil's Aeneid. Aeneas leaves a lover behind (Queen Dido) as he continues his quest. Despondent, Dido commits suicide and later haunts Aeneas from the afterlife, and Aeneas is grieved by her hideous countenance. Don Quixote similarly views his love, Dulcinea, as a negatively transformed figure.

The story of Montesinos' Cave also bears reference to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. In this major philosophical essay, Plato describes the relative perception and cognitive capabilities of mankind in metaphorical terms. A race of men are chained in a cave, restrained so that their glimpse of life above is limited to a fixed set of shadows. The man who exits the cave sees the world and returns with shocking stories of "reality," stories that are met with distrust and perhaps even pity or contempt. In Chapter XXIII, Don Quixote plays the converse role: a prophet who leaves the real world and goes down into a cave to find "reality." The Cave experience is noteworthy in that it is uniquely Quixote's. He is able to use the vision as a way to set himself apart form the others. It becomes a piece evidence that Sancho cannot refute with his own first-hand knowledge.

A third major allusion is the burial and resurrection of Christ. Don Quixote claims to have been inside of the cave for three days and Cervantes' allusion cleverly eludes sacrilege in stressing that Quixote claims to have been "buried" for three full days and knights. At any rate, Don Quixote emerges as a transformed being and Basilio's cousin assumes an apostolic role, vowing to write and publish Quixote's story. As such, Basilio's cousin - who happens to be a Christian - provides a contrast to Cid Hamet Ben Engeli - who happens to be a Muslim. Cid Hamet Ben Engeli's strenuous denial of Don Quixote's episode is immediately followed by Basilio's cousin's equally strenuous confession of belief. Cid Hamet Ben Engeli's lack of faith here is consistent with Cervantes' consistently hostile depiction of the Muslim "infidel."

Finally, Quixote's love for Dulcinea is so intense that is persists into his dreams and interrupts the task at hand: the investigation of Montesinos' story. Quixote's underworld sojourn recalls Orpheus, who sought his beloved Eurydice in Hades. When Eurydice dies, Orpheus' grief is so intense that the gods permit Orpheus to journey into the underworld and retrieve Eurydice. However, once Orpheus has found Eurydice and begins leading her to the world above, he is forbidden to turn his head and look back - if he does, Eurydice is doomed to remain in Hades. As Orpheus is leading Eurydice out of Hades, Eurydice catches her toe on a stone. She falls. Orpheus turn to brace his lover's fall and instantly, a wall goes up between the two lovers. Both Don Quixote and Orpheus are so devoted to their loves that they are willing to travel to the underworld to retrieve them.

Yet, an essential and impassable distance remains between the lover and the beloved. Orpheus sees Eurydice as she is, but the couple is physically separated. In his underworld, Quixote is physically united with Dulcinea, but he is unable to see her as she truly is. Dulcinea's transformation is so hideous, Quixote later admits that the transformation obliterates his memory of her beauty. By locating Dulcinea in Don Quixote's underworld dream, Cervantes underscores the impossibility of Quixote's longing. This is the essence of the "quixotic," and this persistent and unyielding striving towards an impossible ideal makes Don Quixote a hero, albeit a fool.

Don Quixote's fantasy exposes his pride and unabated hunger for fame. He imagines that Merlin that has prophesied his future exploits. Just as Don Quixote's friends realized at the end of Book One, when they carted him home in a cage, a prophesy convinces Don Quixote that he is a true knight-errant. Prophecy confirms future success with rather incipient and convenient timing.

Don Quixote exposes a character flaw that will cause him a good amount of pain for much of Book Two. Later, a malicious duke and duchess will amuse themselves by convincing Don Quixote that he is the fulfillment of a whole host of outlandish and rather humiliating prophesies. In responding to Sancho Panza's disbelief in the cave dream, Don Quixote uses prophecy as his own strategy. To convince Sancho to believe him, Don Quixote states that Sancho will one day believe. The idea that Don Quixote has omitted some details also adds a level of excitement and suspense for the reader. Sadly, Don Quixote's prophecies can do nothing, if they are not true. Don Quixote cannot stop the inevitable: the emergence of an increasingly rational, money-minded, and modern "real" world that Sancho Panza - in serious opposition to his master - comes to represent.

Book II: Chapter XXV - Chapter XXVIII Summaries

Chapter XXV

At the inn, Don Quixote learns the story of the man who is working as "a conductor of the arms," transporting weapons across the territory. In a nearby town, the man says, one of the town aldermen has lost his donkey and he asked another alderman for assistance. These two respectable pillars of society canvas the neighboring area, braying like donkeys - in the hopes that this will help them attract the lost donkey. The y are unsuccessful. A neighboring town hears about the incident and the villagers are no feuding because there has been an exchange of mocking insults. The towns now intended to do battle.

A man called Master Peter enters the inn, claiming to have a menagerie of puppets as well as a large ape without a tail. Don Quixote thinks that Master Peter is in league with Satan when Master Peter claims that the ape can predict the future. Like Anselmo in "The Novel of the Curious Impertinent," Sancho Panza wonders about his wife's fidelity, but he is unable to procure an answer from the ape. The ape lauds Don Quixote's chivalric honor but Quixote remains standoffish.

Chapter XXVI

Master Peter performs a puppet show in which a knight returns home from battle only to find that his wife has been kidnapped and is not held in a foreign land. Don Quixote charges onto the stage and tries to rescue the wife, wrecking the scene in the process. Master Peter is not pleased. Don Quixote pays for the damages.

Chapter XXVII

Cervantes interrupts the story to discuss Cid Hamet Ben Engeli's commentary that Master Peter was a character that Don Quixote had met in Book I, namely Gines de Pasamonte, one of the freed galley salves. Cervantes refuses to substantiate Cid Hamet's claim, though he does recall that Gines stole Dapple from Sancho while Sancho was asleep upon Dapple's back. Cervantes warns us to be mindful about ascribing "the fault of the press to want of memory in the author." Don Quixote approaches the army from the village where an alderman had lost his donkey. Quixote argues that their war is not just, but is actually unjustified. Using reason and religious teachings, Don Quixote speaks in a moving and convincing manner. Sancho contributes to the argument by saying that the village should not be offended because there is no shame in learning to bray. As Sancho taught himself how to bray (as a boy) he most wholeheartedly agrees with the aldermen who felt proud at having brayed well. Sancho Panza is sincere but his contribution is so facile that the villagers perceive Sancho to be sarcastic and mocking. The villagers beat Sancho and Don Quixote gallops off, escaping harm. The villagers wait for their opponents to show up but this never happens - and so, they crown themselves as victorious and head home.

Chapter XXVIII

Judging the situation to be safe, Don Quixote returns to the scene and retrieves Sancho. Don Quixote chastises Sancho for his foolhardy comments. After Sancho Panza asks for wages, Quixote dismisses him from his service. Sancho apologizes at once and rejoins Don Quixote as his loyal squire.

Analysis

The arms-conductor's story about the aldermen parallels the antics of the barber and the priest. In order to attract their lost friend and bring him home, the friends imitate Quixote's inventive madness. Certainly, Don Quixote's critique of the war is evidence of his maturing sense of reason. At the same time, the hunt imagery foreshadows some of the calamities that Don Quixote suffers later in Book II. Just as Don Quixote is beginning to sober up from his delusions - a process that will only near completion at Quixote's deathbed, Don Quixote will soon begin to suffer the consequences of his delusions, even though Quixote no longer clings to the more violent habits that marked his behavior in Book I. This is the first time that Don Quixote arrives at an inn, forgets to call it a castle, sits down and behaves himself without breaking down the furniture, losing his teeth, stealing private property or cutting off somebody's ear. Though it may come too late and is mitigated by Quixote's rowdiness at Master Peter's show, this improvement is no less noteworthy.

