Don Quixote, Part 2, Chapter 2 summary

What happens

1. The niece and housekeeper block Sancho’s entrance, blaming him for Don Quixote’s wandering, while Sancho blames his master’s promise of an island.
2. Don Quixote admits Sancho, and the departing priest and barber discuss the knight’s madness and the squire’s persistent belief in his reward.
3. Alone together, master and servant dispute whether each truly shares the other’s suffering.
4. Asked for an honest report, Sancho describes criticism of Don Quixote’s sanity, rank, courage, and conduct.
5. Don Quixote treats criticism as the usual fate of distinguished men, but Sancho reveals that their adventures already appear in print.
6. Don Quixote attributes the historian’s knowledge to enchantment, and Sancho fetches Sansón Carrasco to explain the publication.

In this chapter

What to notice

Don Quixote’s demand opens the discussion of public criticism. His response then shows the tension between requesting plain truth and defending his own reputation.

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