Don Quixote Chap 28-35

1) “They’d have gone a couple of miles when they caught sight of Don Quixote amidst a maze of rocks, wearing his clothes now but not his armor,”(Don Quixote, chapter 29, page 264).

“The damsel in distress strove and struggled to kiss his hands, but Don Quixote, always a gallant and courteous knight, would by no means consent to this; on the contrary he brought her to her feet and embraced her with great courtesy and gallantry, and he ordered Sancho to check Rocinante’s girths and to arm him without a moment’s delay. Sancho took the armor down from the tree on which it was hanging like some trophy…in an instant slipped the armor onto his master,” (Don Quixote, chapter 29, page 266).

I think the idea of armor and its relativity to knighthood – what it represents is important here. When Quixote is feeling sorry for himself and cursing his fate because of Dulcinea, he is naked and not wearing his armor – he is not acting like a Knight, but more like Grisóstomo/a blind lover grieving his dissatisfaction and loneliness. However, when Quixote is approached by Dorotea, despite the reality that she is not really who she claims to be – Quixote immediately springs to action and aligns himself with his chivalrous duties as a knight. When this transition is made on page 266, Quixote also physically puts his armor back on, which is a reflection of his “knighthood & honor” being restored in the way he acts.

Later, in chapter 31, Quixote says, “the law of chivalry obliges me to put my promise before my pleasure,”(Don Quixote, chapter 31, page 283-284). This quote is also a reflection of the manner in which Quixote conducts himself, while wearing his armor. Although his actions may seem erratic and irrational, he is always pulling for the greater good and to aid those in peril or suffering – he believed everyone deserves an equal opportunity to be freed from whatever chains are holding them as oppressed or unhappy – and this trait, is admirable whether people think Quixote is crazy or not. He upholds a higher sense of what is right and wrong, the ideal that all men are equal, and all deserve freedom and equality. Freedom – is what Quixote values most, and freedom is how Quixote justifies his seemingly bizarre actions.


2) “And after I have cut if off and restored you to the peaceful possession of your realm, it shall be left to your own will to dispose of your person according to your pleasure; because so long as my memory is pervaded, my will enslaved, my understanding enthralled, by that … I say no more…, it is impossible for me to even contemplate marriage, even if it were to the Phoenix itself!” (Don Quixote, chapter 30, page 275)

”If it were not for the might that she (Dulcinea) infuses into my arm I should not have the strength to kill a flea?”(Don Quixote, chapter 30, page 276).

Here, Quixote does not commit to marry this alleged Queen, despite all the riches he would be able to acquire from such an arrangement. Sancho is immediately infuriated because he knows if he marries this Queen (who really isn’t a Queen) he will earn his promised prize of being an Emperor. But by standing by his beloved Dulcinea who drives him to accomplish all the great things he does – Quixote shows his loyalty to his own beliefs that he knows to be truths and the chivalrous values that he holds in his heart.

Sancho also suggests that Quixote marry the “queen” and then go back to Dulcinea as a mistress. Quixote rejects this idea too – and it is ironic because if he did that, he would be acting as Don Fernando – and be untrue to his own wishes and to God. So Quixote swears his allegiance to Dulcinea, who propels his will and strength to do deeds for the greater good and freedom of others - he does not act like Grisóstomo or Ferdinand who were propelled to evil things because of their blind love for the women they chased and dishonored.