Don Quixote, Chapter 13 summary
Chapter 13 of 129 · Part 1 · 14 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 13, Don Quixote travels to Grisóstomo’s burial and defends knight-errantry against Vivaldo’s questions about religion, hardship, and love, while his listeners judge him mad. At the grave, Ambrosio blames Marcela for his friend’s death, and Vivaldo obtains some papers marked for burning and prepares to read the dead man’s final song.
What happens
- Don Quixote, Sancho, and five goatherds set out at dawn and join travelers and shepherds bound for Grisóstomo’s burial.
- Vivaldo questions Don Quixote, who explains his calling through stories of famous knights and claims to defend the needy.
- They debate religious duty and devotion to ladies, and Don Quixote praises Dulcinea’s beauty and origins.
- The company reaches Grisóstomo’s body, where shepherds dig his grave beside a rock.
- Ambrosio confirms the burial site, praises Grisóstomo, blames Marcela, and explains the order to burn his writings.
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In this chapter
What to notice
Don Quixote makes love a requirement of knighthood. This claim leads Vivaldo to ask about his own lady and exposes the gap between his certainty and his listeners’ doubts.
Quick check
What does Ambrosio allow Vivaldo to keep?
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