And just like that, there it is: Week 14, in which the diverting advertures of these deathmarchers continue, along with other things that are really very worthwhile.
I’m dragging along a little behind agin’ this week, but hopeful that an all-day trip tomorrow will be my key catch up time. Meanwhile, I’ve been enjoying the heck out of this week’s exchange. Also: 13 comments in week 13 is an exact tie with week 13 of our original Deathmarch (Gravity’s Rainbow), way back in April ’05. What does it all mean? Next Wednesday: It’s on to the end of Chapter XLIV (746 Grossman), just before our encounter with the “perpetual discloser of the Antipodes, torch of the world, (and) eye of heaven.” Finally!
18 comments for “The Don Quixote Deathmarch, Week 14”
Dr. Vitz
June 29, 2006 at 12:02 pm
I’m fascinated by the Duke and Duchess. They’re desire to humor DQ and Sancho’s fantasies and laugh at them behind their backs is something like the relationship between a pet and its owner. They remind me of people laughing as their cat chases a beam of light they are projecting.
Of course, Sancho being told to whip himself seems a little cruel – but people tap fishbowls to freak out the goldfish inside.
I’m fascinated by the Duke and Duchess. They’re desire to humor DQ and Sancho’s fantasies and laugh at them behind their backs is something like the relationship between a pet and its owner. They remind me of people laughing as their cat chases a beam of light they are projecting.
Of course, Sancho being told to whip himself seems a little cruel – but people tap fishbowls to freak out the goldfish inside.
So the mysterious problem that was keeping me off the Internet has just as mysteriously fixed itself. I’m sure enchanters must be responsible.
I’ve really been enjoying how Don Quixote keeps running into people who know who he is and treat him like a knight errant. You declare yourself to be something; somebody else writes about it; and if it suits the world to humor you, after awhile you might as well be that thing in reality. See also: Emperor Norton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_A._Norton).
My favorite insult of the week, which I hope I will have the opportunity to put to use sooner rather than later: “You garlic-stuffed scoundrel!”
Got close to caught up today. Likewise enjoyed the Duke and Duchess. And the monkey/puppet sequence was gold gold and more gold.
One question: I must have missed something somewhere along the line — can anybody remind me when DQ came in to all this loot?
-Cecil
Thank you all for the new previews! Like many of you, I’m still a tad behind, but am going to Maryland over the holiday to babysit with my 3 year old grandson. Not only do I plan to catch up on the plane flight, but I plan to read aloud to him from DQ every single night! Think about it–what adventure story could match this? Lions, Caves, Enchanters, Mules, Dukes, Duchesses, blanket tossing.The kid’s gonna sleep like a rock! (I just hope he doesn’t tell his mom and dad that we tried a teensy weensy blanket toss ourselves!) Happy Independence Day, Marchers!
> “13 comments in week 13 is an exact tie with week 13 of our original Deathmarch (Gravity’s Rainbow), way back in April ’05. What does it all mean?”
It means you’ve discovered why I had to drop out the week before.
Cecil asks to be reminded where DQ “came in to all this loot.” I was wondering myself when Sancho is demanding he finally be paid for his service in chapter 28. DQ says “you want to use all my money for your salary,” suggesting that he had some money but wasn’t rich.
Way back at the start of chapter 1, part 1, a footnote says “Cervantes describes typical aspects of the ordinary life of the rural gentry,” in explaining mention of foods eaten & clothing worn. I guess in today’s terms, we’d say DQ was “middle class,” neither poor nor wealthy, with income from what was produced on the land he owned?
I enjoyed how DQ made Sancho feel ashamed for demanding his pay, and more or less beg to be allowed to keep his job without pay.
Some good Sanchoisms this week:
Favorite affront: “You take me for an injecter!”
Favorite bout: Sancho v the duenna, where Sancho invents a name for her (is it un-PC to call someone by a Spanish surname other than their own, when you are in Spain?) and apparently invents a legend/history to support his theory that duennas should take care of steeds and squires’ donkeys.
Sancho on keeping up appearances with the duke and duchess: Sancho promises a concerned DQ that never through him would it be discovered who they really were.
Sancho on perspective (or, rationalization): “And if your highness doesnt want me to have the governorship Ive been promised, God made me without it, and maybe not giving it to me will be for the good of my conscience.”
Sancho being smarter than DQ about enchantments, though not necessarily smart enough to figure it all out, when he points out the “devil” should really know who DQ is, and probably wouldnt say, “by God and my conscience I wasn’t really thinking.”
And a great tribute to Sancho by DQ on p. 674.
Some good Sanchoisms this week:
Favorite affront: “You take me for an injecter!”
Favorite bout: Sancho v the duenna, where Sancho invents a name for her (is it un-PC to call someone by a Spanish surname other than their own, when you are in Spain?) and apparently invents a legend/history to support his theory that duennas should take care of steeds and squires’ donkeys.