Ultimately, Don Quixote is child-like in his mixed successes in distinguishing fact from fiction. Usually, Don Quixote's pride prevents him from accurately assessing the "prophecy" of fakes and panderers. Here, Don Quixote disbelieves the idea of the prophetic ape and determines that powers strange as these could only derive from the devil. On the other hand, Master Peter's puppet show becomes so lively that Don Quixote cannot understand that the puppets are not part of real life. Don Quixote argues that he is not to blame for his error - not because an enchanter suddenly changed the humans into "puppets" - but because Master Peter, the storyteller, should have made it clear that the story was only a story. Don Quixote exposes a hazard of reading in that he has set out to enact the tales of chivalry that he has read. It seems consistent, then, that Don Quixote might very well interpret the staging of a mere puppet drama as the unfolding of an epic human crisis.

Sancho Panza's provocative outburst, coming on the heels of Don Quixote's philosophical lecture, really marks a brief reversal of roles. Usually Don Quixote incites violence and Sancho hides from the repercussions, later tending to Don Quixote's wounds. In this rare occasion, Don Quixote's rare and pacific brilliance is matched by an even rarer foolhardy interjection on the part of Sancho Panza. This reversal is by no means permanent. Don Quixote is softening, but he is still generally martial in his practices and deluded in his thinking. Sancho Panza errs like any other human being, but as the novel transpires and concludes, Sancho will seem all the more wiser and intelligent. And this is a good thing, because well before the novel ends, Don Quixote will come to almost entirely rely upon Sancho Panza's guidance and protection.

Book II: Chapter XXIX - Chapter XXX Summaries

Chapter XXIX

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza travel towards the River Ebro, passing through a grove of poplar trees along the way. The beauty of the riverbanks reminds Quixote of the beauty that he'd seen in The Cave of Montesinos. At the riverbank, Don Quixote spies a small oar-less boat tied to a tree trunk. Don Quixote tells Sancho "that this vessel lies here for no other reason in the world but to invite me to embark in it." Don Quixote has read of such things in his books of chivalry, though Sancho is particularly upset by the idea. In fact, he begins to weep bitterly.

The small boat is swept in an eddy. Fortunately, there are millers nearby who fish Don Quixote and Sancho out of the water. Don Quixote rails against the millers, claiming that they hold a knight prisoner in their mill, but the millers disregard Quixote. Don Quixote does compensate the fisherman who owns the "enchanted" though now sunken boat. Sancho is upset about the considerable expense of paying the fisherman for his destroyed boat.

Chapter XXIX

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are suffering from melancholy at this point, heading away from the River Ebro. Sancho Panza is steadily becoming convinced that he is being led by an imbecilic master who is seeks bad fortune wherever he goes. After riding for hours, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza approach a green pasture in which a refined and noble lady is sitting with her attendants. Don Quixote sends Sancho Panza to introduce "the knight of the Lions" into the Lady's presence. As it turns out, the lady is a duchess and she is a great fan of Don Quixote, having read The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha.

The duchess summons the duke and they both greet Don Quixote with all of the honor befitting a knight-errant. Don Quixote offers his services and the duke and duchess are happy to have Don Quixote and Sancho in their company. As it turns out, the duke and duchess will pretend that Don Quixote's delusion is reality, reconstructing a world suitable for knights-errant.

Chapter XXIX

Don Quixote tries to impress Sancho with his superior knowledge of astronomy and geography but this excess verbiage and vocabulary makes no sense to Sancho and only frightens the squire even more. Sancho hears the word Œcomputation' and calls it Œamputation' which becomes a pun: Don Quixote is discussing the computation of 360 degrees and "the equinoctial line, which divides and cuts [amputates] the opposite poles at equal distances." Don Quixote can understand the concepts of geography but when applying these principles to his own "enchanted" context, the knight concludes that he has traveled 2000 miles though it has not been even five yards - and Rocinante and Dapple are still in sight!

Don Quixote's assertion that this vessel has been left specifically "to invite me to embark in it" is recidivistic: Don Quixote is falling back into his old patterns of thinking. Much earlier in the novel (Part I, Chapter XV), while Don Quixote is wounded in a ditch, he exclaims that "Fortune always leaves some door open in disasters, whereby to come at a remedy." Then, as now, the same irony lies in Don Quixote's words. Don Quixote takes the Œopen door' to Œdisaster,' and ŒFortune' supplies a Œremedy' that Quixote is too blind to recognize. Don Quixote believes the boat will "succor [support, comfort] some knight, or other person of high degree, who is in extreme distress." Instead, Don Quixote takes the boat and seeks out Œextreme distress' - only to curse and vilify the patient millers who save his life.

As for extreme distress, the duchess proves to be one of the most dominating characters in Book II. It is important for the reader to be immediately forewarned that the duchess' intentions are not pure. Our initial response is to be endeared to the duchess because she has read the novel recounting Don Quixote's earlier adventures. Like Sampson Carrasco, the duchess uses this information to deceive Don Quixote. Here again we find a re-creation of the real world: characters have read a book that was actually published.

Even though the duke and duchess function as outside characters (they are not included in The Ingenious Gentleman), they are capable of direct contact with characters from The Ingenious Gentleman. With productions as vast and intricate as these, it is difficult to define Don Quixote's perception as delusion because what he perceives is what is actually occurring. This is particularly ironic because this intentionally elaborate deception thoroughly convinces Don Quixote that he is "a true knight-errant." Up to that point, Don Quixote feared that he was merely an "imaginary" knight.

Book II: Chapter XXXI - Chapter XXXIII Summaries

Chapter XXXI

Sancho Panza is pleased with the sudden turn of events, as the castle of the duke and duchess proves more than hospitable. Don Quixote is sprinkled with sweet-scented waters and celebrated to such an extent that "this was the first day that he was thoroughly convinced of his being a true knight-errant, and not an imaginary one, finding himself treated just as he had read knights-errant were in former times."

Sancho approaches one of the duchess' attendants, Doña Rodriguez de Grijalva, and asks her to attend to Dapple and see that he is properly cared for in the stable. Doña Rodriguez is humiliated by the request and she and Sancho sling a number of foul insults at each other. Much like an embarrassed parent, Don Quixote chides Sancho Panza, asking the squire whether he might behave more appropriately and hold his request. But the duke and duchess are eager to please Don Quixote and Sancho Panza and they happily direct the attendants to take care of Dapple.

Chapter XXXII

At lunch ("dinner"), Don Quixote and Sancho Panza accompany the duke, duchess, and an ecclesiastic who is a guest of the castle. This guest is unaware of the duchess' tricks. Don Quixote gives an account of his life as a knight, but the priest sees knight-errantry as a pernicious hold-over from heathen days. When Sancho mentions that Don Quixote still owes him an island, the Duke announces that he happens to have an island "of no inconsiderable value" that Sancho can rule as governor. The priest believes the duke and he leaves the castle, enraged. Sancho continues telling stories of Quixote's exploits and these tales (namely of Don Quixote's failings) amuse the duchess to no end. After dinner, Don Quixote has his head washed by the servants - but they desert him with most of the soap residue deliberately left soaking on his head. The duke and duchess re-affirm their order and warn the servants not to ruin the rues with impertinence.

