1.1.3
Don Quixote 1.1.3 · His good clothes1.1.3His good clothes
The last quarter of the gentleman’s income goes on his clothes: holiday finery and a better suit for weekdays.
· · ·
El1
el
The
resto2
RES·to
rest
della3
DE·lla
of it
concluían4
con·clu·Í·an
finished offconcluded
sayo5
SA·yo
a coatsmock
de6
de
of
velarte7
ve·LAR·te
fine broadcloth
, calzas8
CAL·zas
breecheshose
de9
de
of
velludo10
ve·LLU·do
velvet
para11
PA·ra
for
las12
las
(the)
fiestas13
FIES·tas
holidaysfeast days
, con14
con
with
sus15
sus
his
pantuflos16
pan·TU·flos
slippers
de17
de
of
lo18
lo
the
mesmo19
MES·mo
same
, y20
y
and
los21
los
on the
días22
DÍ·as
days
de23
de
of
entresemana24
en·tre·se·MA·na
the weekweekday
se25
se
himself
honraba26
hon·RA·ba
honored
con27
con
with
su28
su
his
vellorí29
ve·llo·RÍ
homespungrey-brown wool
de30
de
of
lo31
lo
the
más32
más
most
fino33
FI·no
fine
. The rest of it went on a coat of fine broadcloth, velvet breeches for holidays, with slippers to match, and on weekdays he honored himself in his homespun of the finest.
The rest of it went on a coat of fine broadcloth, velvet breeches for holidays, with slippers to match, and on weekdays he honored himself in his homespun of the finest.
Interpretation
The rest of it went on a coat of fine broadcloth and velvet breeches for holidays, with slippers to match, and on weekdays he did himself proud in his best homespun.
The last quarter of his money goes on clothes, and the clothes are for being seen. Velarte was a good broadcloth and velludo a velvet, kept for feast days. On ordinary days he wears vellorí, a middling grey-brown wool, and the narrator calls it de lo más fino, "of the very finest". A hidalgo was expected to dress like one, and these sums show what that cost a man of small means.
Della is de ella run together, "of it", meaning of his income. The Spanish of 1605 often fused de with the pronoun after it. Portuguese still does (dela); modern Spanish keeps the two words apart.
1.1.4
Don Quixote 1.1.4 · The household1.1.4The household
Who lives in the gentleman’s house: a housekeeper, a niece and a hired lad.
· · ·
He had in his house a housekeeper who was past forty, and a niece who was not yet twenty, and a lad for field and market, who saddled the nag as readily as he took up the pruning hook.