Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Why do you think Don Quixote recovers his wits at the end of the novel?

Don Quixote's madness was always indissolubly linked to his faith in the chivalric code. And now that the Don's faith in that code has been shattered forever—despite the best efforts of Sancho Pancho to urge him to rise from his sickbed and set off on his travels once more—the accompanying insanity has died with it. As there's no longer any need for Don Quixote to imagine himself as a knight errant, he can return once more to his previous life—his staid, boring, and crucially, sane life—as plain old Alonso Quixano.
Madness was a product of Don Quixote's exaggerated self-image as an heroic knight. So long as he believed that there were worlds to conquer, damsels to rescue, and fearsome giants to vanquish, he could remain secure in his insanity, not needing to engage with the real world. But having failed in his quest to find his beloved Dulcinea in her true form, reality finally intrudes into his life, shattering the illusion that has inspired and sustained him throughout his colorful adventures, and bringing much-needed sanity back to Quixano in his twilight years.

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