Don Quixote

Cervantes' Don Quixote presents a classic illustration of the conflict between Realism and Idealism. The Knight of La

Mancha is a deluded idealist, for whom a peasant girl becomes a noble lady, and an inn a castle. His squire, Sancho Panza, is in contrast an earthy realist, whose chief "ideals" are to enjoy good meals and comfortable lodgings, and to stay out of trouble or danger as much as possible. Yet by the end of the novel, Don Quixote has emerged as a figure of dignity, while even Sancho has given in to idealistic standards of conduct. Through the centuries since it was written, reactions to Don Quixote have continued to reflect changing attitudes towards the ideal and the real (Close 1, 9, 37).

I. Don Quixote's Delusions of the Ideal

As a pursuer of the Ideal, Don Quixote is much more than

simply "unrealistic." Cervantes makes it clear at the very outset that Don Quixote is not merely idealistic, or naive or even eccentric, but plainly mad (Cervantes 60):

At last, when his wits were gone beyond repair, he came to conceive the strangest idea that ever occurred to any madman in this world.

This statement of Don Quixote's madness is not merely

stated once and forgotten; it is repeated frequently. The nature of this madness appears to be delusionary; he sees things not as they are, but as they ought to be.

Sometimes, Don Quixote's idealizations seem to be

. . .
nor of the town. This can be attributed in part to his realism; his judgements are clear-headed and practical, in sharp contrast to his master's (Church 137). It is the ability of Sancho to relate to everyday life that makes him a good governor, and Don Quixote's inability to see the world as it is that prevents him from being an effective knight. Indeed, Sancho is so serious and hardworking in his work as Governor that he learns that he wishes no such honor, or the responsibility that goes with it (Cervantes 663): The short of it is that during this time I had a chance to try out the burdens and responsibilities of governing and I find that, by my reckonings my shoulders cannot bear the weight ... Unlike many other politicians, Sancho Panza is quick to learn from experience. Yet he is not so "realistic" as to simply enjoy the abuse of power, but works so hard at his job as to lose the taste for it. Given the opportunity, he functions as an idealist. C. Why Sancho Followed Don Quixote The role of Sancho Panza as realistic counterpoint to Don Quixote is so well-established that it obscures an important question: Why did Sancho choose to follow the mad knight in the first place? It hardly seems a very p
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Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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