For not all those poets who praise ladies
under names which they choose so freely, really have such mistresses.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
Chapter XXI
Don Quixote and Sancho see a man on a mule with something
glittering on his head. The man is a barber wearing a basin on his
head to protect him from the rain. But Don Quixote mistakes the
man for a great knight wearing the mythic Mambrino’s helmet and
vows to win the helmet from him. When the barber sees Don Quixote
charging at him, the barber runs away, leaving behind his mule and
basin. Sancho laughs at Don Quixote and tells him that the “helmet”
is just a basin.
Don Quixote explains that the enchanted helmet must have fallen
into the hands of someone who did not know its value and then melted
it down, making it into a basin. He resolves to wear it in the meantime
and have it made back into a helmet at the next village. When Sancho
again begins to complain about the treatment he received at the
inn while Don Quixote stood by idly, Don Quixote explains that Sancho’s
treatment was just a joke. He adds that had it been serious, he
would have returned to avenge it. Don Quixote then explains how
he will win the affections of a princess by fighting for her father,
the king. He says he will then marry her and make Sancho rich.
Chapter XXII
The manuscript continues, Cervantes says, with the account
of Don Quixote and Sancho’s encounter with a chain gang of galley
slaves. The prisoners are guarded by two armed men on foot and two armed
horsemen. Sancho warns Don Quixote not to interfere with the chain
gang, but Don Quixote approaches the group anyway and asks each
prisoner to tell his story. Each slave makes up a story in which
his criminal actions appear to be justified or even necessary. Upon
seeing the men detained against their will, Don Quixote charges
the officers. Anxious to be free, the prisoners join the charge.
After the men gain freedom, Don Quixote commands them to present
themselves to Dulcinea, which they refuse to do out of fear for
their safety. Don Quixote insults them, and they attack him, running
away with his and Sancho’s possessions. Freeing the galley slaves
distresses Sancho, who is concerned that the Holy Brotherhood, or
police, will come after them. Sancho urges Don Quixote to flee into
the mountains.
Chapter XXIII
Don Quixote and Sancho ride into the woods of the Sierra
Morena. Unfortunately for them, one of the galley slaves, Gines
de Pasamonte, is also hiding in these woods. Gines steals Sancho’s
donkey, whose name we now learn is Dapple. On the road through the mountains,
Don Quixote and Sancho find a saddle and a bag containing a notebook,
shirts, and money. Don Quixote gives Sancho the money, and Sancho
decides that this payment makes up for all his previous troubles.
In the notebook, Don Quixote finds a poem and a love letter, which
indicate that their author was spurned by his lover and driven to
madness by her infidelity. Don Quixote then sees a nearly naked man
hopping through the wilderness and resolves to follow him and learn
his tale. Sancho opposes the idea because he wants to protect the
money they have found and fears that the man might claim the money
if they catch up with him. Don Quixote explains to Sancho, however,
that they have no choice but to look for the naked man once they
consider that the money might belong to him.
While searching for the man, Don Quixote and Sancho encounter
an old goatherd who tells them the story of the naked man. A polite,
rich gentleman, he appeared one day to ask the goatherds to help
him locate the wildest part of the Sierra Morena. The goatherds pointed
the man in a direction and he ran off. Later, he returned and assaulted
one of the goatherds on the road, stealing his food. They pursued
him and several days later found him in a ragged state, so they
offered him food and care. The man treated them courteously at some
times but rudely at others. Just as the old goatherd concludes the
story, the man, whom Cervantes now calls the Ragged Knight of the
Sorry Countenance, appears. Don Quixote gives him a long hug.