Sancho on keeping up appearances with the duke and duchess: Sancho promises a concerned DQ that never through him would it be discovered who they really were.
Sancho on perspective (or, rationalization): “And if your highness doesnt want me to have the governorship Ive been promised, God made me without it, and maybe not giving it to me will be for the good of my conscience.”
Sancho being smarter than DQ about enchantments, though not necessarily smart enough to figure it all out, when he points out the “devil” should really know who DQ is, and probably wouldnt say, “by God and my conscience I wasn’t really thinking.”
And a great tribute to Sancho by DQ on p. 674.
Some good Sanchoisms this week:
Favorite affront: “You take me for an injecter!”
Sancho v the duenna: Where he calls her by the wrong name (is it un-PC to call someone by the wrong Spanish surname, when you are in Spain?) and apparently invents an historic ballad to support his theory that duennas really should take care of squire’s donkeys.
Sancho keeping up appearances: telling DQ not to worry about the duke and duchess thinking less of them because not through him would it be discovered who they really are.
Sancho on perspective (or, rationalization): “And if your highness doesnt want me to have the governorship Ive been promised, God made me without it, and maybe not giving it to me will be good for my conscience.”
Sancho being smarter than DQ to see when something is amiss, but not quite smart enough to get the whole picture: Picking up on the “devil” saying “By God”, but chalking it up to the devil being a good Christian.
And a great tribute to Sancho by DQ, pointing out his contradictions, on page 674.
Sorry everyone for the triple post. I wanted to do my part to get us to the 13 post milestone again this week. Actually, I was having problems. I still am, just different problems.
Still about 80 pages behind, but that’s better than the 200 pages behind I was a week ago. Huzzah!
The puppet/monkey stuff was awesomely funny, with Sancho calling the monkey “His Monkeyness” eliciting my LOL moment of the week. However, I do have to say that DQ’s attacking of the puppets really made me wince for the poor Don–first time I genuinely felt sorry for Our Hero. Interesting, though, how quickly he seems to recover from his bouts of madness in this half–here and the later episode with the boat come to mind–and, if not admit out loud that he f’ed up, at least pay back without fuss those whose property he’s destroyed.
I really do think I need to adapt his “the enchanters did it!” excuse in to my own personal life. “Oh, I’m sorry honey! No, I did not see that mound of dishes on the sink! Why, those confounded enchanters once again must have rendered those dishes invisible to my eyes and my eyes only! However, I will do them now, and quickly, before that frying pan you are wielding comes crashing down on my skull!” Or something.
And, yeah, the Duke and Duchess are toying with DQ and Sancho, but somehow they don’t seem half as offensive as the prig ecclesiastic, who just *had* to come along and harsh everyone’s buzz. DQ’s rebuttal was one of his finer monologues, IMHO, of course.
The more I read in this part, the more I wonder about how people actually did live in DQ’s time. I just saw an exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum on tableware, which suggested that in DQ’s time the fork was just being introduced north of Italy. People traveled with their own set of a knife and fork (if they had forks)–no one provided flatware for others. I’m usually of the school which says the literary work itself is enough, but here I’m really wishing I had time to research the period (let alone read the book–I am losing ground). I could use a little something in addition to Harold Bloom as explanatory matter.
When possible, I keep on hand two supplemental references: my atlas of world history, and good ol’ Wikipedia.
And I just realized last night–duh!–that Lost in La Mancha needs to move immediately to the top of my Netflix queue….
Yikes! The chance for the mugnet slips by in just a few hours. Must post!
Cookie, have you seen that scene in “Beckett” where Peter O’Toole’s boorish nobles are given forks for the first time and start stabbing each other with them?
Like OMiK, I was also taken with that scene where Sancho was going to change his remuneration from insula to salary–seemed like the shift from medieval (gifts, fealty, relations of personal loyalty) to modern (money, fungibility, coin over kind) that Cervantes is often spotlighting with his “chivalrous man in a world too small for chivalry” bit. I was kind of glad Sancho was shamed out of it.
Duke & Duchess: started to feel more like Part I to me in their cruel pranks (1,001 self-administered swats for Sancho, etc.). Granted, better than the ecclesiastic killjoy. But still, what’s in it for them except to make fools of a pair who already seem pretty foolish? In this I recognized the old Cervantes, or maybe (a la Cookie) the time period. Bear-baiting, forks in the back, goading the village idiot, etc.
20 pages behind the goal, will meet you all next week at (ulp) p. 800.
Wondering if the injecter is anything like the decider. . .
Cutting it close to the wire, I’ve got my favorite DQ quote of the week to share as I feel it is July 4th- beer-and-BBQ appropriate:
“May it please God, Sancho, because there’s many a slip between the cup and the lip.”
