In chapters 17-25 there is a strong association with theatre and love. Quixote has always been a huge advocator for love, but it really shows throughout these chapters. We get a chance to see Quixote’s insanity questioned once again as well as the prank war between Sancho and Quixote continue.

New Characters

We are introduced to more characters in these chapters including Quiteria, Camacho, and Basilio. This is once again another love story where a man stabs himself over love… except he does not actually stab himself. This story of Quiteria’s love triangle reminds me of the love story in volume one about Marcela and Grisostimo. The only difference is that Basilio was acting and did not actually kill himself. This is one example of theatre.

Quiteria’s Love Story

This story of Quiteria also shows Quixotes obsession with love. At the wedding, Sancho praises Quiteria for marrying for wealth rather than love but Quixote did not agree with that. I think this example is actually a great representation of Quixote and Sancho. Sancho is very greedy and he cares mostly about wealth and food. Since the beginning of volume one, Quixote has always cared most about love, and believes that it is love over everything.

The Infamous Prank War

Quixote and Sancho have had a prank war going on throughout the entire novel, but sometimes it turns into more than just a prank. These pranks that Sancho is playing on Quixote are progressively getting worse, and Sancho and Quixote start arguing about it. The first prank we see in volume two is when Sancho finds the two peasant ladies and tries to convince Quixote that they are beautiful princesses. This time Sancho puts cheese in Quixote’s helmet and tries to convince him once again that he is just “enchanted”.

Insanity

Many people believe that in volume two Sancho loses most of his insanity. But in these chapters there are several instances where Quixote’s insanity shines through once again. The first instance is when Quixote wants to fight the lion. Against everyone’s protests, Quixote convinces them to open the cage. The lion does nothing but just stay in the cage and stare at Quixote. Quixote still makes sure that it is known that he was brave for his act with the lion. He tells Sancho, “and write me an affidavit in as good a form as you can, about what you saw me do”. He wants everyone to know how amazing and brave he is. The next instance of insanity is when Quixote tells the story of the cave. He tells everyone that he went into a cave and he saw many things and many enchantments. None that made a bit of sense. Sancho declares him crazy and I agree.

In the movie we watched “Lost in La Mancha”, The director of the movie was compared to Quixote. They were both seen as crazy and had unrealistic ideas. I find this to be comical because I think that it would take a crazy man to successfully make Don Quixote into a movie. As we saw, the movie didn’t work out and was never actually made, but I would have loved to see it.

In these chapters, I have seen no change in Quixote. He is still his same crazy self and that shows throughout these chapters. Sancho is no different either, except his greed for wealth and food is growing stronger as the story goes on.