Chapter 10

After the two groups part ways, Sancho asks to

become governor of his island. Quixote cannot
yet make good on this promise, but he assures
Sancho that their rewards and treasures will
come soon.
Chapter 11
Looking for a place to sleep, Don Quixote and Sancho
Panza stumble upon a group of goatherds. The
goatherds are immediately friendly‹ and curious
about Don Quixote. The goatherds invite Quixote and
Panza to sit around the fire and eat with them.
Sancho declines the offer because he thinks it is
inappropriate to sit and eat alongside his master.
After Quixote's insists, Panza agrees to join the group.
While Sancho indulges in the wine, his master
begins a very long lecture on the "jargon of
squires and knights-errant." The goatherds do
not understand Quixote's speech, but having
sensed that the gentleman means well, they
appreciate his good will. Quixote ends his
speech by calling them his "brother goatherds”.
Chapter 12
After the speech, the goatherds offer Don Quixote
"some diversion and amusement"
when Antonio arrives on scene. Antonio is a goatherd
who composes ballads and love songs. Antonio sings a
few of his songs to the group. After Antonio's song,
another goatherd, Peter, arrives with sad news: A
young shepherd named Chrysostom has died,
heartbroken because of his unrequited love
for Marcela.
• Marcela is a shepherdess who comes from a
wealthy family. Despite her fortune, she has
refused to marry or be courted. This is very
frustrating for the men of the town because
Marcela's beauty is unparalleled.
Chrystostom's death outrages the goatherds
against Marcela.
• When Don Quixote expresses his sadness and
sympathy for Chrysostom, the goatherds invite
Quixote to attend the next day's burial service.
Just as he did the previous night, Quixote
spends the night wide-awake while others
sleep. He spends these hours thinking about
his lady, Dulcinea.
Chapters 13 and 14
Early the next morning, Don Quixote is full of eagerness:
one would never guess that he had not had any sleep. On
the road, the group encounters Senor Vivaldo, who is
traveling in the same direction. When Vivaldo sees Don
Quixote he asks him why he wears armor though he travels
through a safe and peaceful country. Quixote explains the
order of chivalry and refers to the English histories of King
Arthur. Vivaldo seems impressed with the discipline and
strictures of Quixote's service, likening the knight to a
monk.
• Quixote argues that "we soldiers and knights
really execute what [monks and priests] pray for,
defending it with the strength of our arms and the
edge of our swords." As the company nears the
funeral site, Vivaldo and Quixote continue their
discussion of the religious and spiritual aspects of
knight-errantry. Chrysostom has given instructions
to burn his writings after his burial; Vivaldo pleads
for Chrysostom's friend Ambrosio not to do this.
• At Ambrosio's request, Vivaldo recites one of
Chrysostom's poems, "The Song of Despair."
The poet mourns that Marcela never loved
him. He also writes, "No common language
can express" his pain. The gathered mourners
approve Chrysostom's song, disparaging
Marcela as a cold cruel torturer. When
Marcela appears on scene, she flatly rejects
the mourners' argument.
• First, Marcela holds that not she, but God, is the
accountable creator of her beauty. Second, though
Marcela's beauty may win the love of others, the
fact of being loved does not oblige Marcela to love
her suitors, in return. Marcela says "I was born
free" and she intentionally secludes herself "that
[she] might live free." Marcela has never led any
suitor to believe that she loved him and, for her
chastity, Marcela offers no apology.
• Marcela leaves
abruptly, and Don
Quixote defends the
shepherdess,
promising to slay any
man who follows her.
Quixote then persists
after Marcela, offering
her the sturdy
services of a knight-
errant. (She declines.)
Chapter 15

