Don Quixote 4

Chapter 27
Sancho Panza gives the barber and the priest more
information about Don Quixote's madness and the
three men travel towards Sierra Morena. The priest
and barber hope that they will not have to resort to
trickery in order to bring Don Quixote back home.
Sancho Panza is to lie to Don Quixote, claiming that he
has delivered the letter to Dulcinea and as a result,
Dulcinea demands that Quixote present himself to her.
`
Sancho goes ahead of the barber and the priest,
and the latter end up meeting Cardenio, the
madman of Sierra Morena. Cardenio is singing a
song that beings "What causes all my grief and
pain?" referring, of course, to his failed
relationship with Lucinda.
• We now get the full story from Cardenio
because Don Quixote is not present to interrupt
the storytelling. When Cardenio served the
Duke, he befriended the Duke's son, Don
Fernando. On one occasion, Don Fernando
visited Cardenio's house and within the leaves
of Cardenio's copy of the book Amadis de Gaul
(a classic tale of chivalry), Don Fernando found
a letter that Lucinda had sent to Cardenio.
• The letter expressed Lucinda's love with such
clarity and energy that Don Fernando found
himself in love with Lucinda, and he resolved to
have her. Don Fernando sends Cardenio back to
the Duke's palace and, in Cardenio's absence,
befriends Lucinda's parents‹ultimately forcing
her hand in marriage. Cardenio has gone mad
because he feels that both Don Fernando and
Lucinda betrayed him.
Chapter 28
In the next part of the story, Cardenio joins the barber
and the priest and after walking a short distance, they
encounter Dorotea‹a woman dressed up as a man.
They ask Dorotea if she is in some sort of trouble, and
her answer exceeds their expectations. Dorotea is the
daughter of a farmer who has been hired to do work
for a wealthier man. Complications arose when this
manager's son became fond of Dorotea and ultimately
coerced her into having sex with him.
This debacle ruined Dorotea's reputation and
she was run out of town in disgrace. The man
had promised to marry Dorotea but in fact, he
was already married and after having sex with
Dorotea, he returned to the town where his wife
lived.
As it turns out, Don Fernando is the man who has
deceived Dorotea. When Cardenio and Dorotea
compare stories, Cardenio learns that Lucinda
continued to love him even when she was forced
to marry Don Fernando. Cardenio and Dorotea
join forces, hoping to punish Don Fernando and
reunite the true lovers, Cardenio and Lucinda.
Chapter 29
Sancho Panza hurries back to the scene,
informing the (significantly larger) group that
Don Quixote feels that he has been dishonored.
Don Quixote requires of himself some arduous
task in which he can redeem himself and regain
his honor. Ultimately, Don Quixote refuses to
present himself to Dulcinea until he has
appropriately regained his honor.
• The group begins plotting a way to bring Don
Quixote home, but Sancho Panza is kept in the
dark because he is too loyal to Don Quixote to
agree to deception. Hence, even Sancho Panza
is fooled into believing that Dorotea is actually
a Princess who goes by the name of
Micomicona. Her official title is "the mighty
Princess Micomicona, queen of the great
kingdom of Micomicon in Ethiopia."
Coincidentally, Princess Micomicona is need of
the services of just such a knight as Don Quixote,
to "kill a great lubberly giant." The giant has
chased the Princess away, but with Don Quixote's
help, she might be restored to her kingdom. Two
promises are extracted from the knight: first, that
he will agree to assist the Princess and second,
that he will decline to accept any other missions
until he has fulfilled this one.
Sancho Panza is worried that he will become governor of a
territory in Micomicon and this displeases him because his
subjects will be black Africans. After the Princess has won
Don Quixote's assent, the priest approaches Don Quixote
but Quixote does not seem recognize his good friend. The
priest complains that he has been robbed by an escaped
convict. This worries Sancho Panza because he is aware of
Don Quixote's guilt in this matter.
Chapter 30
In the course of leading Don Quixote to "the great
kingdom of Micomicon," Dorotea and the others intend
to lead Don Quixote back to his home in La Mancha. At
several points, the priest has to intervene and help
"Princess Micomicona," as she is telling her story to Don
Quixote. Though Princess Micomicona offers her hand
in marriage, Don Quixote is entirely devoted to his lady,
Dulcinea. Quixote demands that Sancho give him the
details of the trip to deliver the letter to Dulcinea.
This request puts Sancho in a situation much like
Dorotea's, for he is forced to create a hopefully
plausible story without extensive preparation.
Quixote asks whether Dulcinea was stringing
pearls or embroidering something for him, but
Sancho replies that Dulcinea was merely
"winnowing two bushels of wheat in a backyard
of her house."
• Quixote keeps demanding fanciful and
romantic details, but Sancho denies Quixote
his pleasure. In the end, Sancho
Panza explains that not only is Dulcinea
illiterate, but she is also far too busy to pause
in the middle of the day to read a love letter.
Chapter 31
In Chapter 4, a young man named Andres was severely
beaten by his master, John Haldudo the Rich. Don Quixote
threatened to kill Haldudo for severely beating Andres and
also for refusing to pay Andres for his labors. Haldudo
promised to repay Andres, but when Quixote continued
down the road, Haldudo beat Andres even more severely
and then fired the boy, as opposed to paying Andres for his
labor. At the end of Chapter 30, Andres crosses paths with
Don Quixote and he does not have pleasant words.
Indeed, Andres mocks Quixote as an incompetent
knight. For his part, Don Quixote vows to kill Haldudo
once he has learned what has happened. Andres
assures Quixote that he need not waste his time
because he will only "cause more harm than good."
