Chapter VIII
Cervantes says that Cide Hamete Benengeli blesses Allah
before recounting that Don Quixote and Sancho once again go on the road.
He begs us to forget the past adventures and pay attention only
to what is to come. Don Quixote and Sancho think it a good sign
that Rocinante and Dapple bray and stamp as they set out. Sancho
thinks it an especially good sign that Dapple whinnies louder than
Rocinante does. Cervantes interjects to say that Benengeli’s history
does not indicate whether Sancho’s belief is based on astrology.
Don Quixote decides to go to El Toboso to visit Dulcinea.
On the road, he and Sancho discuss the importance of fame. Don Quixote says
that people value fame even in its negative form. Sancho says he believes
they should try to become saints rather than knights because saints
go to heaven. Don Quixote argues that the world already has enough
saints and that he was born to be a knight-errant.
Chapter IX
Don Quixote and Sancho decide to enter El Toboso at night.
Sancho panics because he does not know which house is Dulcinea’s,
even though he supposedly visited her to give her Don Quixote’s
letter in the First Part. The two run into a ploughman who tells
them he does not know of any princesses in the area. They go outside
the town to sleep.
Chapter X
Cervantes says that the author, presumably Cide Hamete
Benengeli, wanted to skip this chapter for fear that he would not
be believed but decided to write it anyhow. Don Quixote dispatches
Sancho to fetch Dulcinea and bring her to him. Sancho panics because
he has never seen Dulcinea and fears he will be attacked if people
see him wandering around the town looking for women.
Sancho sits down for a while and has a lengthy dialogue
with himself. He concludes that he can fool Don Quixote by abducting the
first peasant girl he sees riding on the road and presenting her
as Dulcinea. Sancho sees three young peasant girls riding. Cervantes says
that the author does not clarify whether these girls are riding
on horses or donkeys. Sancho rushes to Don Quixote and informs him that
Dulcinea is approaching with two maids on horseback, but Don Quixote
objects that he can see merely three peasants on donkeys.
As the girls ride by, Sancho grabs one of them and falls
down on his knees before her, praising her as Dulcinea. Though appalled
by her appearance—and especially by her smell—Don Quixote believes
that she is Dulcinea. He says that a wicked enchanter who wants
to deny him the pleasure of seeing Dulcinea’s beauty has changed
her into a peasant. Sancho describes Dulcinea to Don Quixote as
he claims he saw her, including a mole with seven or eight nine-inch
hairs coming out of it.
