Don Quixote · Chapter
Of the shrewd controversy which Don Quixote and the canon held, together with other incidents. explained
Don Quixote passionately defends the truth of chivalric romances against the canon's skepticism, describing in vivid detail the delights of knightly adventures.
What happens
Don Quixote passionately defends the truth of chivalric romances against the canon's skepticism, describing in vivid detail the delights of knightly adventures. Sancho Panza expresses his eagerness to govern the promised county. A goatherd arrives chasing a stray goat and, after being calmed with food and drink, offers to tell a story that he claims will illustrate the wisdom found in rustic life.
Themes in this chapter
Reality vs. Illusion
Don Quixote insists that chivalric romances are true, while the canon represents a skeptical, rational viewpoint.
Chivalry and Idealism
Don Quixote's elaborate description of a knight's adventure reflects his idealistic vision of chivalry.
Literature and Metafiction
The chapter features a debate about the truth and value of fictional chivalric books, with Don Quixote defending them as historical fact.
Characters to notice
- Don Quixote
Defends chivalric romances as true and delightful, describing a knight's adventure in a boiling lake.
- Sancho Panza
Expresses his desire for the promised county and his philosophy of contentment.
- The Priest
Present during the discussion, remarks that woods breed men of learning.
Key passages
“A good joke, that! ... Books that have been printed with the king's licence, and with the approbation of those to whom they have been submitted, and read with universal delight, and extolled by great and small, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, gentle and simple, in a word by people of every sort, of whatever rank or condition they may be—that these should be lies!”
Don Quixote indignantly rejects the canon's suggestion that chivalric romances are false, arguing that their official approval and widespread popularity prove their truth.
Don Quixote defends the veracity of chivalric books based on their public acceptance and official licenses.
“I don't understand those philosophies... all I know is I would I had the county as soon as I shall know how to govern it; for I have as much soul as another, and as much body as anyone, and I shall be as much king of my realm as any other of his; and being so I should do as I liked, and doing as I liked I should please myself, and pleasing myself I should be content, and when one is content he has nothing more to desire, and when one has nothing more to desire there is an end of it; so let the county come, and God be with you, and let us see one another, as one blind man said to the other.”
Sancho Panza dismisses complex philosophy, asserting that if he becomes a governor he will do as he pleases, be content, and want nothing more.
Sancho expresses a simple, pragmatic philosophy of contentment and desire for the promised county.
“Ah wanderer, wanderer, Spotty, Spotty; how have you gone limping all this time? What wolves have frightened you, my daughter? Won't you tell me what is the matter, my beauty? But what else can it be except that you are a she, and cannot keep quiet?”
The goatherd scolds his runaway goat affectionately, attributing its wandering to its female nature.
The goatherd speaks to his goat as if it were a rational being, amusing the listeners.