Don Quijote Passage Analysis

903 Words4 Pages

This passage is from chapter thirty-two of the second volume of Don Quijote, where a few of the servant girls of the duke and the duchess, who are hosting Don Quijote and Sancho Panza, decide to wash Don Quijote’s beard after dinner out of mischief, leaving him in a comical state. The duke and the duchess are taken aback at the servants’ actions, and decide to comply in order to keep Don Quijote convinced, even going as far as to have the duke’s beard be washed as well. At first glance, this passage seems to be another humorous situation that results from the interactions between Don Quijote and those aware of his madness. However, with further examination, this passage magnifies the idea of boldness in order to accentuate the solid relationships …show more content…

The servant girls were well aware of their risky actions as they did not even dare “to look at their master and mistress”. The boldness of the servants created a brief moment of social shifts, where the lower class experienced the power of authorship. As a result, unexpected outcome emerged when the duke, most likely unknowingly, voluntarily removed himself from his high social status for a brief instant. In order to keep Don Quijote from questioning the whole process, the duke demanded that his beard be washed also, which ultimately put him in the same physical absurdity. Don Quijote is pointedly described as superficially different from the others in the room as he is “darker-skinned” and had his eyes tightly shut. The duke chose to imitate the laughable situation of Don Quijote because he was attempting to reinforce his control and power over his momentary loss of high status. Ironically, his effort to reorganize and reclaim his position ultimately resulted in lowering himself to a position that was ridiculed by even his own servants. However, his endeavors to fully cajole Don Quijote in this situation seems to be contradictory and extraneous. Throughout the book, the Don Quijote is seen to accept the most absurd situations and interpret most events in his favor. Even if the duke had refused to be washed in the same way, Don