Don Quixote for a while has been the main prey of manipulation throughout the novel. This is due to the fact that Don Quixote is insane and he is most of the time unaware of his surroundings, and another reason is that he easily tricked. In other words, Don Quixote has a really bad consciousness throughout the novel. In volume 1, Don quixote was manipulated by many people, for example, the people in the inn, the priest and the barber also manipulated him when they wanted him to return home. These methods were mostly innocuous and only meant for good laugh or when they needed Don Quixote to do something. However, compared to volume 2, there is a whole new meaning to the word, manipulation.  

In volume 2, the Duke and the Duchess are introduced. The duke and the duchess claim to have read the first volume of the novel and profess to be huge fans of Don Quixote and the loyal sidekick, Sancho Panza. They soon begin to manipulate both Don Quixote and Sancho in a dark way. When reading this scene, I got the feeling all along that they weren’t actually fans of Don Quixote or Sancho. It’s as if they’re rubbing their riches in their faces. Trying to demonstrate that they are better than Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. An example of the duke and duchess poking fun at Don Quixote and Sancho, is when they have Sancho bathed in dirty water while Don Quixote is being washed by servants who leave soap in his beard purposefully so he can sit at the head of the table with soap in his beard. Another example of the cruel joke is when the duchess interrogates Sancho about Dulcinea. “Now that we’re alone and no one can hear us, I would like the señor governor to resolve a few doubts I have, born of the history that has been printed about the great don Quixote. One of these is that since the good Sancho never saw señora Dulcinea—I mean, señora Dulcinea del Toboso—nor did he take don Quixote’s letter, because it stayed behind in the diary in the Sierra Morena, how was it that he dared to fabricate an answer and say that he found her winnowing wheat when it was all a trick and a lie, to the detriment of the reputation of the peerless Dulcinea, and quite out of keeping with the character and loyalty of good squires?” (Saavedra, Miguel de Cervantes. Don Quixote (Signet Classics) (p. 753). After Sancho explains to the duchess about Dulcinea being enchanted, she tells him the only way for Dulcinea to be disenchanted, is for him to be whipped 3,000 times. Which is a pretty cruel joke by the duke and duchess. They are obviously manipulating Don Quixote and Sancho for their entertainment. Throughout volume 2, the idea of a darker manipulation has been introduced which is quite interesting.