The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha
Don Quixote de la Mancha
By Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
PART I
CHAPTER 1
In this chapter, we are introduced to Alonso Quijano, a man of modest means, some would even say rather poor. The narrative also introduces his housekeeper, a woman over 40, and describes Quijano as a man of around 50 years of age, strong, an early riser, and a great lover of hunting.
This peculiar character was a great lover of romances of chivalry, with Feliciano de Silva as his favorite writer. Such was his obsession with these books that he decided to become a knight-errant. To carry out this strange adventure, he first had to prepare his great-grandfather’s armor for use.
To become a proper knight, he needed the following:
- A name for himself: Every self-respecting knight needed an appropriate name. Inspired by Amadis of Gaul, he decided to call himself Don Quixote de la Mancha.
- A name for his horse: He chose the name Rocinante, as the poor horse was not in its prime.
- A lady to whom he would dedicate his triumphs and glories: A gentleman in those days could not be without a lady to inspire his deeds.
CHAPTER 2
This chapter tells us how Don Quixote sets out on his first adventure before dawn. Along the way, he questioned himself and his future as a knight. He realized he wasn’t a true knight because he didn’t have the sidearms described in his novels. However, his madness soon overtook his sanity, and he convinced himself that he was a perfect gentleman.
As he rode, he imagined himself as a famous knight whose great deeds would appear in books of chivalry. As darkness fell, Don Quixote arrived at an inn for the night. There, he met two women who initially praised and flattered him. However, they soon began to laugh at his speech, which he mistook for compliments. Don Quixote grew angry, but the innkeeper intervened, offering him food, a place for his horse, and a bed for the night.
CHAPTER 3
In this chapter, Don Quixote seeks to be knighted. He asked the innkeeper to perform the ceremony, explaining his reasons. The innkeeper, believing Don Quixote to be mad and seeing an opportunity to earn some money, agreed to this strange request.
Proper knighting ceremonies required the knight’s weapons to be blessed in a chapel. However, as there was no chapel, the innkeeper suggested they use the courtyard instead. Don Quixote agreed, and his weapons were placed there under his watchful eye. He confronted two men who tried to steal them until the innkeeper intervened and restored peace.
Finally, Don Quixote was knighted in the old fashion, receiving two taps on the shoulders with a sword. After the ceremony, two women, surprised by the event, told Don Quixote they would serve him for life. Don Quixote asked for their names and declared he would call them “Donuts” from then on. In the end, Don Quixote departed at dawn.
CHAPTER 4
In this chapter, Don Quixote leaves the inn and returns to town to collect money and find a squire. Along the way, he hears voices and follows them. He discovers a man whipping a boy. Don Quixote orders the man to stop unless he wants to face him, and the man complies.
Don Quixote asks why the man is hitting the child. The man replies that the boy lost a sheep, and the boy claims he hasn’t been paid in nine months. Don Quixote makes the man swear he will pay the boy and sets the boy free. Don Quixote then departs, but the man resumes whipping the boy, who vows to seek revenge through Don Quixote.
Don Quixote continues his journey and encounters two merchants, to whom he boasts about the beauty of his beloved Dulcinea. The merchants, unimpressed, tell him that if she doesn’t acknowledge him, he will be maimed and blinded in one eye. Angered, Don Quixote attacks them, but his horse, Rocinante, stumbles and falls under the weight of his armor. The merchants attack him and break his spear, then abandon him.
CHAPTER 5
Wretched, Don Quixote begins to recite aloud from one of his books. Fortunately, a passerby recognizes him as Quijano and helps him up, loading his armor onto Rocinante. The man questions Don Quixote, but Don Quixote only responds with verses from his books. Throughout the journey, Don Quixote continues to rave and quote from his readings.
Eventually, the man leads Don Quixote, badly wounded, back to his village. There, his housekeeper, niece, the priest, and the barber await. Once Don Quixote’s wounds are treated, he claims to have been fighting giants. When Don Quixote goes to bed, the man recounts Don Quixote’s ramblings during their journey.
CHAPTER 6
The priest and the barber ask Don Quixote’s housekeeper for the keys to his library, intending to burn his books, especially those about chivalry. They believe these books are the cause of Don Quixote’s madness. They take the books to the courtyard to burn them where they won’t offend or disturb anyone.
The priest and the barber decide to burn almost every book, sparing a few, such as Amadis of Gaul. After burning the larger books, they move on to the smaller ones, dealing with shepherds and love affairs. They burn all but one or two, which they keep to read later.
CHAPTER 7
Don Quixote wakes up crying and ranting, believing he was fighting enemies. He starts talking about books of chivalry again. The priest and the housekeeper calm him down, feed him, and put him back to bed to rest.
The priest, the barber, and Don Quixote’s housekeeper decide to wall up his library so he can’t access it and won’t notice his books are gone. They agree to tell him that a magician made the books disappear while he was asleep. When Don Quixote wakes up and asks for his books, his friends tell him about the magician.
Don Quixote spends 15 days quietly, planning to find a squire and get money. To obtain the money, he pawns some of his belongings. During this time, he meets a poor man named Sancho Panza, whom he promises governorship of several islands if he joins him on his adventures.
With this peculiar arrangement made, the two adventurers set off at dusk. During their journey, Don Quixote and Sancho discuss the islands that Don Quixote promised Sancho.
CHAPTER 8
Along the way Don Quixote and Sancho encounter a few windmills and Don Quixote believing that they are giants are poised to attack with his spear. Sancho said that no more than mills, but Don Quixote insists on attacking because he thinks they are evil giants, following Don Quixote with his lance stumbles and falls to the ground thus ending the problem of the mills, or giants like Don Quixote was saying. Along the way Don Quixote recalls that once read as a gentleman, “his spear with a trunk and did Don Quixote.
The next day they were preparing to go to Puerto Lápice in search of adventure saw two monks, wearing their black robes and a woman who was behind them, it is assumed that they were all in the same directionion. Don Quixote was thought that these men had kidnapped the lady who was behind them, and decided to attack the poor monks. Sancho will notice that they were only two friars but Don Quixote ignored him and attacked the friars. The two brothers ran away with the bad luck that one of them fell to the ground, Sancho kindly attempt to help the monk who had fallen but two men lay into him and left him unconscious. Don Quixote in turn was to pay his respects to Madame, but the squire of Don Quixote attacked her leaving her injured shoulder.