Don Quixote’s Early Adventures: Encounters and Misadventures
Don Quixote’s First Sally Without Sancho
Don Quixote decided to undertake the journey on the next day without anyone seeing him. He put on his armor, donned his weapons, and went to Rocinante. But then he thought he had not been knighted and then could not fight. He began walking through the fields of Montiel, screaming, “Oh, Princess Dulcinea!” and remembered his folly after another.
That day was very hot. He walked all day, and at night, the horse could no longer continue. He saw an inn and walked toward it. At the door were two prostitutes, and when they appeared to him, he thought the inn was a castle.
He thought that a dwarf would announce his arrival, but it was a swineherd who played the horn to bring in the hogs. The ladies were frightened to see him, but he addressed them so politely that they almost started laughing. Then came the innkeeper and told him that if he was looking for a bed, there was none, but there was food. Don Quixote dismounted and asked them to take care of his horse, as it was the best in the world. The maids helped disarm him but could not remove his helmet. They put a table attached to the door of the inn and served him an ill-soaked and undercooked cod. But he could not eat because he was wearing his helmet, and he had to lift the visor and could not put anything in his mouth.
The Incident with Maritornes
Don Quixote came to an inn full of bruises. An Asturian lass named Maritornes healed him. In the same barn was a carrier. Maritornes had given her word that she would come to the carrier’s bed. She entered at night, and Don Quixote thought she was the daughter of the owner of the castle who wanted to sleep with him. He said he could not because he had his lady, Dulcinea, and had to be honest with her.
The carrier, who heard everything, thought the girl wanted him and got into a fight. He broke the bed, and the innkeeper came, suspecting that the girl had caused the commotion. He went to Sancho’s bed, and in the end, everyone ended up in a fight.
The Story of Marcela and Grisostomo
Don Quixote, in one of his many adventures, met some goatherds who invited him to stay overnight and have dinner. When they had finished dinner, another pastor came and told them that Grisostomo had died because of the love of a shepherdess called Marcela and that everyone had to go to the funeral.
The next morning, he saddled his horse, Rocinante, and walked to the funeral. On the way, he met two gentlemen. One of them, called Vivaldo, asked Don Quixote why he wore so much armor. He replied that it was his profession. Hearing that, everyone thought he was crazy. To confirm his madness, Vivaldo asked what kind of gentleman he was. “Those who help the needy,” said Don Quixote. Vivaldo replied, “Your profession is one of the hardest on Earth.” Don Quixote said, “Yes, because we are always lousy, thirsty, hungry, etc.”
One of the gentlemen said that one thing was wrong: that whenever they undertook a dangerous adventure, they never assigned it to God but to their ladies. “And your lady is not?” he asked. “That’s impossible,” answered Don Quixote. “Every knight has a lady. So I beg you, tell me the name of your lady.” “Dulcinea,” he replied, “and her beauty is superhuman, for her hair is gold, her cheeks are honest sweat.” Hearing this, we all know the insanity of our Don Quixote.
Then, going down to where the shepherds were, they saw the body of Grisostomo, full of flowers. A minister said, “Here he declared his love for Marcela, and this put an end to the tragedy of his life.”
Suddenly, a vision appeared: it was the shepherdess Marcela. Everyone admired her. But a friend said, “God, that woman is cruel.” Then the pastor said, “I’m not to blame. God made me beautiful, but why do I have to love who loves me? I was born free, and I live free. I chose the solitude of the fields. Those who love me, I disillusion with words. I never gave hope to anyone, and if something killed Grisostomo, it was his insistence, not my cruelty. And today, it’s where I tell you, who wanted to live in solitude.”
Don Quixote, admired for her discretion, said no one should follow the pastor. Then he said goodbye to his friend Vivaldo and the goatherds and started heading to find the shepherdess Marcela to be at her service.