Don Quixote Part 2, Chapter 13 - 24
The two squires bond over the promises of land that their respective knights have made, but the other squire seems quite malcontent with his life of adventure and wishes to return home. He tries to convince Sancho to follow his advice, but although Sancho is quite displeased with the rigors of life as a squire, he is yet convinced that he will one day get the opportunity to reign over an island. The other squire also claims that his master has taken on the madness of knights to aid a friend. The two squires gorge themselves on wine and food before drifting into sleep. On the other side, the knight of the forest informs Don Quixote that his lady love, Casildea de Vandalia, has sent him forth to fulfill various labors to win her favor. The knight of spangles claims that his latest labor has involved seeking out other knights to make them declare that Casildea de Vandalia is the most beautiful and virtuous lady in the world. He further claims that he has done much in that regard for he has recently defeated Don Quixote de la Mancha and made him confess that Lady Casildea is greater than the Lady Dulcinea del Toboso.
Don Quixote reveals his identity to the knight as he believes that the enchanters have allowed the knight to believe that he has defeated Don Quixote when he hasn’t done so. The two agree to fight with the rising sun under the condition that the loser of the competition would follow the commands of the winner. Sancho is quite horrified to discover that the squire of the knight of spangles possesses one of the most horrendous noses that could have ever been wrought by the almighty. Don Quixote strikes the more handsomely dressed knight due to the failure of that knight’s horse. He then exposes the man’s face by lifting his visor and finds it be his friend, the graduate, Sanson Carrasco. Don Quixote nearly kills the man believing him to be an enchanter in disguise, but the squire of the forest halts him as he takes off his monstrous nose to reveal the face of Tome Cecial, Sancho’s neighbor from the village. The squire explains that the man is indeed the graduate, but Don Quixote does not believe him. He wakes the knight, has him declare that lady Dulcinea is the fairest lady in the world and charges him to present himself to her following which he should seek Don Quixote to report his meeting with her. Don Quixote is convinced that the men they have just left had been enchanted to appear familiar to them, and when Sancho argues that he did not quite think so, Don Quixote reminds him of how he had only seen an ugly peasant girl while Sancho had seen the peerless Lady Dulcinea just not that long ago.
Sanson and his squire discuss the poor turn of events that have come about, as they had planned to defeat Don Quixote in combat and have him remain at home in his village. He had contrived this plan with the approval of both the priest and the barber who had both felt that Don Quixote would only remain in the village after being forced to make such a promise. Sanson’s injury causes him to reconsider his previously generous disposition as he declares that he will seek out Don Quixote once again to exercise his vengeance upon him. On the other hand, Tome decides to return to his village.
Don Quixote and Sancho come across a hidalgo in green clothing, who introduces himself as Don Diego. The hidalgo is visibly surprised by Don Quixote and becomes convinced that he is quite mad when Don Quixote launches into the explanation of his profession. The hidalgo is then forced to alter his position as Don Quixote converses with him quite well about the profession of the hidalgo’s only son, which was that of a poet. This opinion of saneness is once again altered when glimpsing a cart with a few flags, Don Quixote dons his helmet that Sancho had hastily filled with curds that he had been purchasing when his master had summoned him. Don Quixote finds the cart to be carrying lions that are being gifted to the king, and insist to meet the lions in combat. He causes the keeper to set down the crates under threat of death and readies to face the lions as the others clear away in fear that they would meet a similar fate as Don Quixote if they remained close to him. Alas, Don Quixote is spared from wrestling with the beasts as they refuse to leave their crates even when they are held wide open for them, and he rechristens himself to be the knight of lions. Don Diego is quite impressed with his new acquaintance and invites him to his house, where Don Quixote remains in luxury for a few days. The hidalgo’s poet son, Don Diego, is similarly impressed by the streaks of madness that run through the wondrous and kind mind of Don Quixote. The knight lavishes praise on Don Diego and encourages him about his skill as a poet as he escorts a very reluctant Sancho from Don Diego’s estate.
