Don Quixote: Part 2, Chapter 69 Summary & Analysis

The men carry Don Quixote and Sancho into a dark, torch-lit courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard, they see a platform carrying Altisidora’s corpse. The Duke and Duchess seat themselves beside it, along with two mysterious men in black. A servant dresses Sancho in a black robe painted with flames and a cardboard cone over his head. A young man stands by the corpse and sings a song describing Quixote’s murder of Altisidora. The mysterious men, the judges of the proceedings, tell Sancho he must receive a variety of beatings to bring Altisidora back to life. Sancho angrily refuses, especially since his beating must be carried out by the twelve duennas. Finally, though, he gives in, and in the middle of the punishment Altisidora wakes up and thanks him. The night is over and the two friends retire to sleep in their old room in the Duke’s castle.