14. Don Quixote, Part II: Front Matter and Chapters I-XI (cont.)

Cervantes’ Don Quixote (SPAN 300) Commentary of the key concepts of Spanish Baroque, desengaño, introduces González Echevarría’s suggestion that the plot of the Quixote follows a Baroque unfolding from deceit (engaño) to disillusionment (desengaño). The discussion of Don Quixote and Sancho about knight-errants and saints is not only about arms and letters, but about good actions for their own sake and for the sake of glory (or deceit). This discussion echoes the religious debates of the time and shows Don Quixote’s broad knowledge of them, anticipating Part II’s projection beyond Spain. The episode in El Toboso announces much of the mood of Part II with the darkness and the urban scenario. The lie of the enchanted Dulcinea is important because it will leave a deep imprint in the knight’s subconscious and because it is the first episode in which the roles of Don Quixote and Sancho are reversed. The lecture ends with the comment on the episode of the cart ca