Oh Senor" said the niece. "Your grace should send them to be burned {books}, just like all the rest, because it's very likely that my dear uncle, having been cured of the chivalric disease, will read these and want to become a shepherd and wander through the woods and meadows singing and playing and, what would be even worse, become a poet, and that, they say, is an incurable and contagious disease.
The niece expresses concern that the books her uncle, Don Quixote, has been reading could reignite his chivalric fantasies. She suggests that these books should be burned to prevent him from becoming a shepherd, roaming nature, and expressing himself through poetry, which she believes is a dangerous and contagious pursuit. Her worry stems from the idea that the allure of such dreams might pull him back into a state of delusion that he has finally escaped.
This commentary reflects a broader theme in "Don Quixote" about the influence of literature on individuals. The niece fears that poetry and pastoral ideals are not just harmless interests but potential gateways to obsession and madness, highlighting a tension between reality and fantasy in the pursuit of art and self-expression. Her remarks reveal a protective instinct over her uncle while also critiquing the romanticized notions of life inspired by literature.
