3/3 Summary

In chapter 30 (the final chapter from last session’s reading), we were introduced to “a graceful lady on a snow white palfrey” (p. 653). This graceful lady is a duchess, and her husband a duke. They “considered it their good fortune to welcome to their castle such a knight errant and so erring a squire” (p. 657) as our Knight of Lions (formerly known as the Knight of the Sorrowful Face) and his squire Sancho Panza.

The Duchess and Duke drive much of the action in the sections we read for this meeting (chapters 31-41) as they plan hoaxes and adventures for Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Are the Duchess and Duke mean? Some of us think they’re quite nasty, while others take the Duchess and Duke to be schemers, but in good humor. In any case, they certainly drive the story forward. Someone mentioned that they thought the Duchess and Duke were modelled after a historical couple--we wondered whether Cervantes’ version is a satire. We read elements of the Duchess and Duke to be satirical. For example, the ease with which whipping is treated may be a statement about the Inquisition.

Sancho is certainly the prominent character in this selection. We were amazed that the Duchess was able to talk Sancho into believing that Dulcinea’s enchantment--which Sancho fabricated--is genuine. Sancho does believe in enchantments, so perhaps it is not a far stretch. Some people had a more favorable interpretation of Sancho’s dealings and thought that he may be playing back with the Duke and Duchess.

People seem to like to hear Don Quixote and Sancho Panza talk. The Duchess lauds Sancho on his speech (tongue-in-cheek, it seems). Don Quixote and Sancho’s respective conversations, not just their quests, are a huge part of the story this session. That being said, Don Quixote and many others do spend a deal of time telling Sancho to shut up! Of course, he doesn’t. Is Sancho’s character meaningful in some deeper sense than serving as a buffoon? Is Cervantes poking fun at something in having Sancho’s ridiculous speech continue on, despite protests from some and to the amusement of others?

Well, the wait for Sancho’s reward for being squire has almost arrived. Sancho has been promised an Ínsula to govern, finally, though he has not yet been put into office. He writes to his wife, Teresa about it. The Duchess finds a few errors with the letter:

“One, when he says or implies that this governorship has been given in exchange for the lashes that he will give himself, when he knows and cannot deny that when my lord the duke promised it to him, nobody even dreamed there were lashes in the world; the other is that he shows himself to be very greedy, and I wouldn’t want it to be oregano; greed rips the sack, and a greedy governor dispenses unjust justice” (chapter 36, p. 699).

The bit about lashes is telling. Sancho remains, as ever, extremely self-interested. He can’t help mention the lashes he is to be subjected to (to free Dulcinea of her enchantment). But what’s this about oregano? A footnote indicates to us that the Duchess makes reference to the proverb “God grant that it’s oregano and not caraway.” According to Edith Grossman (translator), “The proverb expresses the fear that things may not turn out as hoped.” We couldn’t find a definitive answer. Is this proverb cultural? Is it that oregano is a common spice, whereas caraway is an exotic one that symbolizes something dangerous or unwanted?

An illustration by Gustave Doré from chapter 35 of Sancho learning about 

what must be done to free Dulcinea from her enchantment.

Proverbs are interesting in some ways because they are, oregano aside, often universal. For example, Sancho remarks that since having a governorship bestowed upon him, he no longers thinks in the silly ways a squire does, and he doesn’t “care a fig for all the duennas in the world” (chapter 32, p. 703). (And we could tell that Sancho doesn’t care for duennas, as he asked one to tend after his donkey). The “fig” expression is also associated with Saint Teresa of Ávila’s (1515-1582) visions. We aren't sure of the origins of such expressions, but we find it interesting how they keep appearing.

Our sessions wouldn’t be the same without our handy Spanish translator to comment on what our translator did not note. For example, in his letter to Teresa, Sancho admonishes her “to go around in a carriage, because that’s the way it should be; anything else is going around on all fours. You’re the wife of a governor, and nobody’s going to talk about you behind your back!” (chapter 36, p. 698). As our Spanish-reading participant told us, this line is especially funny in Spanish because the word “carriage” also means “a go-between” or “gossiper.” Teresa has license to gossip, but will be protected from gossip as the wife of a governor.

Another neat translation can be found in one of the exchanges between Sancho and Don Quixote.

“Then with that promise, my good Sancho, I am comforted, and I believe you will keep it, because in fact, although a simpleton, you are a veridical man.”

“Vertical or horizontal,” said Sancho, “I’ll keep my word.” (chapter 41, p. 720).

This exchange is fun in English. It’s fun in Spanish too, but in a different way. The Spanish doesn’t have a play on “vertical” and “horizontal,” but instead has a play on the terms “green” and “brown” (verde and marrón respectively, and “verdad” means “truth”). Yet again, we’re impressed at how Grossman captures the spirit of Cervantes’ characters even when the translations can’t be done literally!