Doña Rodriguez's Challenge and Teresa's Letters — Don Quixote

Cured of his cat scratches and longing for Saragossa, Don Quixote is about to ask leave when Doña Rodriguez and her shamed daughter enter in mourning; the duenna reminds him of the seduced daughter's wrong and, since pears from the elm tree are vain with the duke, asks him to challenge the farmer's son before he departs.

Quixote vows to spare the humble and chastise the proud, waives gentle blood to equal the rustic, throws his glove, and the duke accepts the combat in six days in the courtyard; the duchess lodges them as lady adventurers demanding justice.

The page returns from Teresa Panza with letters read at table: Teresa asks the duchess for coach money and sends acorns, dreaming of Rome for everything; her letter to Sancho swears she was within two fingers' breadth of madness with joy, calls the governorship delusion or enchantment to the curate and Carrasco, and sends village news.

Sancho's letter to Quixote is read too, raising doubts about his simplicity, and the page gives the duchess acorns and Tronchon cheese while Hamete turns to the end of the great Sancho Panza, flower and mirror of island governors.