Don Quixote talks about the many invisible enchanters that persecute him. Uninterested in this, the duchess changes the topic to Dulcinea. Specifically, the duchess recalls reading that Don Quixote "never saw the lady Dulcinea, and there is no such lady in the world, she being only an imaginary lady, begotten and born of your own [Quixote's] brain." Don Quixote admits that only God knows whether or not Dulcinea is real. However, Don Quixote feels that he can vouch for Dulcinea's noble lineage, all the same.

Chapter XXXIII

After lunch, Sancho Panza spends the afternoon with the Duchess and Sancho Panza is eager to please her. The duchess makes sure that she is alone with Sancho Panza and then she says that she has "some doubts Šarising from the printed history of the great Don Quixote." The duchess hopes that Sancho Panza will clarify some of her questions and explain a few of the discrepancies in the recorded ale. Particularly, the duchess is concerned about the story of Dulcinea - which he believes to be a sham.

Of course, this places Sancho Panza in an awkward position as he has been dishonest. Sancho told Don Quixote that he delivered a letter to Dulcinea, though he did not. Sancho Panza prefaces his remarks by telling the duchess: "I am firmly persuaded he [Don Quixote] is mad." The duchess then asks Sancho how it is that he can dutifully serve a man he believes to be mad. Sancho admits that he loves Don Quixote and serves him out of loyalty. Moreover, Sancho has already given up on winning an island from Don Quixote - though he still expects that the duke will make good on his promise. On this subject, Sancho Panza assures the duchess that he will govern the island well, though he admits that he does not have very much of the relevant experience.

Sancho Panza mentions Montesinos' cave - a new story for the duchess, for this episode was not included in Book I. On the subject of Dulcinea, Sancho Panza explains that he disbelieves Don Quixote because he (Sancho) knows that the "enchanted" Dulcinea is really just a common girl that Sancho claimed to be Dulcinea. The duchess then argues, rather persuasively, that the enchantment is true and that it is Sancho who has been deceived. Sancho Panza eventually comes to believe the duchess when she says that she "knows from a good authority" that the country wench who jumped onto the donkey "was and is Dulcinea."

Analysis

Sancho Panza's interactions with the duchess and her attendants become a farcical comedy of manners. The dominating social theme of Chapters XXX through LVII (for it is only then that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are finally able to escape the duke and duchess, albeit temporarily) is that of class-consciousness. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are already self-conscious characters in Book II. Their egos are unduly complicated by the knowledge that an account of their recent activities has been widely published and read. The duchess complicates self-consciousness with class-consciousness. Her false entreaties for Don Quixote and Sancho Panza to relax are designed to encourage the opposite behavior: the knight and squire feel uncomfortable. Neither the knight nor squire knows precisely how to behave, though both believe that the duke and duchess are their superiors.

Perhaps socially, the duke and duchess are superior, but they are morally reprehensible. In biding their servants to cater to Don Quixote (a gentleman) and Sancho Panza (a peasant), the duke and duchess stir animosity between the members of the lower social set. Literary critics easily point to the cruelty of the duchess and duke's psychological game, a cruelty chiefly inflicted upon Don Quixote. But the reader should also note the wasted labor and stresses endured by the castles' servants. When Quixote's friends deceived him (as with the ox-cart) the players were willing participants, and they were roughly equal in social standing. In this scenario, the duke and duchess are abusing their hired help and enjoying this game nearly as much as they enjoy Don Quixote, who remains, after all, the principle amusement.

Chapter XXXI creates the dramatic irony that lasts through the next twenty-six chapters. Dramatic irony is a suspense device, indicating a scene in which the audience (the readers, in this case) is made aware of some crucial detail that a principal or main character on stage (Don Quixote) fails to grasp. For readers who sympathize with the knight, it will become painful to see Quixote's painfully extended humiliation.

Earlier, Don Quixote explained that Dulcinea's virtue and nobility derive from her beauty - a beauty with which Quixote himself has invested her. Under the pressure of the duchess' interrogation, Quixote doesn't change his argument. His notion "that virtue ennobles blood" truly exposes the fact that "blood" neither ennobles a person nor gives them virtue. Don Quixote argues that "Dulcinea has endowments, which may raise her to be a queenŠshe has in herself greater advantages in store." This is Don Quixote's most lucid articulation of the argument that a person should be judged by their deeds and intentions, and not by their bloodlines.

Don Quixote and the duchess are two very active readers who like to take literature into their own hands. The duchess has read a book concerning a knight (The Ingenious Gentleman) and begun enacting "enchantments." Her outcomes are utterly different from Don Quixote's scenarios. Battling a world full of invisible enchanters, it never occurs to Don Quixote to represent himself falsely, hide his true intentions, or compose a strategy or scheme. Quixote is plainly honest, and his idea of honesty is commingled with virtue and honor (as we see at the end of the novel). Don Quixote is virtuous but ignorant; Dulcinea is virtuous but imaginary. Later on, when Sancho Panza serves as governor, his combination of virtue and demonstrable compassion will serve as the ultimate critique of the duke and duchess' leadership style.

We have already learned much about Sancho Panza's character from his conversation with the duchess in Chapter XXXIII. Sancho Panza is not taken in by Don Quixote's delusions. Instead, Sancho follows and serves the knight because he cares for him. Sancho is justifiably worried about Don Quixote's welfare. When Sancho Panza tells the duchess that he does not blindly seek the title of "governor," he reminds her that "All is not gold that glitters." We can expect that when the time comes, Sancho Panza will voluntarily distance himself from the duke, the duchess and all their glittering offers. Sancho Panza initially believes the duchess' lie about Dulcinea, but this is a risky gamble on the duchess' part. When Sancho Panza regains his common sense, he will conclude that the duchess is dishonest and manipulative purely of her own volition.

Book II: Chapter XXXIV - Chapter XXXIX Summaries

Chapter XXXIV

The duke and duchess enjoy the stories that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza share with them. The two nobles decide to go on a boar hunt and the knight and squire come along. Sancho is terribly frightened by the boards and he climbs into a tree. The duke makes the argument that Sancho will be a better governor if he learns how to hunt and use weapons. As the duke explains: "Hunting is an image of war."

The boar-hunt is interrupted by the loud sounds of drum-beats, trumpets and Arabic battle cries. The duke pretends to be astonished and the duchess pretends to b frightened. A "post-boy" dressed up like the devil rides up to the group, announces that he is the devil and claims to be looking for Don Quixote. Montesinos has sent the devil to Don Quixote, so that the devil can tell Don Quixote how Dulcinea might be disenchanted.

Chapter XXXV

A number of wagons continue behind the devil, amidst the din of Moorish war cries (called Lelilies). The performance is as follows: each wagon passes before Don Quixote, then pauses. A "sage" exists, introduces himself by name, gets back into the cart, then leaves. The sages are "Lirgandeo," "Alquife, the great friend to Urganda the Unknown;" and "Arcalaus the Enchanter, mortal enemy of Amadis de Gaul and all his kindred."