My critics are nothing but odiferous, toad-swallowing scoundrels, sir! I beg of you not to take their words to heart, as it would only break mine into tiny pieces.
Now if Senor Management would just give me a freakin’ break and lighten the reading load, I might catch up to you people eventually!
I’m fascinated by the Duke and Duchess. They’re desire to humor DQ and Sancho’s fantasies and laugh at them behind their backs is something like the relationship between a pet and its owner. They remind me of people laughing as their cat chases a beam of light they are projecting.
Of course, Sancho being told to whip himself seems a little cruel – but people tap fishbowls to freak out the goldfish inside.
I’m fascinated by the Duke and Duchess. They’re desire to humor DQ and Sancho’s fantasies and laugh at them behind their backs is something like the relationship between a pet and its owner. They remind me of people laughing as their cat chases a beam of light they are projecting.
Of course, Sancho being told to whip himself seems a little cruel – but people tap fishbowls to freak out the goldfish inside.
So the mysterious problem that was keeping me off the Internet has just as mysteriously fixed itself. I’m sure enchanters must be responsible.
I’ve really been enjoying how Don Quixote keeps running into people who know who he is and treat him like a knight errant. You declare yourself to be something; somebody else writes about it; and if it suits the world to humor you, after awhile you might as well be that thing in reality. See also: Emperor Norton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_A._Norton).
My favorite insult of the week, which I hope I will have the opportunity to put to use sooner rather than later: “You garlic-stuffed scoundrel!”
Got close to caught up today. Likewise enjoyed the Duke and Duchess. And the monkey/puppet sequence was gold gold and more gold.
One question: I must have missed something somewhere along the line — can anybody remind me when DQ came in to all this loot?
-Cecil
Thank you all for the new previews! Like many of you, I’m still a tad behind, but am going to Maryland over the holiday to babysit with my 3 year old grandson. Not only do I plan to catch up on the plane flight, but I plan to read aloud to him from DQ every single night! Think about it–what adventure story could match this? Lions, Caves, Enchanters, Mules, Dukes, Duchesses, blanket tossing.The kid’s gonna sleep like a rock! (I just hope he doesn’t tell his mom and dad that we tried a teensy weensy blanket toss ourselves!) Happy Independence Day, Marchers!
> “13 comments in week 13 is an exact tie with week 13 of our original Deathmarch (Gravity’s Rainbow), way back in April ’05. What does it all mean?”
It means you’ve discovered why I had to drop out the week before.
Cecil asks to be reminded where DQ “came in to all this loot.” I was wondering myself when Sancho is demanding he finally be paid for his service in chapter 28. DQ says “you want to use all my money for your salary,” suggesting that he had some money but wasn’t rich.
Way back at the start of chapter 1, part 1, a footnote says “Cervantes describes typical aspects of the ordinary life of the rural gentry,” in explaining mention of foods eaten & clothing worn. I guess in today’s terms, we’d say DQ was “middle class,” neither poor nor wealthy, with income from what was produced on the land he owned?
I enjoyed how DQ made Sancho feel ashamed for demanding his pay, and more or less beg to be allowed to keep his job without pay.
Some good Sanchoisms this week:
Favorite affront: “You take me for an injecter!”
Favorite bout: Sancho v the duenna, where Sancho invents a name for her (is it un-PC to call someone by a Spanish surname other than their own, when you are in Spain?) and apparently invents a legend/history to support his theory that duennas should take care of steeds and squires’ donkeys.
Sancho on keeping up appearances with the duke and duchess: Sancho promises a concerned DQ that never through him would it be discovered who they really were.
Sancho on perspective (or, rationalization): “And if your highness doesnt want me to have the governorship Ive been promised, God made me without it, and maybe not giving it to me will be for the good of my conscience.”
Sancho being smarter than DQ about enchantments, though not necessarily smart enough to figure it all out, when he points out the “devil” should really know who DQ is, and probably wouldnt say, “by God and my conscience I wasn’t really thinking.”
And a great tribute to Sancho by DQ on p. 674.
Some good Sanchoisms this week:
Favorite affront: “You take me for an injecter!”
Favorite bout: Sancho v the duenna, where Sancho invents a name for her (is it un-PC to call someone by a Spanish surname other than their own, when you are in Spain?) and apparently invents a legend/history to support his theory that duennas should take care of steeds and squires’ donkeys.
Sancho on keeping up appearances with the duke and duchess: Sancho promises a concerned DQ that never through him would it be discovered who they really were.
Sancho on perspective (or, rationalization): “And if your highness doesnt want me to have the governorship Ive been promised, God made me without it, and maybe not giving it to me will be for the good of my conscience.”