Don Quixote and Sancho begin their journey once again, expressing their hope to explore various important sites before resuming their journey to Saragossa. On their way, they encounter a group of people including two students and farmers of the same number. They are truly astonished by Don Quixote’s appearance but his words and polite demeanor win their favor, and they inform him of a marriage that they are going to attend between Camacho the rich and Quiteria the fair. The students describe how Quiteria had initially been thought to be interested in another individual called Basilio but had then rejected him to now marry Camacho the rich. It was believed that Quiteria’s father had felt that Basilio’s wealth was quite small in comparison to that of Camacho, and though Basilio was said to be more meritorious, Camacho had been chosen to marry Quiteria. Sancho protests at the injustice and declares that all those who love ought to be given the power to marry whoever they please, but Don Quixote explains why the decision of marriage needs to be taken with due caution.
Don Quixote agrees to accompany them to the wedding, where they find great wonders of entertainment and splendor all brought out for Camacho’s marriage. On the day of marriage, Don Quixote watches the procession of the soon-to-be-married couple halted by Basilio who casts himself on a sword after declaring the great hurt Quiteira had dealt him in marrying Camacho. The gathered crowd is moved by Basilio’s dying request that he should marry Quiteria before he had left the world. Don Quixote along with several others convinces both Camacho and Quiteria that she should marry Bailio now since he was certain to die of his wound shortly afterward. The pair are married by the priest, but Basilio springs up immediately after the conclusion of the ceremony as he demonstrates that he had not mortally wounded himself. Camacho’s friends argue that the marriage could not be considered valid since it had been conducted with deception but the bride herself defends the union. The matter nearly comes to killing as supporters of both men draw their swords, but Don Quixote separates them and defends Basilio’s marriage.
The matter is resolved without any fight, and the newlywed couple graciously welcomes Don Quixote to remain with them for three days. Don Quixote rests with the couple for a short while and decides to go forth to the cave of Montesinos whose depths have never been explored. Basilio instructs his cousin, a scholar who claims to be writing the Spanish Ovid, to escort Don Quixote and Sancho Panza to the caves. They reach the caves and lower Don Quixote to its depths by tying a rope over him. They let him remain in the cave for a while and begin to pull him back up, but do not feel the strain of his weight until much later. They pull out a sleeping Don Quixote who wakes to tell them that he has seen the most magnificent sights.
Don Quixote explains that he had seated himself in a concavity of the cave, and fallen asleep. He had woken in a field and had then been led to a crystal palace by Montesino himself, the very same man who had cut out the heart of his dying cousin, Durandante, who had wished that it be presented to the lovely lady Belerma. Montesino escorted Don Quixote through the palace that contained not only the knight Durandante but his lady as well as her servants. Montesino explained that they had been trapped in that realm by the wicked French wizard, Merlin, who had made several prophecies of Don Quixote. The knight claimed that he had spent three days in the cave while Sancho knew that he had only been gone for a little more than an hour. Furthermore, Sancho was convinced that his master had lost his wits when he told Sancho that he had seen Lady Dulcinea along with her servants in the enchanted palace. Sancho had a hard time suppressing his laughter as he knew that those women had not been the lady and her servants.
Don Quixote had sworn to rescue the lady Dulcinea from the captivity of the enchanted fortress but he refused to divulge any other detail claiming that he would do so at a more appropriate time. The three of them then departed the mouth of the cave and set out in search for a shelter for that night, and on their way met a weapons merchant in a hurry, and a young poverty-stricken man set out for war. The scantily clad boy explained that he wished to fight for the king, and Don Quixote gave him many fine pieces of advice that did not fail to impress Sancho. They then met an arms merchant in the inn, which Don Quixote recognized as an inn and not a castle.
Analysis
Don Quixote and Sancho both experience maturation and are developed into deeper characters through the second part of the novel. The author demonstrates his growth through better integration of Don Quixote in the subplots of the novel. Don Quixote is no longer divorced from the action as the story of Camacho's wedding unfolds, but rather plays the role of an actual knight. His growth is further indicated in the instance of the battle with the lions, like the knight, he neither attacks the keeper nor does he seek to provoke the lions, something he was likely to have done in the first chapter. The author also reveals the depth of Don Quixote's intelligence through the discourse he has with the hidalgo about the nobility of poets. In the second part, Don Quixote doesn't cause quite as much chaos through his madness as he did in the first book, but rather the chaos is sourced from the characters around him. This occurs when these characters seek to enter the world of his imagination like Sanson, the graduate, and the duke and duchess.
Cervantes attempts to establish the second volume as a true sequel to the first by re-introducing characters from the first novel, such as the escaped convict.