A large carriage follows the enchanters. A woman is wearing many veils and next to her is an old man wearing a death mask. This man is Merlin and he gives a speech addressed to Don Quixote. The speech consists of 38 lines of verse in which Merlin announces that the woman inside the carriage is the enchanted Dulcinea in her "metamorphos'd form." In order for Dulcinea to be enchanted, Sancho has to be whipped upon his bare buttocks 3300 times. Hearing this, Sancho says that Dulcinea will die in her ugly and enchanted form, because he will not be whipped. Don Quixote then says that he will tie Sancho Panza to a tree and whip Sancho himself. At this, Merlin interjects that the 3300 lashes must be voluntarily self-inflicted. Sancho Panza reiterates his refusal, at which point, Dulcinea herself pleads for Sancho's mercy. Sancho Panza ultimately capitulates but he says that he will dot he whipping a little bit at a time and only when he feels like it. Both the duke and duchess commend Sancho Panza for his brave self-sacrifice.

Chapter XXXVI

Later in the day, the duchess speaks with Sancho to see whether he has begun his lashes. Instead, Sancho has spent the time writing a letter to his wife, Teresa. (Sancho is illiterate and so, the letter has been transcribed by someone else). In the letter, Sancho explains the nature of the injuries he is to suffer and Sancho also announces to his wife that he is being made Governor of an isle. The letter is dated the 20th of July, 1614, which is the first instance in which Cervantes tells us "when" the story takes place.

Sancho's letter is surprisingly lyrical and Don Quixote is particularly enthralled by the letter's "confused, martial, and doleful harmony." While Sancho is not particularly excited about governing, he is heartened by the knowledge that government service will make him "rich and happy."

The castle receives a visitor named Trifaldin of the White Beard, the squire to the Countess Trifaldi (who is known in more recent times as The Afflicted Matron). The Countess Trifaldi has heard that "the valorous and invincible Don Quixote de la Mancha" is at the duke's castle. Accordingly, the Countess has sent Trifaldin because she is in desperate need of the knight-errant's assistance.

Chapter XXXVII

Sancho Panza is concerned at the sudden change of events. Particularly, he has had poor luck and tense relations with matrons and duennas. Sancho Panza fears that somehow, Don Quixote's involvement with the Countess Trifaldi will cause Sancho to lose his governor's seat. Don Quixote disregards Sancho's comments on Trifaldi and encourages the squire not to meddle in knight's affairs.

Trifaldi is a name that means "3 skirts" (faldas) referring to the Countess' habit of dress. The Afflicted Matron arrives at the duke's castle escorted by twelve of her own duennas. She immediately finds Don Quixote and pays him homage by falling to her knees. Only when Don Quixote pledges to assist her does she get up from the floor. The Countess Trifaldi makes sure to procure Don Quixote's promise of assistance before she actually tells him the nature of her misfortune.

Chapter XXXVIII

The Countess' story rambles: She served as a duenna for a princess. The princess loved a knight and the Countess facilitated their relationship - a relationship that culminated in pregnancy and a hasty wedding to the knight, Don Clavijo.

Chapter XXXIX

The princess' mother was mortified by the course of events and she went to court to oppose the marriage. When this failed, she went home, mourned, and died of grief within three days. The mother's cousin is the evil enchanter-giant named Malambruno. Malumbruno avenged his cousin's death by turning the princess and knight into statuesque ornaments to decorate the mother's sepulcher. The princess is now a brass monkey and the knight is now a crocodile made of "an unknown metal." The giant has left a metal plate at the grave site indicating that the monkey and crocodile will remain as they are until the brave hero of La Mancha battles the giant. The countess and her duennas have also been cursed with hideous and permanent beards, to punish them for assisting the princess.

Analysis

The hunt motif illustrates the relationship that the duke and duchess share with the people around them. The boar-hunt is a leisure activity that truly parallels the game that the duke and duchess play with Don Quixote. Traps are deliberately set; the animal is tortured and wounded - but not killed. Indeed, Don Quixote has been locked in a cage before. Here, the cage is the castle of the duke.

Of course, Don Quixote is so easy to hunt and cage because he has been caged and imprisoned by his own delusions. Don Quixote's delusions compose a system of images and symbols that have true meaning for him (for example: INN = CASTLE; Stranger-on-the-road = Next adventure; Distressed lover = comrade; WINDMILL = GIANT; SHEEP = WARRIORS). The logical system of Don Quixote's delusions is made so evident here in Book II by the fact that the duke and duchess know precisely how to deceive Quixote. The carts that roll by are full of demons, much as Don Quixote has come to expect. And the duke and duchess, though they have just learned of Montesinos, do not hesitate to incorporate Montesinos and his "prophecies" into their story.

An irony in this section, then, is the fact that Quixote is both deluded and deceived. We would expect that if delusion is a form of self-deception, one cannot be deluded and deceived at the same time and by the same details. As it turns out, Don Quixote remains within his own "enchantment" and from within this enchantment, he works to "disenchant" Dulcinea: a woman who neither suffers enchantment nor even exists.

These devils and sages are merely costumed actors, like the other cart-wagon of devils that Quixote encountered earlier. The performance is full of signifiers that are intended to explain the identity of the actors. The devil is dressed as himself ( as we know what he looks like) and when the page-boy's Catholicism accidentally peeks through (in phrases like "Before God, and upon my conscience), Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are no less convinced that this devil isn't a devil at all. Likewise, the sages need merely announce their terrible names and say no more, allowing the drama of the scene to convince the audience of their (the actors') authenticity. Of course, Don Quixote isn't the toughest audience: recall his episode at Master Peter's puppet show in Book II, Chapter XXVI.

Don Quixote's purported "valor" is constructed as a parallel to the service that a saint or holy healer might perform. Trifaldi has already commenced a pilgrimage "on foot" to see Don Quixote from whom she seeks a miracle.

Foreshadowing Sancho Panza's incipient rule as governor, the story of the Countess Trifaldi continues the themes of nobility, natural rule and social hierarchy. Apparently, Trifaldi is both a countess and a duenna, which is essentially a maid-servant. Don Quixote argues that a Countess is a Countess, even if she serves as a duenna, for then she serves as a duenna to a social superior like a queen or empress. Moreover, the Countess surely has duennas in her own house.

There is a note of tragedy in the words of Doña Rodriguez, the duchess' servant. Commenting on the rigid social order and the lack of social mobility, Doña Rodriguez quietly says: "My lady duchess has duennas in her service, who might have been countesses, if fortune had pleased." The tragedy here is that the duchess, a wicked ruler, has been blessed by fortune. Besides this, Doña Rodriguez has no prospects of her own. Fortune and the entitlements of birth are certainly part of a society's idea of justice. The discussion of duennas is part of the prelude to Sancho's governorship - which will not be endangered by the Afflicted Matron.

The themes of translation and textual accuracy return when we learn that Malumbruno has placed a metal plate at the grave site. The plate was engraved in Syrian, translated first into the Candayan language, and then into Castilian.

As a parallel to his advocacy for Quiteria and Basilius, Don Quixote here again defends the rights of lovers. Don Quixote's adventures now center on the idea of undoing the unnatural reversals committed by evil, fate, and enchanters. The Countess, though debased as a duenna, may be elevated to higher honor. The brass monkey and crocodile can be "disenchanted" into their natural forms (princess, knight). At the same time, Don Quixote is unperturbed by his sudden transformation into a recognizable knight of renown or Sancho's transformation into a governor.

