I think that Don Quixote’s knight-errant oath was in direct conflict with his deathbed oath. Allow me to briefly discuss what this book is about first, then what do the oaths this question means by.
Don Quixote is a satire about a man named Don Quixote who decides that he is going to become a knight, despite the fact that he is living in the wrong time in history. He dresses in old armor and sets out on the road with Sancho Panza, his companion. Locked in his dreams of grandeur, he imagines he is fighting battles with mighty foes and devotes himself to serving his fair Dulcinea, the most beautiful maiden according to Don Quixote.
During his life-time, Don Quixote made an oath as a knight it is his duty to swear an oath to become a legitimate Knight. Don Quixote swore to be chivalrous and to protect the weak and uphold justice, fighting all evil in the world. He followed all the codes of chivalry.
The oath that Don Quixote made on his deathbed were his confessions about his life. He basically admitted that the way he lived his life was of a madman and so many stupid things that have been done because of him. He also admitted that he was blind to the real world and to God’s will, he was harming others instead of helping them. That was a right thing he did, repenting, however, it was towards the end of his life. It was still practiced that men would repent on their deathbed as to be excused of sin during their lives, however, not even this was Quixote granted as he had already been baptized, so there was only the hope that God would forgive him, which, he promised he would, and the hope that his stay in purgatory would be short. Don Quixote has converted to christianity towards the end of his life.
Sancho is a poor and simple farmer but more practical than the head-in-the-clouds Don Quixote and agrees to the offer, sneaking away with Don Quixote in the early dawn. The problem with the oath that he took as a knight was that it was all an illusion. His victories were illusions. It is here that their famous adventures begin, starting with Don Quixote’s attack on windmills that he believes to be ferocious giants. During this adventures is when Don Quixote thinks a group of friars are magicians. He attacked one of the friars, almost killing him. That’s how dangerous of a man Don Quixote was.
On his deathbed, Don Quixote wanted to prevent his legacy from being that of a madman. He wanted to be remembered as a good man. Since most people never read this last chapter, they believe that Don Quixote was a man who tried to reform the world. He was just a man who went mad and then repented of his madness when he died.
In conclusion, I think that Don Quixote’s knight-errant oath was in direct conflict with his deathbed oath. For he simply was someone who lived most of his life being a madman and then repented of his sins and wrongdoings towards whenever he was dying.
Thanks for reading this essay. I hope you liked it or learned something new from it. I’ll be posting more soon and have a great rest of your day!
Anastasia's Blog 