Chapter XLVI
The priest pacifies the members of the Holy Brotherhood
by convincing them that Don Quixote is insane and should not be
held accountable for his actions. Still under the impression that
Dorothea is the Princess Micomicona, Don Quixote tells her that
the time has come to continue their journey to her kingdom so that
he may slay the giant. Sancho objects, telling everyone that he
has seen Dorothea kissing Ferdinand and that she cannot, therefore,
be a princess.
Don Quixote is infuriated by Sancho’s insolence, but Dorothea pacifies
him by telling him that Sancho must have been subject to an enchantment
that made him believe he saw her kissing Ferdinand. Don Quixote
forgives Sancho, who says he believes that the inn must be enchanted
because of all the bizarre things that have happened. Sancho adds,
however, that he is still certain that the blanket-tossing he received
there was an act committed by real people. Don Quixote assures Sancho
that the blanket-tossing was an enchantment as well, which is why
Don Quixote has not avenged it. Sancho does not believe him.
The barber and priest contrive a plan to get Don Quixote
back to their village without the help of Dorothea and Ferdinand.
They build a cage, capture Don Quixote, bind him, and place him
in the cage on the back of an ox cart. The barber then pretends
to be a sage and predicts Don Quixote’s valorous return to his village
and his reunion and marriage to Dulcinea.
Chapter XLVII
Don Quixote accepts the enchantment that he believes is
afflicting him but wonders why he travels so slowly. He concludes
that enchantments must have changed since the old days, when knights were
whisked away on clouds and traveled at very high speeds. Sancho
warns Don Quixote that he is not enchanted, but Don Quixote does
not believe him. As the group leaves, the innkeeper gives the priest
some papers from the trunk the unknown man left at the inn. The
priest is anxious to read them.
On the road, the group meets another priest, a canon of
Toledo, who rides with the group for a while to talk to the priest
from Don Quixote’s hometown. Sancho challenges the barber, saying
that he knows that the barber and the priest have taken Don Quixote
captive. The barber threatens to lock Sancho in the cage too, and
Sancho becomes indignant. The canon tells the priest that he considers books
of chivalry to be ridiculous lies and harmful to the populace. He
also berates the style of chivalric books, saying that they should all
be banished. The priest says he agrees for the most part but that he
is able to appreciate them.
Chapter XLVIII
The canon says he began writing a book of chivalry but
stopped because he discovered that an author must write either good
books that the crowds dislike or low-quality books that displease
the critics. He then rails against the state of theater in Spain
and suggests that there should be a government official to oversee
decisions about which plays get produced and which do not. Sancho
tells Don Quixote that the barber and the priest have been faking
his enchantment out of jealousy of his great deeds. Sancho asks
Don Quixote whether he needs to use the bathroom; Don Quixote replies
that he does.