Don Quixote chases Andres down the road, intending
to chastise the young man for his insolence. Andres
easily escapes and Quixote is sorely embarrassed
because his reputation has been tarnished.
Chapter 32
In Chapter 32, the group of six travelers (Cardenio, Princess
Micomicona, Sancho Panza, Don Quixote, the barber, and
the priest) arrive at the same inn that Don Quixote and
Sancho Panza hurriedly exited at the close of Chapter 17.
Don Quixote is removed to sleep in a quiet room, for the
innkeeper remembers Don Quixote's madness. Don
Quixote is the topic of conversation and nearly every one
participates (including the innkeeper, his wife, his daughter,
and Maritornes the half-blind hunchbacked laborer).
• Sancho Panza does not offer much of a defense of
his master's behavior and the group is generally
disapproving of Quixote's frivolity. Most of the
individuals do believe that Quixote's madness is
the result of reading too much‹and specifically,
too much chivalry. The chapter ends when the
innkeeper discloses that a guest has left an antique
trunk of books and papers. The priest is intrigued
and he begins to read a story from the collection.
Chapter 33
Chapters 33, 34, and 35 consist of the story that
the priest reads to the group: "The Novel of the
Curious Impertinent." The story takes place in
Florence, Italy and largely involves two friends
named Lothario and Anselmo. Anselmo is
married to Camilla and, for no good reason,
Anselmo decides to test Camilla's fidelity.
When Anselmo insists that Lothario help him,
Lothario says that "the enterprise itself is
downright madness." Anselmo wants Lothario
to attempt to seduce Camilla, to see whether or
not she will succumb to the advances of another
man. Lothario finally agrees, and he soon
returns to Anselmo, telling him that Camilla has
remained faithful.
Not much later, Anselmo finds out that Lothario
has been lying: Lothario never attempted to
seduce Camilla. Anselmo then makes Lothario
pledge to make good on his promise to seduce
Camilla. Anselmo leaves town to make the
seduction easier, and Camilla soon writes letters
urging him to return.
Lothario has truly fallen in love with Camilla; in
her letters, Camilla warns Anselmo that Lothario
is trying to seduce her. Camilla does not realize
that Anselmo is aware of Lothario's advances.
Anselmo does not realize that Lothario is truly in
love with Camilla.
Because Anselmo does not return, Camilla
grows weary under pressure and she falls in love
with Lothario. The two continue their affair
when Anselmo returns home. In part, this is
easier because Camilla's servant, Leonela, keeps
Camilla's secret.
Chapter 34
Complications arise because Leonela has a secret lover
of her own. One day, Lothario sees Leonela's lover
exiting Camilla's house just as he is arriving. Lothario
concludes that Camilla has found yet another lover.
Lothario then tells Camilla's husband, Anselmo, that
he has finally seduced Camilla. Lothario gives Anselmo
a time and place where Anselmo will see Lothario
seduce Camilla; then, Anselmo can judge the situation
on his own. Anselmo is now distraught.
• Later in the day, when Lothario and Camilla meet, Camilla
discloses Leonela's secret lover. Lothario then realizes his
jealous error and he confesses everything to Camilla.
Camilla and Lothario then create a plan to be rid of
Anselmo, once and for all. When Camilla and Lothario
meet, Camilla pretends that she does not know that
Anselmo is watching. When the time comes for her to kiss
Lothario, Camilla states that she would rather die than
commit infidelity, though she does love Lothario.
• Camilla eloquently states "since fortune denies
a complete satisfaction to my just desires, it
shall not, however, be in its power to defeat
that satisfaction entirely." Camilla then
struggles to keep her dagger away from
Lothario and ultimately, she stabs herself in
the chest and falls to the ground.
• Lothario is immediately shocked because Camilla was
only to pretend to stab herself, but when he looks
closely he sees that Camilla has only wounded
herself slightly. Lothario then begins to grieve loudly
and with Leonela's help, he carries Camilla's body
away. Anselmo is now convinced of Camilla's
honesty. As a result, Camilla is able to continue her
affair once she recovers from her minor stab wound.
Chapter 35
• Sancho Panza interrupts the story to announce
that Don Quixote has just killed the giant. This
is madness and the group fears the worst,
when they enter Quixote's room. Quixote is
thrashing in his sleep and what Sancho thought
to be the giant's head is actually a set of
valuable wineskins owned by the innkeeper.
• Don Quixote's has destroyed them while
thrashing because of his violent dream. The
characters return to the common room, where
the priest concludes 'The Novel of the Curious
Impertinent.' In the last section of the story,
Anselmo suffers for his excessive curiosity.
• Leonela's lover accidentally reveals himself and Anselmo
confronts Leonela. Leonela fears that Anselmo is going to
kill her and so she says that she has a valuable secret to
disclose to him the next day. Anselmo recounts the incident
to Camilla‹and Camilla fears that Leonela will disclose her
(Camilla's) affair with Lothario. With few options before
them, Lothario and Camilla run away that very night.
Unsurprisingly, Leonela runs away the next day.
• Anselmo searches for all three of them in vain,
and accidentally discovers (from a stranger)
that Camilla and Lothario have been deceiving
him for some time. Anselmo begins writing an
account of his own sad story, but Anselmo's
sadness is so profound that he actually dies
before he finishes writing his account.
• The 'Novel of the Curious Impertinent' starts a
discussion on the merits of the story. The priest is
very well read and everyone listens to his critique
of the story. In the end, he decides that he likes
"the manner" in which the story was written,
though he sees Anselmo as an implausibly,
unrealistically naïve and idiotic character.