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Part 2, Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Don Quixote, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Truth and Lies
Literature, Realism, and Idealism
Madness and Sanity
Intention and Consequence
Self-Invention, Class Identity, and Social Change
Summary
Analysis
The squires discuss the hardships and rewards of their chosen lifestyle. Their masters seem very strange to them; the Squire of the Forest mentions that his master is only pretending to be insane to help another knight. Sancho replies that his master is all innocence and kindness, though he is silly and easily deceived. The Squire of the Forest shares a bottle of wine and a rabbit pie with Sancho, who, it turns out, is a master at judging wine.
Sancho believes that Quixote is innocent because he never pretends to be someone he’s not. Even though Quixote chose to become a knight, he also believes knighthood was his destiny (the opposite of choice) – the only possible reality. In this way, his innocence and his madness overlap.
Themes