Knight and squire retire to a grassy field to enjoy their

lunch. Don Quixote's horse, Rocinante, sees a small
herd of fillies and he trots towards them. The
Yangüesian horse-breeders violently chase off
Rocinante, and they attack Don Quixote and Sancho
Panza as well. Don Quixote is seriously wounded and
the knight asks Sancho to carry him to "some castle
where [he] may be cured of [his] wounds
" Sancho becomes disillusioned but Quixote
reiterates his promises: the knight and squire
will soon be "filling the sails of [their] desires"
and Sancho will soon have the "islands" that
Quixote has promised. Don Quixote reflects on
his previous adventures and gains confidence by
recalling the literary examples of valiant
knights‹ heroes who were similarly met with
obstacles.
Self-assured, Don Quixote decides that he and
Sancho Panza will continue along their path. But
Quixote cannot walk; indeed he can barely sit
upon his horse. Rocinante has suffered such a
beating; the horse can barely drag itself down
the road, let alone support Quixote's weight.
Quixote sits upon Sancho's donkey, and
Rocinante, unable to lead, is tied (by the head) to
the donkey's tail. Fortunately, Sancho does not
have to struggle for long as there is lodging
nearby. The two men arrive at an inn, which Don
Quixote perceives as a castle. Sancho argues with
his master and refuses to capitulate.
Chapter 16
The innkeeper sees Don Quixote's wounds and he asks
Sancho what has happened. Sancho says that Quixote has
fallen and injured his ribs. The innkeeper's wife, his
beautiful daughter, and his half-blind servant
girl,Maritornes, all tend to Quixote's wounds. They suspect
the wounds are on account of a beating, as opposed to a
mere "fall." Quixote is a marvel for the innkeeper and
company: they have never heard of a knight-errant and they
surely do not consider the inn to be an enchanted castle.
Chapter 17
Quixote imagines that the innkeeper's daughter
has promised to come to his bed during the
knight. Quixote is titillated by the prospect
though, of course, he will not be disloyal to his
Dulcinea. The innkeeper's daughter never enters
the room where Quixote sleeps (along with
Sancho, and a mule carrier). 
• The mule carrier is Maritornes' lover but when
Maritornes enters the room, looking for the
carrier ‹Quixote apprehends her, perceiving
the servant to be the daughter. Maritornes is
bewildered; her lover is enraged, especially
when he realizes that Quixote's solicitude is
unwelcome, indeed.
• The carrier attacks Quixote, crushes his jaw and
trampling his ribs. Maritornes is tossed from the bed-
pallet, landing on Sancho. These two then begin to
fight with vigor. The innkeeper has heard the
commotion and he enters the room, bearing a light.
He immediately chastises Maritornes and they begin
exchanging blows.
• An officer of the Holy Brotherhood, lodging at the inn,
enters the room on account of the violent noises.
Quixote is an unconscious sprawl, the other four
combatants doing well enough on their own. Thinking
that Quixote is dead, the officer leaves the room to seek
assistance, shouting: "Shut the inn door, see that nobody
gets out; for they have killed a man here." This
immediately ends the fight: the innkeeper leaves with his
candle; the carrier and servant retreat to their separate
sleeping spaces; Sancho retreats to his master's side.
• Chapter 18
• Revived, Quixote believes that he has suffered the evil of
an "enchanted Moor." Sancho does not interpret their
calamity as an enchantment, however. The officer
returns, astonished to see that Quixote is alive. Quixote
explains that he is in need of a healing tonic called "the
true balsam of Fierabras." He prepares the balsam,
according to recipe, drinks the solution and then vomits.
Quixote then suffers convulsions, sleeps for three hours
and then wakes up, feeling perfectly healthy.
• When Quixote gives the balsam to Sancho, Sancho suffers so
terribly that those present fear that the squire is going to die.
Several hours later, Sancho has not fully recovered but Quixote
insists on leaving. The innkeeper wants Quixote to pay for
lodging, but Quixote is insulted that the lord of a castle (an
enchanted one, no less) would ask a knight for compensation.
Don Quixote and Sancho leave but the innkeeper sends a gang
of rogues after them, to collect his payment. Quixote escapes
but Sancho is captured, tied inside of a blanket, and tossed
into the air repeatedly. The rogues also steal Sancho's
bags‹though Sancho does not realize this, at first.