Summary of Chapter 5: The Adventure with the Galley Slaves
Don Quixote and Sancho allow Rocinante to choose the way this time. However, as
Rocinante wants to return to his stable, the road he chooses will ultimately lead them home. On
the way, the two discuss various topics having to do with knightly duties and acquisition of
wealth, ever a topic of interest for Sancho.
On the road, they see a row of galley slaves chained at the neck, guarded by two armed men
on horseback. Sancho recognizes that these men are prisoners sentenced to serve on war ships,
but Don Quixote still feels it necessary to defend the defenseless and to help those who are
suffering even though he sees that these men are being punished for their crimes. He speaks to a
number of the prisoners, each of whom has a different tale of how he ended up in his present
circumstances. The first prisoner is in chains for having fallen in love with a basket of fine linen,
which he appropriated. The second man is there for having sung like a canary, that is to say, for
confessing under torture. The third claims that he is going to the galleys for not having ten
ducats (gold coins). Hearing this, Don Quixote gives him twenty to help him get out of his jam,
but the man says that if he had had the money earlier, he’d have paid for a lawyer and would not
be there in the first place. The fourth man, a real con artist, is there for selling women,
witchcraft, and fortune telling. He bemoans the fact that he will die in chains, and Sancho feels
so sorry for him that he gives him a coin, which of course the man will be unable to spend. The
fifth man is a student who has been involved with a number of women. The last man turns out to
be the infamous Gines de Pasamonte (HE nes day Pah sah MOAN tay), termed by the guard
“Ginesillo de Parapilla,” which is something akin to saying “John Shmahn” in English. Gines is
very clever with words and is something of a leader among the thieves. Because he is the most
intelligent and witty, and therefore the most dangerous, he is manacled and shackled and has an
extra iron collar around his neck. This character may represent Cervantes himself; he says that
he has written a book while in prison (Cervantes wrote Don Quixote while in prison) and that he
knows from experience that a sentence of ten years on the galley ship is the same thing as a death
sentence. Cervantes served aboard such a ship also. In addition, Gines comments that
“...misfortune always persecutes genius,” which Cervantes felt was his case as he was persecuted
by the Inquisition.) Don Quixote voices more of Cervantes’ complaints about the judicial/penal
system when he comments that the men are there not so much for being guilty of crimes, but for
breaking under torture, for their lack of money and influence, and for the prejudices of the
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judges.
Because Don Quixote has sworn as a knight to help those oppressed by the strong, he wants
the guards to let the men go, and he prefers that this happen without violence, but he is willing to
compel them to do so by force if necessary. The guards tell Don Quixote to stop looking for
trouble and move on, whereupon Quixote seriously wounds one of them. The others begin to
fight back, but end up trying to control the prisoners. Sancho sets Gines de Pasamonte free first.
Pasamonte takes the wounded guard’s arms and the other convicts, now free, throw stones at the
guards, who run for their lives.
Don Quixote calls the convicts together and tells them that for having released them, they
must present their chains to Dulcinea. Gines says that they are unable to do so, but will pray for
their rescuer, which angers Don Quixote. Recognizing that Don Quixote is mad, they now throw
stones at him and at Sancho. Gines then severely beats the bruised Don Quixote with the
barber’s basin and strips both the men of much of their clothing.
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