Book II: Chapter XL - Chapter XLIV Summaries

Chapter XL

Sancho has great sympathy for the bearded duennas, who have been cursed by Malambruno. Malambruno's prophecy indicates that a wooden horse, motored by a pin in its forehead, will arrive on scene when the "true knight" of deliverance has been found. As the knight is blindfolded and then transported by this magical flying horse, the beards will trimmed.

Chapter XLI

The horse, Clavileño the Winged, is built for two people to ride and when the horse does indeed arrive, escorted by four "savages," there is great celebration. Sancho refuses to ride, as he is neither courageous nor a knight. Don Quixote is embarrassed by Don Quixote's resistance, and the Duke reiterates his promises of island governance, coaxing the squire to join his master on the horse. Sancho pities the bearded women too much to refuse them, and so he submits to being blindfolded and rides behind Don Quixote. Quixote turns the forehead-pin and after a few rickety minutes (and the copious laughter of onlookers), the horse's tail is lit, and firecrackers explode from Clavileño's belly. Knight and squire are tossed into the garden.

Chapter XLII

Sancho claims that the enchantment transported him to a pasture where he played with seven little she-goats for about forty-five minutes. Quixote says that they passed the region of air and brushed up against the region of fire, but as they were not burnt, they must have gone through the fiery region towards heaven - where Sancho's she-goats are. Quixote privately says to Sancho: "since you would have us believe all you have seen in heaven, I expect you should believe what I saw in Montesinos' cave."

The duke and duchess decide that it is time to send Sancho to his island, and before Sancho leaves, Quixote gives him advice. Quixote mainly speaks of luck and birth, and stresses that Sancho should remain true to his peasant roots. He then recites a long list of proverbs but when Sancho says that he cannot remember all of them, Quixote mourns the fact that the squire cannot read or write.

Chapter XLIII - XLIV

Preparing to leave, Sancho sees the Duke's steward and perceives that this man has played the role of Countess Trifaldi. Quixote sees a resemblance and does not grasp the implications. Sancho is highly suspicious as he heads for his "island."

Analysis

Narrative accuracy is a thematic concern that returns in Chapter 40. Cervantes tells us to be "thankful to [the] original author, Cid Hamet, for his curious exactness in recording the minutest circumstancesŠ without omitting anything." Similarly, in Chapter 41, Quixote is given an "inscription on parchment" as soon as he dismounts the horse, Clavileño. This is a sensitive moment: Quixote may quickly unravel his deception as he has been wounded and half-singed. Instead, he receives a parchment whose first words are so reassuring, an affirmation of the delusion: "The renowned knight Don Quixote de la Mancha has finished and achieved the adventured of the Countess TrifaldiŠ" This serves to substantiate the claim that the duennas were, in fact, cursed with beards. This also foreshadows the explicit conflict between narratives that begins in Chapter LIX, when Cervantes begins to engage Avellaneda directly.

The motif of the wooden horse is borrowed from Homer's Iliad. Odysseus (Ulysses) and the Greeks were able to win the Trojan War once and for all by hiding themselves inside of a giant wooden horse. The Trojans perceived it to be a gift, though when they rolled the horse into the city, they learned a fatal lesson about accepting gifts from strangers (let alone enemies). Here, the horse is dangerous though not fatal. What is important is that the horse is manufactured for the purposes of deception. The manufactured horse is described as a machine ("mount the machine"). it is a mechanical expression of the same false aesthetic that we find in Sancho's new island "island ready made, round and sound, and well proportioned" - though fake.

Sancho's "enchantment" in the garden is never resolved. We know that Don Quixote suffers from illusions and that the mechanical horse was deliberately constructed. We also know that Sancho has previously lied, claiming that Dulcinea, suffering an enchantment, was transformed into an ugly country girl. It is unclear whether his account of the seven she-goats at the close of Chapter 41 is smoke-induced delirium, a purer and more sincere form of dementia akin to Quixote's own suffering, or a simple lie.

Book II: Chapter XLV - Chapter L Summaries

Chapter XLV

Sancho and his attendants arrive at one of the Duke's towns, Barataria, and many of the town's one thousand residents are aware of the Duke's game. A series of villagers beseech the new Lord Governor to listen to their arguments and complaints. Sancho proves to be very wise and clever in the role of judge and this astonishes the people. A "historiographer" keeps notes of Sancho's performance to submit to the Duke.

Chapter XLVI

Meanwhile, Don Quixote is getting entangled in complications at the Duke's castle. The damsel, Altisidora, sings praises of the knight-errant and it appears that she is enamored with him. The damsel pretends to faint when she sees Quixote: Duchess has orchestrated this episode as a means of testing and probing the relationship between Quixote and his Dulcinea. The Duchess also arranges for the delivery of the letter and package that Sancho has left for his wife, Teresa. Late in the night, Quixote sings a ballad as a means of comforting Altisidora. A bucket of cats is conveyed by means of a rope and delivered to Quixote's window. The cats screech in and cause panic. Quixote perceives them to be devils and begins swinging his sword. The cats, fighting for their lives, terribly wound Quixote. "His face [is] like a sieve" and he is bed-ridden for five days.

Chapter XLVII

Sancho receives a letter from the Duke indicating that the island will be attacked by enemies. The Duke suggests that spies plan to assassinate Sancho because they fear his abilities. Sancho is also warned not to eat anything presented to him (as he may be poisoned). A man arrives from the country and tries to swindle Sancho into granting him six hundred ducats, but this is a failed bid.

Chapter XLVIII

Meanwhile, Quixote remains bed-ridden and on one of these nights he perceives someone entering his room. Fearing that it is Altisidora, Quixote loudly reaffirms his love for Dulcinea and begs to be left alone. A woman in a white floor-length veil enters the room, bearing a candle, advancing towards Quixote, spooking him with her witch-like demeanor. Doña Rodriguez reveals herself and begs Quixote for his assistance. Quixote suggests that he is not interested in assistance if it is even slightly amatory. The duenna has dropped her candle and she beseeches Quixote to wait for her to return with light because she can explain herself. Left alone, Quixote is the prey of "a thousand thoughts crowd[ing] into his mind" - chief among them, the suspicion that the duenna is the devil's own temptation. After making sufficient promises and oaths, the duenna gains Quixote's trust. The old knight returns to bed, the duenna pulls a chair up to Quixote's bedside, and she begins her story. A young girl from a high-born family struck with recent poverty, Rodriguez was sent to the court of Madrid. She returned home to find herself an orphan and soon after, an orphan working for low wages. She worked for a family, and in this service, the duenna met the gentleman who became her husband. The joy of giving birth to a daughter is cut short when her husband dies soon after. The duenna worked sewing garments to raise money to support her daughter. The daughter was beautiful and she unfortunately attracted the attention of the son of a very rich farmer The young man promised to marry Doña Rodriguez's daughter, but having fooled her, he now refuses. The duenna has pleaded that the Duke force the young man's hand but the Duke and the rich farmer are friendly partners in business. The duenna hopes that Quixote will help her. Just as the duenna is about to comment on the duchess' untrustworthiness, she is interrupted by "phantoms." "Silent executioners" - likely castle staff - rush into the room and begin beating the duenna. In the darkness, Quixote cannot see who these figures are, though they give him a few pinches as well.