Sancho being smarter than DQ about enchantments, though not necessarily smart enough to figure it all out, when he points out the “devil” should really know who DQ is, and probably wouldnt say, “by God and my conscience I wasn’t really thinking.”
And a great tribute to Sancho by DQ on p. 674.
Some good Sanchoisms this week:
Favorite affront: “You take me for an injecter!”
Sancho v the duenna: Where he calls her by the wrong name (is it un-PC to call someone by the wrong Spanish surname, when you are in Spain?) and apparently invents an historic ballad to support his theory that duennas really should take care of squire’s donkeys.
Sancho keeping up appearances: telling DQ not to worry about the duke and duchess thinking less of them because not through him would it be discovered who they really are.
Sancho on perspective (or, rationalization): “And if your highness doesnt want me to have the governorship Ive been promised, God made me without it, and maybe not giving it to me will be good for my conscience.”
Sancho being smarter than DQ to see when something is amiss, but not quite smart enough to get the whole picture: Picking up on the “devil” saying “By God”, but chalking it up to the devil being a good Christian.
And a great tribute to Sancho by DQ, pointing out his contradictions, on page 674.
Sorry everyone for the triple post. I wanted to do my part to get us to the 13 post milestone again this week. Actually, I was having problems. I still am, just different problems.
Still about 80 pages behind, but that’s better than the 200 pages behind I was a week ago. Huzzah!
The puppet/monkey stuff was awesomely funny, with Sancho calling the monkey “His Monkeyness” eliciting my LOL moment of the week. However, I do have to say that DQ’s attacking of the puppets really made me wince for the poor Don–first time I genuinely felt sorry for Our Hero. Interesting, though, how quickly he seems to recover from his bouts of madness in this half–here and the later episode with the boat come to mind–and, if not admit out loud that he f’ed up, at least pay back without fuss those whose property he’s destroyed.
I really do think I need to adapt his “the enchanters did it!” excuse in to my own personal life. “Oh, I’m sorry honey! No, I did not see that mound of dishes on the sink! Why, those confounded enchanters once again must have rendered those dishes invisible to my eyes and my eyes only! However, I will do them now, and quickly, before that frying pan you are wielding comes crashing down on my skull!” Or something.
And, yeah, the Duke and Duchess are toying with DQ and Sancho, but somehow they don’t seem half as offensive as the prig ecclesiastic, who just *had* to come along and harsh everyone’s buzz. DQ’s rebuttal was one of his finer monologues, IMHO, of course.
The more I read in this part, the more I wonder about how people actually did live in DQ’s time. I just saw an exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum on tableware, which suggested that in DQ’s time the fork was just being introduced north of Italy. People traveled with their own set of a knife and fork (if they had forks)–no one provided flatware for others. I’m usually of the school which says the literary work itself is enough, but here I’m really wishing I had time to research the period (let alone read the book–I am losing ground). I could use a little something in addition to Harold Bloom as explanatory matter.
When possible, I keep on hand two supplemental references: my atlas of world history, and good ol’ Wikipedia.
And I just realized last night–duh!–that Lost in La Mancha needs to move immediately to the top of my Netflix queue….
Yikes! The chance for the mugnet slips by in just a few hours. Must post!
Cookie, have you seen that scene in “Beckett” where Peter O’Toole’s boorish nobles are given forks for the first time and start stabbing each other with them?
Like OMiK, I was also taken with that scene where Sancho was going to change his remuneration from insula to salary–seemed like the shift from medieval (gifts, fealty, relations of personal loyalty) to modern (money, fungibility, coin over kind) that Cervantes is often spotlighting with his “chivalrous man in a world too small for chivalry” bit. I was kind of glad Sancho was shamed out of it.
Duke & Duchess: started to feel more like Part I to me in their cruel pranks (1,001 self-administered swats for Sancho, etc.). Granted, better than the ecclesiastic killjoy. But still, what’s in it for them except to make fools of a pair who already seem pretty foolish? In this I recognized the old Cervantes, or maybe (a la Cookie) the time period. Bear-baiting, forks in the back, goading the village idiot, etc.
20 pages behind the goal, will meet you all next week at (ulp) p. 800.
Wondering if the injecter is anything like the decider. . .
Cutting it close to the wire, I’ve got my favorite DQ quote of the week to share as I feel it is July 4th- beer-and-BBQ appropriate:
“May it please God, Sancho, because there’s many a slip between the cup and the lip.”
Can I just take a moment to say how glad I am that So-Called Jeff is still with us? Jeffrey, you’ve confounded your critics yet again.
My critics are nothing but odiferous, toad-swallowing scoundrels, sir! I beg of you not to take their words to heart, as it would only break mine into tiny pieces.
Now if Senor Management would just give me a freakin’ break and lighten the reading load, I might catch up to you people eventually!