Summary Chapter 5




Don Quixote remembers the famous tale of Baldwin and the Marquis of Mantua, who had been left wounded by Carloto on a mountainside. He thinks his present circumstances are similar to that situation. He starts rolling on the ground while quoting the words of the wounded knight.

A peasant passes by, whose name is Pedro Alonso. Don Quixote believes the peasant is his uncle, the Marquis of Mantua, and recites the ballad that tells how he caught his wife with the Emperor’s son. Don Quixote’s vizor was broken in the fall. When the peasant removes it, he recognizes Don Quexana.. The peasant checks him for injuries, then helps him up. He puts the injured man on his donkey. He gathers Don Quixote’s things, ties them into a bundle, and puts them on Rocinante.

Whenever Pedro asks Don Quixote what happened to him, the man quotes a ballad from a story. Realizing that Don Quixote has lost his wits, the peasant goes to the village. They return to Don Quixote’s home. There, they find the housekeeper and niece quite distressed by Quixote’s week long disappearance. The housekeeper laments how he has lost his mind reading about knights.

The niece blames herself for not telling the barber of her uncle’s deteriorating condition. He might have been able to cure her uncle before it progressed into madness. They should have burnt the books. The curate agrees that the books should be burned before harm befalls anyone else.

When Don Quixote calls out to them, they are happy to see him. He tells them he fell from his horse while fighting ten giants. He falls asleep after refreshing himself. The curate asks the peasant to give him all the details he knows. This makes him all the more determined to burn the books.



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