Chapter XLIX

Sancho is displeased by the late hours and meager meals of his Governor post. Moreover, there are plots on his life. He disregards the advice of the physician and demands a hearty meal. Sancho goes on rounds, investigating the town for himself. He finds gamblers sword-fighting in the street, a smart-aleck kid, a teenaged girl who is dressed like a man and armed with a dagger. She has been imprisoned by her father for the last ten years and has escaped so that she might see the world. She has escaped with her brother's assistance but when he saw the round coming, he urged her to run home. Falling, she was apprehended by the authorities. Sancho and his men escort the young people home.

Chapter L

Returning to the castle scene, Cid Hamet postulates that one of the other duennas heard Doña Rodriguez walking towards Quixote's room, and so she followed her. A gossip, the duenna then told the duchess who told the duke. The duchess and Altisidora went to investigate and, upon hearing Doña Rodriguez's words, they flogged her. The castle page delivers Teresa Panza's letter and reads it aloud. Teresa is happy to hear that her husband has become a Governor. The Priest and Sampson Carrasco arrive and they hear the news as well. Both men can detect that the page is mocking in his tone; still, the gifts of the string of coral and Sancho's hunting suit are hard to dismiss. Sancho's daughter, Sanchica, is proudest of her father. Sampson intervenes and suggests that the page is lying. The page asserts that he is a true messenger and the duke and duchess have given Sancho a government. The priest and page leave together, as the priest wants more information. Sampson offers to write letters for Teresa but she does not trust him. Instead, she finds a young friar who will record her letters, replying to the duchess and to Sancho.

Analysis

As a judge, Sancho is able to draw upon reserves that he has not hitherto drawn upon. Perhaps, his character has been augmented unnaturally - or perhaps, Sancho has always harbored these skills and this intellect but he has never been given an opportunity to demonstrate them. Sancho cannot read or write but he is able to make reference to Solomon and Hercules; his concept of justice is in line with traditional depictions of dispute resolution. Most important, Sancho reveals a strength that is sorely lacking in Don Quixote: discernment. Sancho's role as judge is not to figure out who is right and who is wrong, what is right and what is wrong. Notice that each dispute involves a liar - separate from the nature of the harm (whether money has been borrowed, whether chastity has been taken) there is the looming specter of deceit and falsehood. The old man's word games are exposed when his staff is broken - revealing money inside. This is the sort of exposure that Sancho might have enacted in the scene with Clavileño, the wooden horse. Without a formal education in logic, Sancho is able to use spiritual insight from God and the common sense of his upbringing to sound out justice. Finally, in terms of the "narrative" of justice and the courtroom, we find testimony, verdict, and precedent. Just as Sancho is called "a second Solomon," the verdict reflects earlier precedents (previous stories). Sancho admits that it was easier in part to disentangle the dispute over the ten crowns because Sancho "had heard the priest of the parish tell a like case.

Sancho is an incredible parallel to the Duke and Duchess, but primarily the Duchess. To be more precise, the Duchess, a relatively minor character, is a foil of Sancho. To be sure, the Duchess does have independent functions within the plot. However, the Duchess' actions serve to contrast Sancho's governance. Ultimately, the Duchess is a vibrant character - but what we come away with is how the chafing perversity of her castle is far more ignoble and far baser, than the grade of justice meted out by the low-born governor. Indeed, Sancho solves the problems that come before him (whether they are genuine or dramatized). Simultaneously (though in Chapter XLVI), the Duchess is creating a situation between Altisidora and Quixote. This instigation is the opposite of dispute resolution. The Duchess is not unlike the "devil" decried by the young man who ended up "yoked" to the "hussy." The incident with the cats is interesting because the Duke and Duchess are genuinely concerned; they did not intend for Quixote to be wounded - or at least, not as badly as he was. In the end, the duke and duchess' conditional sympathy does not merit or provoke ours.

In Chapter XLIX, Sancho explains his surprisingly comprehensive political agenda; the philosophy expressed indicates that Cervantes uses Sancho as a mouthpiece here: "My design is to protect the peasants, preserve to the gentry their privileges, reward ingenious artists, and above all, to have regard to religion, and to the honour of the religious." Sancho gets the opportunity to enact this agenda and later on, it is made clear, that genuine laws are created from the Duke's comic hoax. The townspeople keep these laws well after Sancho has moved on.

The narrative form alternates scenes, but the narrative content is repetitious. The motif of the young man who beguiles a young virgin with promises of marriage is from Book I (Dorotea and Don Fernando). It appears in Sancho's court and also in Doña Rodriguez's story.

As the story veers back and forth from Sancho to Quixote, Cervantes applauds his own innovative narrative technique, chalking it up to Cid Hamet. Cid Hamet was a deceitful infidel in Book I; in Book II, Cid Hamet's narrative skills are praised, and with Avellaneda making war in the margins, there isn't room for Cervantes to create an unstable narrator. Cid Hamet is praised for the "punctuality and truth with which he relates everything belonging to the history, be it never so minute." This accounts for the narrative detail. The alternation from Sancho to Quixote, chapter-to-chapter, is done because "Sancho Panza calls upon us" or Quixote "calls in haste for us." The chapters end in the middle of their final scenes - the drama has not been concluded, and so there is suspense. Of what remains, we are told that it "shall be told in its proper placeŠ and the method of the history requires it." The justification is aesthetic and perhaps moral as well. In aesthetic terms, it is argued that the story will be better if it is told this way (i.e. told with suspense). The focus on historical methodology (historiography) suggests that the truth will be illuminated if the story is told this way. If details are rearranged, the telling of the story is different but so is the content. The telling (form) and the message (content) both require this narrative style. The narrative point-of-view has focused on Quixote or Sancho. In Chapter L, Cervantes accounts what Cid Hamet was recorded - thus removing the reader from these scenes. Cervantes does not want to press the question of how the narrator knows and witnesses what he records. Hence, the details of the page's trip to the Panza household, or the gossip and secret discussions of the duke, duchess and Altisidora are presented as part of Cid Hamet's story.

Book II: Chapter LI - Chapter LVIII Summaries

Chapter LI

Sancho continues to hear the cases of the people and make judicious decisions. His steward continues to starve Sancho and deny him food, in accordance with the Duke's instructions. Don Quixote sends a letter commending Sancho and also worrying that he (Quixote) may fall out of the Duke's favor because of what is required of him as a knight. Quixote does not explain any further. Sancho sends a reply and then proceeds to establish laws for the people. These take the form of The Constitutions of the Great Governor Sancho Panza and they are still "observed in that town to this day."

Chapter LII

Quixote has recovered from his wounds and he begins to think that knight-errantry requires of him a life other than that which he is currently living in the Duke's castle. Doña Rodriguez's worries are also heavy on Don Quixote's heart. Quixote says he will find the farmer's son and challenge him to a duel if the young man refuses to be wed. The Duke says that he will find the young man himself and arrange the tournament with the usual ceremonies. The duchess receives the letter from Teresa Panza and she also keeps Teresa's letter to Sancho. Teresa expresses some doubts in her letter, admitting that most of the town disbelieves that Sancho is a governor and that her own doubt is only somewhat abated by the string of coral and the hunting-suit. Don Quixote opens Teresa's letter and reads it, and after this, Sancho's letter to Quixote is read aloud. The letters garner both laughter and respect.

