Summary of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (Book 2)

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A high-quality summary of Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote of La Mancha book 2 including chapter details and analysis of the main themes of the original book.
About the original book:
Spanish nobleman, Don Quijote is the name chosen by Alonso Quijano for his adventures as a knight errant in the fictional work The ingenious gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha, the work of the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes.
Don Quixote de la Mancha ”by Miguel de Cervantes is one of the top works of Spanish literature and world literature. Let's see some curious facts:

It is the most translated book after the Bible, with versions in more than 150 languages. Among the curious translations of the work are those published in the international Esperanto language and the version in Spanglish that Ilan Stavans has edited.
Don Quixote consists of two parts; the first was published in 1605 and the second in 1615.
It is the first modern novel and the first polyphonic novel (that is, with several voices).
Its influence has been such that critics have come to say that every subsequent novel rewrites Don Quixote or contains it implicitly.
Around the world, the anniversaries of its publication are celebrated with almost religious fervor.
Several passages were written in jail since Miguel de Cervantes spent some time there due to tax problems.
In 1989 a copy was sold for $ 1.5 million. It was a first edition in excellent condition and of which there are only a couple of copies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.B. Publishers
• Release date: Nov 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005848224

Book preview

Book 2 Summary

Don Quixote is back in La Mancha, under the watchful eye of his niece and housekeeper, as Book II starts. Don Quixote is visited by the priest and barber to check how he is doing. They don't want to remind him of his recent exploits since he needs to retire to his house.

Sancho arrives with the news that a book titled The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha has been published. Sancho meets a young scholar called Sampson Carrasco, who informs the two men about the book's contents. Now that their past experiences have been written and published, Quixote and Sancho are more enthused to resume their travels. Quixote's niece and housekeeper advise him to stay at home, but Quixote seems unconcerned.

Quixote chooses to visit Toboso to meet Dulcinea while on the trip. Sancho attempts to talk Quixote out of it, but the knight is adamant. Sancho is supposed to guide the way, but Sancho has only pretended to see Dulcinea, so the squire has no idea how to go to Dulcinea's house. Finally, Sancho pulls a girl off a donkey and claims she is Dulcinea, but she has been enchanted.

The ugly is ugly, and she has a foul stench. She flees, and Quixote laments the fact that he has been denied Dulcinea's beauty. The cart of death, apprehends the two pilgrims, and the knight and squire fear for their life. Finally, the guys inside the wagon persuade Quixote that they are nothing more than actors.

Quixote goes on his journey and comes across his next adventure in the middle of the night: Quixote and Sancho are challenged to a duel by the Knight of the Woods and his squire. The two squires converse that night, and each is persuaded of his master's insanity. Sancho refuses to fight the Squire of the Woods in the morning because of his enormous and terrible visage.

When Quixote sees the Knight of the Woods' attire, he renames him Knight of the Looking-Glasses (mirrors). The knight gets thrown from his horse by Quixote. Sampson Carrasco and Tom Cecial, Sancho's neighbors, are revealed to be the Knight and Squire. Sampson had hoped to vanquish Quixote and return him to his homeland, but he was defeated.

Sampson and Tom, according to Quixote, are enchantments.

Quixote finds himself into difficulties in the countryside, slaughtering seven lambs because he mistook them for pagan soldiers and unsuccessfully luring a ferocious lion into a battle. The knight changes his name to Knight of the Lions after this journey.

Although Quiteria the Fair was scheduled to marry Camacho the Rich, Quixote, and Sancho attend a wedding where a poor guy named Basilio manages to get the bride, Quiteria the Fair, even though Quiteria was intended to marry Camacho the Rich. Basilio's cousin is full of chivalric and non-chivalric tales. He informs Don Quixote about the Montesinos Cave, and Don Quixote is anxious to see it.

Sancho and Quixote are brought to the cave, which is a hole in the earth, by Basilio. After being dropped into the pit, Quixote falls asleep. When hauled out, Quixote claims to have had visions of wise magicians and enchantments.

Quixote's luck runs out as he becomes the object of a perverted duke and duchess's amusement. For several weeks, Sancho and Don Quixote are their honored guests. Quixote and Sancho are subjected to a series of harsh pranks by the castle employees. All of these jokes had the effect of convincing Quixote that chivalry and enchantments exist. The duke and duchess had read The Ingenious Gentleman, and the Duchess can create fresh stories and scenarios to ensnare Quixote based on the ones Sancho tells her.

A parade of devils and sages interrupts Quixote and Panza's boar hunt, which is interrupted by a procession of devils and sages. The charmed Dulcinea is delivered inside a carriage to the accompaniment of ferocious music. Dulcinea will only be disillusioned and restored to beauty once Sancho has deliberately beaten himself 3300 times, according to a sage.

Countess Trifaldi and her entourage arrive at the castle not long after, having sought Quixote's help. The ladies have been cursed with beards, but if Quixote can face an evil giant named Malumbruno on a wooden horse, the ladies will be restored. When Quixote and Sancho ride Clavileo, the flying wooden horse, they are blinded. The horse is littered with firecrackers, which go off and gently injure the guys before hurling them to the ground.

Sancho is appointed as the governor of a town, but he resigns soon after.

Don Quixote is still imprisoned in the castle, tormented by cats and Altisidora, a maiden in love with Don Quixote. One of the duchess' maids, Doa Rodriguez, approaches Don Quixote for help, and he agrees to joust in defense of her daughter's dignity. The joust, however, never takes place.

Quixote and Sancho depart the mansion of the duchess. The criminals steal them, but the ringleader, Roque Guinart, recovers the stolen items and guides the two men to Barcelona. Quixote becomes the town's laughingstock in Barcelona, where he stays with nobleman Don Antonio Moreno.

Don Quixote is enthralled by Moreno's assertion that he has created a talking head that can predict the future.

Carrasco reappears as the White Moon's Knight, and this time he fights and beats Don Quixote. Quixote must pledge that he will return home for a year. Quixote considers becoming a shepherd, but he is overcome with depression.

Quixote becomes ill with a fever practically as soon as he returns home. He comes to, disavows chivalry and knight-errantry, and dies.

Chapters 1-4

Summary and Analysis

Preface

Cervantes cites Preface to the Reader, in the author of the second Don Quixote, a writer who released a fake sequel to Cervantes' original book. Cervantes chooses the high road, emphasizing how the imposter's sin will be his punishment.

Cervantes dedicates the work to the illustrious Conde de Lemos (Count of Lemos), as well as Archbishop Bernardo de Sandoval, the Archbishop of Toledo.

Cid Hamet Ben Engeli is the story's original composer, according to Cervantes.

Chapter 1

The priest and barber avoid Don Quixote for a month after he has been restored to his home because they do not want to remind Quixote of his tragic days as a knight-errant. When they meet Don Quixote, they know he'll be on the lookout for another mission shortly. Although Don Quixote's books have been confiscated, the ex-knight errant retains a vivid recall of the chivalric tales' elements.

Chapter 2

Sancho Panza tries to pay a visit to his old boss. When the housekeeper refuses to let him in, Sancho Panza asserts that Don Quixote promised him an island, which he wants to claim! The housekeeper is perplexed by this conversation, and she and Don Quixote's niece get into a heated quarrel with Sancho.

When Don Quixote hears the argument, he orders the housekeeper to let Sancho Panza in. This isn't because Don Quixote is eager to meet Sancho Panza; rather, Don Quixote is concerned about Sancho's loose mouth, which he fears may divulge some unpleasant information.

Sancho Panza informs his master in a private chat that he has learned about a book in which Don Quixote's