Cervantes, the author and narrator of Don Quixote, opens Part 2 of the novel by criticizing an unnamed person’s decision to publish an unauthorized second volume of Quixote’s adventures. Cervantes mocks his rival, whose work he does not consider to be good, and then provides a collection of poems and allegories that describe the difficulty of writing a book. He finishes by thanking his patrons, the Count of Lemons and Cardinal Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas. In the future, he says, he will publish two more works. 

Cervantes returns to the work of Cide Hamete Benengeli, whose writing provides the foundation for the story of Quixote’s life. After Quixote returned to his hometown, Pero Perez and Master Nicholas did not visit him so they did not reawaken any troublesome thoughts. One month later, they returned to Quixote’s house and the men have a sensible conversation about war and current events. In response to Spain’s war with the Ottoman Empire, Quixote believes Spain should summon all her knights and send them to fight for their country. The comment worries Perez and Nicholas, who realize Quixote has not abandoned his fantasies about knights and chivalry. Changing the subject, Nicholas shares a story about an educated man who was sent to a mental health hospital by his family.