Don Quixote’s Adventures: A Summary of Key Chapters
Don Quixote: Key Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1: Alonso Quijano is introduced as a man of about 50 years old, of modest means, with a robust constitution, an early riser, and a great lover of hunting. He enjoyed novels of chivalry, with Feliciano de Silva being his favorite author. His obsession with these novels grew so intense that he decided to become a knight. He cleaned and prepared old weapons for use, renamed himself Don Quixote, and named his horse Rocinante. He also sought a lady to dedicate his triumphs to.
Chapter 3: Don Quixote requested that the innkeeper knight him. The innkeeper, believing Don Quixote to be mad and seeing an opportunity to earn money, agreed. The knighting ceremony required weapons to be kept safe overnight in a chapel, but as there was no chapel, they were placed in the yard. Don Quixote stood guard to ensure they weren’t stolen. During his watch, he confronted and drove away two men who attempted to steal the weapons. In the end, Don Quixote was knighted with two taps of the sword on his shoulders and departed at dawn.
Chapter 7: Don Quixote woke up ranting, believing he was in a struggle, and began talking about books of chivalry. The priest and the housekeeper gave Don Quixote something to eat and sent him back to bed to rest. The priest, the barber, and Don Quixote’s niece decided to wall up the library to prevent him from accessing his books. If Don Quixote asked about his library and books, they would tell him that a magician had made it disappear while he was asleep, which is what they did when he awoke. Don Quixote decided to seek a squire and acquire money, pawning some of his belongings. He found a man named Sancho Panza, to whom he promised several islands if he served as his squire. They left at dusk, with Don Quixote promising Sancho the governorship of an island.
Chapter 8: On their journey, they encountered some windmills. Don Quixote, believing them to be giants, attacked them with his spear. Sancho insisted they were windmills, but Don Quixote was convinced they were giants and committed to attacking them. In the attempt, Don Quixote stumbled and fell from his horse. Continuing on the road, Don Quixote remembered reading about a knight with a spear, lance, and trunk, and he decided to emulate him. The next day, on the road from Puerto Lápice, they saw two monks dressed in black robes and a woman behind them. Don Quixote believed the monks had kidnapped the woman and decided to attack them. Sancho pointed out that they were friars, but Don Quixote ignored him and attacked. The monks fled, but one of them stopped, and Sancho, trying to help, knocked the monk unconscious. Don Quixote then presented himself to the lady, but the squire of one of the monks attacked her, injuring her shoulder.
Chapter 16: Back at the inn, the innkeeper’s wife and daughter served Don Quixote, placing him in a room with a very bad bed. Sancho was placed in an even worse room by a maid. After they were treated, they went to their rooms. One of the maids had arranged to meet a muleteer. When the maid entered Don Quixote’s room, he mistook her for a beautiful woman, took her hands, and began to praise her. Soon, the muleteer heard and saw Don Quixote and began beating him. Don Quixote fell from the bed, waking the landlord. The maid hid in Sancho’s bed to avoid being seen by the landlord, which led to the muleteer and the innkeeper beating Sancho. A constable who was in a nearby room woke up and came over, ordering them to stop beating Don Quixote immediately when he saw him on the ground covered in blood.
Chapter 6: The priest and the barber asked Don Quixote’s niece for the keys to the library to burn all his books, especially those of chivalry, hoping that Don Quixote would stop daydreaming. They took all the books into the yard and burned all but a few.