Don Quixote, Book I, chs. 15-18

[bdNM]

Here we have an encounter between the Don and a group of teamsters from Yanguas in Galicia.  His mare is attracted to one of the teamster's horses and some trouble breaks out.  The two return to the inn, where another misunderstanding occurs.  Trying to meet with a teamster, she accidentally awakes Don Quixote, who assumes at first that she is Dulcinea.  The Don then assumes that the frightened girl's screams are from his apparent rejection of her (he's saving himself for Dulcinea) and another fight breaks out. 

The Don refuses to pay at the inn -- he assumes it is a castle, albeit enchanted, and that such monetary concerns are not for knights such as himself, and Sancho must face the innkeeper's  wrath and some local jokers who toss him about in a blanket.  The Don does not intervene, which Sancho takes badly.  The Don claims that he was enchanted. 

So we get more misunderstanding, but it seems Sancho has to put up with a lot.  Why doesn't the Don intervene?  Just as he expects Sancho to come to his aid, does he not have a duty to do so for Sancho? 

[rbehr]

I just finished reading this section and it was hilarious.  The slapstick humor in the inn and the exchanges between DQ and Sancho reminded me of Three Stooges escapades.

[Peppermill]

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bdNM wrote:

Here we have an encounter between the Don and a group of teamsters from Yanguas in Galicia.  His mare is attracted to one of the teamster's horses and some trouble breaks out.  The two return to the inn, where another misunderstanding occurs.  Trying to meet with a teamster, she accidentally awakes Don Quixote, who assumes at first that she is Dulcinea.  The Don then assumes that the frightened girl's screams are from his apparent rejection of her (he's saving himself for Dulcinea) and another fight breaks out. 

The Don refuses to pay at the inn -- he assumes it is a castle, albeit enchanted, and that such monetary concerns are not for knights such as himself, and Sancho must face the innkeeper's  wrath and some local jokers who toss him about in a blanket.  The Don does not intervene, which Sancho takes badly.  The Don claims that he was enchanted. 

So we get more misunderstanding, but it seems Sancho has to put up with a lot.  Why doesn't the Don intervene?  Just as he expects Sancho to come to his aid, does he not have a duty to do so for Sancho? 

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Inexplicable?  Just the way it is?

Cervantes questioning the justice embedded in the code of chivalry?

[bdNM]

I've read some comments about Don Quixote which comment on the sometimes slapstick quality of the action and behavior -- Rutherford seems to feel that is a large part of its appeal.  As far as I can tell, in the 19th c. there was a strong aversion to that quality of the work and that some of the 19th c. translations and commentaries tend to emphasize the romanticism of the Don, rather than the sometimes buffoonish qualities. 

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rbehr wrote:

I just finished reading this section and it was hilarious.  The slapstick humor in the inn and the exchanges between DQ and Sancho reminded me of Three Stooges escapades.

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[Peppermill]

Now the cloud of dust he had seen was raised by two great droves of sheep coming along the same road in opposite directions, which, because of the dust, did not become visible until they drew near, but Don Quixote asserted so positively that they were armies that Sancho was led to believe it and say, "Well, and what are we to do, senor?"   Don Quixote, Book I, Chapter 18

Today, when I was reading the notes for The Mill on the Floss, I encountered the following:

"...Ajax among the slaughtered sheep: in Sophocles' Ajax (307-11), the madness and blind rage of the eponymous hero lead him to mistake a flock of sheep for enemy troops, which he duly destroys.

"The Loeb translation reads:

'And as he scanned the havoc all around

He smote his head and wailed and sank to earth

A wreck among the wreck of slaughtered sheep

Digging into his hair his clenched nails.'"

[bdNM]

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Peppermill wrote:

Now the cloud of dust he had seen was raised by two great droves of sheep coming along the same road in opposite directions, which, because of the dust, did not become visible until they drew near, but Don Quixote asserted so positively that they were armies that Sancho was led to believe it and say, "Well, and what are we to do, senor?"   Don Quixote, Book I, Chapter 18

Today, when I was reading the notes for The Mill on the Floss, I encountered the following:

"...Ajax among the slaughtered sheep: in Sophocles' Ajax (307-11), the madness and blind rage of the eponymous hero lead him to mistake a flock of sheep for enemy troops, which he duly destroys.

"The Loeb translation reads:

'And as he scanned the havoc all around

He smote his head and wailed and sank to earth

A wreck among the wreck of slaughtered sheep

Digging into his hair his clenched nails.'"

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Nice catch -- Athena in Sophocles' Ajax causes the big lug to go nuts and kill the sheep thinking he  was killing Agamemnon and others.  I hadn't thought of the DQ episode in that light, but it is a nice observation.  I find there are some scenes that are really masterful descriptions -- I quite like the description of the scene and the chaos that follows.