Chapter LIII

Sancho does not keep his government for much longer and Cid Hamet comments on "the swiftness with which Sancho's government ended, perished, dissolved, and vanished into smoke and a shadow." The enemies have arrived to attack the island and Sancho is told to arm himself. The stewards tie Sancho in cumbersome armor and he stumbles and falls. The actors create an assault and Sancho is downed several times. Then someone cries "Victory" and announces that Sancho has been victorious and the enemies have been routed. Sancho is bruised and some of the men feel compassion and guilt. Sancho is taken to bed and he has a little wine. He then rouses himself, gets dressed and prepares to leave, saying "I was not born to be a governor." When the steward and doctor try to convince Sancho to stay, he replies "These are not tricks to be played twice." Sancho takes Dapple and heads for the Duke's castle.

Chapter LIV

The young man who is to do battle with Quixote has fled to Flanders. In his place, a lackey named Tosilos, will fight instead. On the road to the Duke's castle, Sancho passes some pilgrims who beg for alms and so Panza gives them the bread and cheese he has with him. One of the pilgrims recognizes Sancho and Sancho discovers that the man is an old neighbor, Ricote the Morisco shopkeeper. Ricote has been expelled from Spain along with all of the other Moors, and Sancho is alarmed to see him. Ricote is in disguise and he tells Sancho that he (Ricote) will be safe so long as Sancho does not blow his cover. Sancho enjoys a fabulous picnic with the pilgrims, who have wine, caviar, olives, and other foods. Ricote talks about his banishment with Sancho (after the pilgrims have fallen asleep). Ricote says that he understands why the crown has made the edict. Still, it was "the most terrible [sentence] that can be inflicted." He speaks of Spain and says "here were we born, and this is our naïve countryŠ Sweet is the love of one's country." Ricote says that he has buried treasure in a town nearby his old home; he would like Sancho to help him recover it. Sancho declines and says he has learned a valuable lesson already, having just exited the government of a nearby island. Ricote exclaims that islands are out to sea, and so Sancho good not have ruled an island nearby. The two men part ways and wish each other luck.

Chapter LV

Traveling on in the night, Sancho falls into a pit but he is not harmed, though Dapple seems to be. The walls of the pit are smooth and Sancho cannot think how to climb out of the pit. He discovers a hole in one side that he widens so that he and Dapple might pass through. There is a glimmering light in the distance, perhaps the entrance to the other world.

Chapter LVI

Don Quixote is out in the morning practicing his riding and jousting when he nearly falls into the same pit. Sancho and Quixote are astonished by the nature of their reunion. Don Quixote intends to rescue Sancho but he wants to be sure that this is not an enchantment or that Sancho is already dead. Quixote finally believes the voice of Sancho and he goes to the castle to seek help. Sancho is rescued and when he arrives at the castle, he formally renounces his title to the island.

The duke instructs Tosilos that he is not to kill or wound Quixote, though he is to overcome him. The duke tells Quixote that the iron heads should be removed from the lances since Christianity would not permit or justify this bloodshed. Tosilos sees the young daughter of the duenna and he is in love with her, immediately. He cedes the battle to Quixote, but the duenna is enraged when she sees that Tosilos is not the farmer's son. Quixote insists that this is the work of the enchanters. The duke is upset with Tosilos, and Tosilos is confined for a period of days, so that it might be known whether or not he has been transformed by enchanters. Tosilos still hopes to marry Doña Rodriguez's daughter.

Chapter LVII - LVIII

Despite the protests of Altisidora, Don Quixote is persistent in his attempt to leave the castle. Quixote and Sancho Panza set out with two hundred gold crowns to cover expenses. The knight and squire spend a little time with a group of shepherds and shepherdesses, some of whom have read of Quixote.

Analysis

Finally, we see the knight and squire extricate themselves from the clutches of the duke and the duchess. Sancho seems to have wised up to their game, though Quixote never seems to have caught on to the fact that the duke and duchess were tricksters. Sancho is able to leave a worthy record of his service, as is seen in his Constitution.

Doña Rodriguez's story simply adds to a motif that has already been developed to the point of excess. We see that duplicity and false promises are simply part of life. It seems almost excessive for Doña Rodriguez to seek the assistance of Don Quixote at this point. The replacement of the farmer's son with Tosilos is one form of deceptive role-playing that also recalls the nuances of the game of the priest, barber and Dorotea (Princess Micomicona). Tosilos is doubly subversive however. He stands in the role of the false lover, deceiving Doña Rodriguez and her company. But then Tosilos falls in love and forgets himself, promising to marry Doña Rodriguez's daughter even though he is not the farmer's son. Here, love is not glorified; it is a snag.

Ricote's return from exile introduces a historical context within the novel's story. We also see that Cervantes' politics are far more tempered than what we found in Book I. Both Ricote and Cid Hamet are treated with respect in Book II. Furthermore, Cervantes has Ricote say that the exile was justified as a means of protection; however, Ricote also describes that the pain suffered by the honest Moriscos is unbearable. This is a critique of the blanket law - if there is one thing that Don Quixote has revealed about human nature it is the pure diversity of thought, intentions, and opinions on the part of each individual. Each man deserves to be considered on his own merits as opposed to a group identity. Finally, we should recall that Ricote is far more neighborly towards Sancho than was Sancho's neighbor, Tom Cecial, in Book II Chapter XVI. Ricote is honest and generous, disguised as a pilgrim in order to save his own life. Cecial is misleading and violent, disguised as a disfigured hoodlum in order to frighten Sancho.

Book II: Chapter LIX Summaries

Chapter LIX

Continuing on the road, Quixote refuses to eat though Sancho encourages him to do otherwise. Quixote has been humiliated and he is resolved "to suffer myself to die with hunger, the cruelest of all deaths." Sancho insists that the knight's argument is nonsense. Changing the subject, Quixote reminds Sancho of Dulcinea's condition and he asks the squire to give himself a few hundred lashes. Sancho puts Quixote off and the two arrive at an inn (which Quixote does not mistake as a castle). Sancho is hungry but he ends up eating a bowl of calves' hooves. Don Quixote is invited to dine with two gentlemen, Señor Don Jerónimo and Señor Don Juan. Both men have read the first part of the History of Don Quixote de la Mancha. They are now discussing the Second Part of Don Quixote de la Mancha. Don Jerónimo expresses his disapproval with the Second Part, which is full of lies.

The gentlemen are excited to meet Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in the flesh because the knight and squire can answer the gentlemen's questions. Quixote is enraged because the Second Part argues that the knight is no longer in love with Dulcinea. Quixote looks at the first few pages and says that the new book is wrong and false. It is written in a poor dialect, the Preface is base, and the book alleges that Sancho is married to a woman called Mari Gutierrez. Because the Second Part says that Quixote will go to Saragossa, which is where he was headed, Quixote decides to go to Barcelona instead. Quixote wants to "expose to the world, the falsity of this modern historiographer." Don Juan and Don Jerónimo are impressed by Quixote's unique combination of wit and madness.

Analysis

It is ironic that Quixote insists that his "motto is constancy," as Quixote has been consistently mad. But consistency and constancy are not the same. Quixote argues that he has always been the same person, albeit an erratic and unstable one. Quixote rarely changes his mind and he takes pleasure in the swearing and fulfilling his vows. In Book II, Quixote has enjoyed fame and the literate population seems to be familiar with his name. Now, Avellaneda's Second Part has reached from the real world and into Quixote's own universe.

