How we cite our quotes: (Part.Book.Chapter.Paragraph) We use the P. A. Motteux translation from 1712 for our quotes. Some familiar character names appear differently in this edition (Sancho Panza is Sancho Panca here, Rocinante is Rozinante, and Doña Rodriguez is Donna Rodriguez). We preserve Motteux's spellings in our quotes but use the more familiar versions of these names in our analysis.
Quote #1
"Pray, sir," cried Vivaldo, "oblige us with an account of her parentage, and the place of her birth, to complete the description." (1.2.5.5)
When Don Quixote starts telling the world about the beauty of his beloved Dulcinea, the first thing everyone wants to know is where she was born and who her parents are. Because seriously, this information would be more important to someone from 17th-century Spain than any information about whether Dulcinea were a nice or beautiful person.
Quote #2
"Customs did not come up all at once, but rather started up and were improved by degrees; so thou mayest be the first earl that rode in state with his barber behind him." (1.3.7.8)
In a private moment, Don Quixote tells Sancho that if he (Sancho) becomes an earl, he'll be free to make up whatever customs he wants, like having his barber travel around with him. After all, once you're rich and powerful, people will start doing whatever you do.
Quote #3
"[For], as I said, he was a very fine comely young man, and by his speech and behavior we could guess him to be well-born, and a court-like sort of a body." (1.3.9.10)
The shepherd says that he realized from Cardenio's appearance that Cardenio came from a fine family. He knows this in spite of the fact that Cardenio has been running around attacking shepherds at random. None of this really seems to matter because Cardenio comes from a noble, wealthy family. That in itself makes him respectable.