Don Quixote | Part 2, Chapters 11–13 | Summary

Summary

Part 2, Chapter 11

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza come across a group of traveling actors. They are dressed like Death, Cupid, a queen, an angel, a soldier, an emperor, a demon, and a clown. The clown steals Sancho Panza's donkey, and Don Quixote's initial desire for revenge is quelled when he realizes the group is armed with rocks. The donkey is recovered.

Part 2, Chapter 12

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza settle down in the woods for the night. The Don compliments Sancho Panza's growing intelligence, and Sancho Panza says his master's wisdom is rubbing off on him. Their rambling conversation is cut off by the arrival of another knight-errant and his squire. The knight is lovesick and sings a sonnet about a broken heart. The knights sit down to talk about their ladyloves, and the squires go off to have a conversation of their own.

Part 2, Chapter 13

Sancho Panza and the other squire talk about how crazy their masters are. The other squire suggests they just go home to their humble huts and live the normal lives of poor men, but Sancho Panza wants to see Don Quixote reach at least Zaragoza, where the Don wants to fight in a tournament. They share good food and wine and fall asleep.

Analysis

Sancho Panza's conversation with the other knight's squire reveals two key aspects of his personality. The first is greed. He claims the Devil makes him think there's always another bag of gold on the horizon, the thought of which helps him deal with his master's madness and pushes him to see through whatever adventure Don Quixote has planned.

A more tender moment reveals the loyalty and love Sancho Panza feels toward Don Quixote. Because the Don is "so good-hearted that I love him with all my soul," Sancho Panza couldn't ever abandon him, "no matter what nonsense he gets himself into." The only other person (or animal) for whom Sancho Panza has such strong feelings is his donkey. Not surprisingly, both the donkey and Don Quixote represent the hope of wealth: the donkey for his ability to work and provide an income for Sancho Panza, and Don Quixote for his promises of a more noble life.