We find humor and irony when we consider the grounds upon which Quixote attacks the false Second Part. First, Quixote says he is displeased by "some words I have read in the preface." Avellaneda's preface was an ad hominen attack on Miguel de Cervantes - the preface had very little to do with the actual story. In his preface, Avellaneda was unnecessarily savage, mocking Cervantes as a jealous and impoverished old man who had been imprisoned, excommunicated, and humiliated. Second, Quixote's reference to Avellaneda's "Aragonian" language is amusing when we consider that the "true" history was written by Cid Hamet, an Arab. Indeed, much of the "historiography" involving Cid Hamet's supposed book has focused on translation. Third, Quixote exposes the ignorance of the author of the Second Part, as evidenced by the fact that Sancho's wife is called Mari Gutierrez. The reader should recall the error of Book I, in which Teresa Panza is alternately referred to as Juana. Finally, Don Quixote refuses to read any more of the Second Part, beyond its Preface. This is because Quixote "was unwilling its author should have the pleasure of thinking [Quixote] had read itŠ the thoughts, and much more the eyes, ought to be turned from everything filthy and obscure." The following chapters indicate that Cervantes did indeed read Avellaneda's book. In contrast to Quixote's response, Book II engages with the Second Part using parody and satire to erase the Second Part's details.

Book II: Chapter LX - Chapter LXII Summaries

Chapter LX

Don Quixote and Sancho head for Barcelona. Quixote remains anxious about Dulcinea's enchantment and because Sancho has not begun to whip himself, Quixote decides that he will do the whipping - even though the prophecy required that Sancho whip himself. When Sancho is asleep, Quixote tries to undo Sancho's pants, intending to whip him with Rosinante's reins. Sancho defends himself and pins Quixote to the ground. He releases Quixote only when the knight agrees to behave peaceably. Soon after, Sancho is frightened by legs and feet that are dangling from the trees. In the morning, it is clear that a band of robbers had been apprehended and hanged. Quixote and Sancho are corralled by a band of thieves soon after. These thieves are under the direction of Roque Guinart, who turns out to be a dignified man with a well-intentioned, albeit warped, ethical sense. Quixote and Sancho travel with Guinart and his men.

A young woman named Claudia approaches Guinart, on horseback. She is dressed in men's clothes having escaped town. She heard that her fiancé, Don Vicente, was planning to marry another woman and so she has shot him with the full rounds of two pistols, perhaps fatally. She worries that his family will take revenge against her father. Heading to town, Claudia discovers that that Don Vicente has been true and that she has killed him because of a false and vicious rumor. Don Vicente marries Claudia in his dying minutes, and Claudia joins a convent. Continuing on, Guinart escorts Quixote and Panza to the outer boundaries of the city of Barcelona. Roque Guinart has sent word of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza's arrival; the knight and squire are greeted in a friendly manner, though two boys play a prank causing Quixote and Panza to be thrown to the ground.

Chapter LXI

Quixote lodges with a wealthy gentleman named Don Antonio Moreno, who intends to play jokes on Quixote with care not to harm the knight. Don Antonio and his friends enjoy Sancho's witty remarks, as well. Later that night, Don Antonio speaks to Quixote privately, swearing him to secrecy. Don Antonio tells Quixote that he has a bronze head that was created by a Polish man who was "one of the greatest enchanters and wizards the world ever had," having been taught by the famous Escotillo. The head is mute on Fridays, but on all other days, it answers every question asked to its ear. Quixote is dressed and taken for a walk around town, but Don Antonio's men have pinned a parchment to Quixote's back reading: "This is Don Quixote de la Mancha." Quixote marvels at how everyone who walks past him says out loud "This is Don Quixote de la Mancha." Returning to Don Antonio's home, Don Quixote is the main amusement at a ball that is thrown by Don Antonio's wife. Don Quixote dances for a time, but then he sits down on the floor in the center of the dance hall. Sancho puts Quixote to bed.

Chapter LXII

The next morning, Don Antonio decides to experiment with the talking enchanted head. Don Antonio has told two of his friends about the ruse and they join him, along with Don Antonio's wife, two of her friends, Quixote and Sancho Panza. The group is marveled by the head's ability to answer various questions. The talking head is a machine of course, hollowed with an inner pipe, through which a man in another room answers the questions he has heard. Don Antonio keeps the head for a little more than a week, destroying it before he comes under the suspicions of the Inquisition.

Walking around the town, Quixote sees a sign that says "Here books are printed," and so he enters. Quixote spends some time with a translator. The printers are correcting a version of the Second Part of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha, written by an inhabitant of Tordesillas. Quixote says that he is surprised that the book has not already been burned for its impertinence.

Analysis

Don Quixote alludes to the story of the Gordian knot: When faced with the puzzle of untying this famed knot, Alexander the Great simply used his sword to unravel the riddle. Likewise, Quixote intends to take the direct route and whip Sancho, as opposed to waiting for Sancho to inflict the wounds upon himself. In Book I, Don Quixote was orthodox in his adherence to the chivalric narratives. Here, Quixote has become disillusioned and desperate. He argues that "the essence lies in [Sancho's] receiving [the lashes], come they from what hand they will." Don Quixote is hasty and self-serving in his reading of the prophecy. He seeks to read and interpret a message that is contrary to what was originally expressed. Sancho defends himself physically, but rhetorically as well. He appeals to the original reading of the prophecy: it was agreed that Sancho would whip himself.

This is interesting when we remember that when Quixote and Panza enter Barcelona, they are greeted as "not the spurious, the fictitious, the apocryphal, lately exhibited among us in lying histories Šbut the true, the legitimate, the genuine, described to us by Cid Hamet Ben Engeli, the flower of historians." When Quixote strays outside of the original and "true" reading of his own history, he makes his own identity all the more vulnerable.

In the printing-house of Chapter LXII, Quixote sees the text of the Second Part of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha, and he says that: "all fabulous histories are so far good and entertaining, as they come near the truth, or the resemblance of it; and true histories themselves are so much the better, by how much the truer." There are multiple deceptions taking place: the deception of the duke and duchess, the deception of Don Antonio and his friends, the deception of the Second Part.

Much like the horse, Clavileño, the talking head is a modern "machine" that becomes the instrument of deception. Like the "modern historiographer," the talking head tries to subvert and topple the pre-established truth. The talking head resembles a Classical statue, and according to Don Antonio's story, the talking head is "enchanted" - the work of a wizard. The talking head is false on two counts then: it is a fake antique, and it is a fake enchantment. Like Clavileño, the talking head is just another toy of the wealthy. At least, Don Antonio, in contrast to the Duke and Duchess, is careful not to harm or injure Don Quixote with any of his jests. Of course, Sancho is the only character in these chapters who seems to truly care about Don Quixote as an actual person. Sancho physically overpowers Quixote when the deranged knight tries to "untruss" Sancho's pants. It is clear at this point that Quixote's "natural order" of "master and man" is no longer applicable. Sancho is a squire only of his voluntary will. Of course, this has been true for some time now, but when Sancho pins Quixote to the ground, he makes this explicit. At the same time, Sancho physically dominates Quixote when he carries him from the dance floor (where Quixote, exhausted and confused, has been sitting) and puts him in bed. Sancho gives Quixote extra blankets so that Quixote "might sweat out the cold he might have got by his dancing." Sancho has become paternal.

Book II: Chapter LXIII Summaries

Chapter LXIII

The talking head has promised the disenchantment of