Don Quixote | Part 2, Chapters 42–44 | Summary

Summary

Part 2, Chapter 42

Pleased with the success of their prank, the Duke tells Sancho Panza that his governorship will commence tomorrow. Don Quixote takes his squire aside and gives him sound advice about remaining humble, being kind, and remaining proud of where he came from.

Part 2, Chapter 43

Don Quixote gives Sancho Panza further advice, this time pertaining to the physical aspects of being a governor. He covers everything from belching to clothing to Sancho Panza's overuse of proverbs. Don Quixote is particularly insistent that Sancho Panza cease all use of proverbs, to which Sancho responds with four more.

Part 2, Chapter 44

The chapter begins with an analysis of how Sidi Hamid wished he could write something else instead of recording the true adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza before returning to life at the Duke and Duchess's estate.

Don Quixote is lonely after Sancho Panza leaves for his governorship, yet in deference to Dulcinea del Toboso, he refuses the Duchess's offers of female companionship. Later in his room, he hears the voices of two girls. One, Altisidora, sings a lovesick song about the lunatic knight. He is at once both flattered and dismayed. He has promised himself to Dulcinea and must remain modest.

Analysis

Don Quixote covers a great many topics in his advice to Sancho Panza, but it's somewhat self-serving. He is worried that Sancho won't be a good governor and that it will reflect poorly on himself. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are inextricably linked, and Don Quixote, though chivalrous, spends a great deal of time worrying about his own reputation.

Just like his hero, Cervantes was worried about his own reputation. He notes in the beginning of the chapter how stifling it was to write about the same characters over and over again—he wanted to be viewed as a versatile writer. That's why Part 1 has so many off-topic stories introduced by tertiary characters. But it turned out that readers either skipped those stories or didn't think much of them at all. His "artistry" unappreciated, he decided not to waste his time on subplots in Part 2.

His boredom with Don Quixote and Sancho Panza may also explain the lengthy break between the publication of Part 1 and Part 2. He worked on other projects for the intervening 10 years; it was only after the release of an unauthorized second part by an anonymous author that Cervantes finished his popular story.