After the wedding, Don Quixote wants to test the wonders of Montesinos's cave. His companions see a physical descent and a sleeping return; the account of what he saw comes later.
On this page
Characters and setting
Characters: Don Quixote, Sancho, Basilio, Quiteria and the graduate’s cousin, who acts as their guide. Setting: The stay with the newlyweds, followed by the Cave of Montesinos.
Summary
The newlyweds host Don Quixote and Sancho and explain that Quiteria did not know Basilio's stratagem. The knight advises Basilio to earn a living for their marriage. The graduate's cousin guides them towards Montesinos and describes scholarly books he plans to write. Sancho tests these projects with comic questions. They buy rope and reach the cave. Don Quixote cuts through its entrance vegetation and descends while tied to the rope. Sancho and the cousin eventually haul him up with his eyes closed. Once awakened, he laments leaving an extraordinary vision and prepares to describe it.
What to notice
The external narrative has not yet shown the marvellous interior. Readers first receive the observable actions of those who remain above.
Analysis
The wish to see for himself meets the difficulty of sharing that sight directly. The cousin's interest in using the adventure in his books raises another question: How a narrated experience becomes authoritative material for someone who did not witness it.
A reflection for today
Recording testimony requires preserving the difference between what several people observed and what only one reports. The rope, the wait and the return provide shared evidence; the wonders require a separate assessment.
Sources and edition
This guide uses Cervantes’s text in Francisco Rodríguez Marín’s La Lectura edition (1911–1913), volume 6, II.22. Verifiable locator: Identifier donquijotedelama06cerv, scan images 72–90 (zero-based digital index). The heading and selected passages were visually checked; the complete notes were not collated. Analysis and present-day reflection are this guide’s commentary.
