Madness and genius of Don Quixote. The world as an illusion.

Don Quixote is one of the masterpieces of Spanish and world literature. His author Miguel de Cervantes wrote second the most seller and published book after Bible. Don Quixote is published in two volumes: 1605 and 1615 and until our times it is one of the most influence book in the world.

First part is published 1605. with the name: El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. It was full of printing errors but soon book gained immense popularity. It was published and printed everywhere in a Spain, but Cervantes had almost no benefit from it, because he sold the copyright to the printer. Second edition published 1615 and the first complete release was published 1621.

Salvador Dali, Don Quixote, SOURCE

Once upon a time in the land of illusion

Today, when we are speaking about Don Quixote, we wanted to explain one grate story about possibilities, madness, love and freedom. When we are speaking about Don Quixote, we are always thinking about that what you have to do, if you want to follow your own dreams.

The beginning of this novel reminds of a fairy tale. "Once upon a time in a land far away..."The point is on the other side. Cervantes wanted to make some kind of parody, in order to show how we can live in reality, aware of the circumstances, but ready to fight with our dreams.

Almost, critic says, that Don Quixote is written to be parody of medieval novels. That’s right but first I would say, this novel is not just parody, is more than that. Don Quixote is our possibility of living in the other side of dreams. Don Quixote wanted to live his own illusion even if she doesn’t have references in reality.

First published page of Don Quixote SOURCE

He made some kind of metatextual conversation of literature in that time who pretends to be realistic. He wrote realistic story but with great illusion inside the character. That illusion in character launches the action of the entire novel. Metatextual meaning can be found in the realistic possibility of this story.

This novel can be story about knight but Don Quixote is knight of dreams no just simple knight. There is no a lot of fiction in the primarly meaning of this word. Fiction is in character like illusion is.

That what is happening with Don Quixote is happening because he made it in his mind. World around him is his projection. In the moment when he design his own reality, is a moment of his madness, make it by fiction.

Where the fiction are from and who is crazy here?

In the one sentences of novel Don Quixote, it says: From a lot of readings his brain is dried, and he loses his mind. How we can understand this? In the first pages of a novel, we are meeting Spanish noblemen who is living in a castle and reading books every day. One day, he decided to became hero from his novels.

Honoré Daumier, Don Quixote, SOURCE

His life has some kind of metatextual meaning. That what he read will become his life in the reverse perspective. Important question is: is he become crazy or just one of the best readers which world ever seen?

He wanted to live his fiction from the books. In modern literary theory, we have one term – absolute reading. That is the process of entering the reader into the world of book. He become character and he is living with characters inside the book. In a novel written 400 years ago, we have almost the some process, just here situation is little different.

Don Quixote wanted to take a world from books and put it, like illusion, in real world. Is that proof of his madness or his genius? He is crazy from the position of realism but from the position of illusion he is genius, because he is fighting for better world. Maybe, we can change a question and ask: is the world crazy not Don Quixote?

Who is coming with him?

First day of his adventures, Don Quixote spending alone, but after that day he is taking his good and simple neighbour Sancho Panza to come with him. In their relationship, is recognized a conflict of illusion and reality. Sancho Panza is going in the adventures with Don Quixote, because of the island. He have normal perception of reality if we are understanding reality in normal concept of meaning.

Statue of Don Quixote and Sanco Panza in Madrid. SOURCE

Sancho Panza will change his character until the novel end. In one moment he will accept concept of Don Quixotes world. He would help Don Quixote to destroy his own illusion. In the second part of novel, society would make that illusion, not madness of Don Quixote.

In the second part, Sancho Panza, would have illusion to be owner of the island and Don Quixote will lose his imagination. Theirs relationship shows two sides of living: realism and illusion. Maybe we can say that those two characters are actually one. They are showing face of human in the concept of changing and growing.

Who is fighting against the windmills?

Maybe the most famous scene from Cervantes novel is fighting Don Quixote with windmills. What can be symbol of that? Windmills are our illusions, ideals, unrealized dreams. He is fighting against the enemy from realistic world and he couldn’t win, because world exist with rules. You can win just in yourself because you decide to turn your back to nessesaritis.

Gustav Dore, Fighting against the windmills. SOURCE

He wanted to fight against the wind, against the force stronger than any human. That is totally normal in his perception and in idealistic relations. Doesn’t matter who is enemy if you know what are you fighting for.

Don Quixote thought that windmills are giants and in his world they was that. So, from his position, this fight is absolutely justified. That is fight for free spirit. Don Quixote from that war is coming like defeated in realistic way, but winner in symbolic. He was fighting for his own dreams.

Why the Dulcinea is not ugly?

Love looks through the glasses through which the copper makes her like gold, misery as a treasure, and feeds like pearls. (Don Quixote)

In this sentence is hidden sense of illusion. If we love somebody, we are not looking him like himselfe, we are looking him from the position of our illusion. The some problem is in his relation with Dulcinea. She is one the most unusual characters in the world literature. She has something what others doesn’t have – she is not existing in the world of novel. She doesn’t speak and doing nothing. We know for her just from the stories of Don Quixote.

She is in his imagination, like all the world is. She is looking like perfect platonic lady. She is beautiful, smart and lovely. In one moment of this book, Don Quixote thought that he meet his dear Dulcinea. Maybe, that can be one of the most unusual parts of this book.

He meet pour, ugly girl and he thought that she is Dulcinea. His illusion is big, that he is not able to see realism in front of his eyes. His illusion made him blind. Blind because of love or blind because he want to be blind in the world that surrounds him. Dulcinea is not ugly.

He is looking her like a beautiful and you know that famous sentences: Beauty is in the eye of an observer. All the world is depend of our view. So, Don Quixote is not crazy, he just need better place in this world.

Works influenced of Don Quixote

There is a lot of works influenced by Cervantes novel. Motives and symbols from Don Quixote can be found in art, literature, in the movies, theatre. Everywhere where we can recognize fight for ideals and love, we can think about Don Quixote.

In the world of art, maybe the most famous works inspired by Cervantes novel are painting by Gustave Dore. Spanish artist produced 29 paintings and 49 drawings based on the Don Quixote. He had his first exhibition on at the 1850 in Paris Salon, and that exhibition inspire Pablo Picasso to paint his work used today in Spain like an iconic image in promotion of a novel.

Salvador Dali painted a lot of works with motives from Cervantes novel. Information that one of the best world artists was inspired by Don Quixote is one more proof of the genius and the size of this book.

Pablo Picasso, Don Quixote, SOURCE

We can found a lot of novels with the stories and motives from Spanish masterpiece. Flaubert, Borges, Dostoyevsky was fascinated by Don Quixote. All those inspirations are from meaning of freedom and ability to living you own illusion in the realistic world.

If we want to be Don Quxote, we have to be ready to lose everything in order to try making our dreams like the best present of our lives.

Don’t die, before living in fiction!