In Chapter 28, there is a major emphasis on beauty and the idealization of women. In the beginning, Cardenio and the priest see what they think to be "a lad in farmer's clothes." They were fixated on the farmer because they thought it was unusual that a man had such nice feet and legs. Cervantes writes, "They approached him quietly that he didn't even notice them, beign so engrossed in bathing his feet, which looked like nothing so much as two pieces of white crystal lying among the other stones there. They were astonished at the whiteness and the beauty of those feet, which didn't look as if they were accustomed to treading the clods..."(248). When they get closer, they realize that this "farmer" is actually a beautiful woman. Cervantes writes, "her hands in her hair looked like pieces of white snow" (248). The descriptions of this woman portray her as very delicate. The usage of the words "whiteness" and "snow" are symbols for purity. Women are pure and beautiful and should rely on a man or someone stronger to do a task. This is also shown when the woman tries to get up and run away and her feet fail her. To me, this shows that Cervantes is trying to make a point that women are weaker and fragile creatures and the more important thing about them is their beauty. I think that in this chapter a woman's beauty can also be seen as their greatest flaw because many people are so obsessed with the external beauty that they underestimate women's abilities. This also makes women vulnerable to be taken advantage of.
In chapter 30, Cardenio is talking to Dorotea about Don Quixote while he was talking to Sancho. The priest told Dorotea that she "put on an intelligent performance in the way she'd invented a story, kept it brief and made it follow the pattern of the books of chivalry" (279). The quotes that I am writing about are about the theme of "madness and obsession" that we have talked about in class. The priest then says, "isn't it extraordinary how this unfortunate hidalgo believes all these lies and fictions, just because they imitate the style and manner of the nonsense in his books" (279)? The priest then recognizes that Don Quixote is a smart man with good intentions, but he also admits that when you bring up chivalry Don Quixote is obsessed and becomes a little mad and cannot see reality. This shows that, although most people believe Don Quixote to be mad, certain people are able to see past that and view him as a "man of excellent understanding."
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