Don Quixote and Delusional Idealism.
A couple of characters I’ve studied recently have illuminated the perils of living in a perpetual state of delusional idealism. I’d like to discuss some of my conclusions about those characters here with you. It might be helpful if I try to define what I mean by ‘delusional idealism.’ Essentially, it is using an imagined fantasy version of the future as a guide for how you behave in the world, and to maintain the integrity of the fantasy, you avoid truths that threaten to shatter the illusion.
The two characters who have displayed a tendency to live via delusional idealism are Don Quixote and Vincent Van Gogh. Don Quixote, the fictional main character of what is considered to be the first modern novel, is a comedic representation of this archetype. Vincent Van Gogh, however, is a tragic real-life representation of the dangers of living as a slave to delusion.
Don Quixote was a 17th-century minor nobleman who was obsessed with chivalric novels. He believed that all myths and hero stories were true. For example, he believed that the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (which was the focus of a previous letter), actually happened. He decided to leave his home of La Mancha in pursuit of adventures like the ones he read in his books. He hired a local peasant, Sancho Panza, to be his squire along the way.
Very quickly into his story, it becomes evident that Don Quixote is out of his mind… Only miles from his home, he encounters a set of giants and charges into single combat with one of them, hoping to gain glory in victory. However, it is revealed by his squire Sancho Panza that the giants were merely windmills and Don Quixote was fighting inanimate objects. Later, Don Quixote mistakes a herd of sheep for an enemy army and rushes forward to meet them on the battlefield. Again, Sancho pleads with his master to come to his senses and quit all this foolishness. But Don Quixote cannot be deterred.
These hilarious episodes of lunacy repeat as Don Quixote invents countless misadventures while traveling across Northern Spain. The people he encounters laugh at him and even encourage his madness for their entertainment. As a reader, you will find yourself laughing at Don Quixote as well. But if you’re like me, as you continue to read along and his character develops, you begin to gain a certain respect for him. Despite constant defeat and humiliation, Don Quixote never becomes bitter or resentful or forsakes the ideals he values deeply.
That respect for Don Quixote was solidified for me late in the book… While dining with royalty, he is mocked and slandered by a duke’s consigliere. His response has some value I would like to share…
“Tell me, your grace: for which of the inanities that you have seen in me do you condemn and revile me, and order me to return to my house and tend to it and my wife and my children, not knowing if I have one or the other? Or is it enough for clerics simply to enter other people’s houses willy-nilly to guide the owners, even though some have been brought up in the narrow confines of a boarding school and never have seen more of the world than the twenty or thirty leagues of their district, and then suddenly decide to dictate laws to chivalry and make judgments concerning knights errant? Is it by chance frivolous, or is the time wasted that is spent wandering the world, not seeking its rewards but the asperities by which the virtuous rise to the seat of immortality?” He continued, “That I am thought a simpleton by students who never walked or followed the paths of chivalry does not concern me in the least… I always direct my intentions to virtuous ends, which are to do good to all and evil to none; if the man who understands this, and acts on this, and desires this, deserves to be called a fool, then your highnesses, most excellent Duke and Duchess, should say so.”
With that speech, I understood what Don Quixote had to offer. He is doing what he thinks is right. He is trying to do good the best way he knows how. And though he is mocked for that, it will not prevent him from continuing to pursue virtue.
What is the alternative here for Don Quixote? To live a bland life? To fall in line and coast to the end? His idealism is delusional, but that is better than its opposite, nihilism. There is a spectrum between those two states of mind, and likely, the best option for us real people is to be somewhere in the balanced middle. As a rule, deal with reality, not with how you wish reality to be. But casting off the value of ideals as delusion leaves you with nothing worth pursuing. Then what becomes of you? Do you want to be the Duke’s know-it-all consigliere who condescendingly cuts down those pursuing a higher purpose while never seeking adventure himself?
The stories that Don Quixote believed in may not be real, but the lessons in those stories are. The fact that Sir Gawain wasn’t a real dude and didn’t actually talk to the severed head of the Green Knight doesn’t matter. That story can still teach you how to be a better person or how to live a better life. And isn’t that the point?
Vincent Van Gogh also leaned way too far toward idealism on the nihilism-idealism spectrum. He kept himself going through endless failures by perpetuating an imagined fantasy in which his family would be reunited and live together in perfect harmony, as they briefly had in his past. His idealism cost him dearly. When reality brought Vincent back down to Earth, it was devastating, and it seemed to happen each time his delusional fantasies reached their apogee. But his idealism was based on a desired situation. He focused on wanting specific events to happen rather than on pursuing specific values like Don Quixote. This is a crucial difference.
I know that I can often sound or appear to be a Don Quixote type. I will likely continue to do that. I think pursuing virtue is worthwhile, even if it is somewhat delusional. The cost to the meaning I find in life would be too great if I were to abandon idealism entirely. However, I am trying my best to avoid the idealism trap that Vincent fell into, namely, delusionally hoping for specific scenarios to manifest themselves in my life.
Here is where my side of the conversation ends. I’d love to hear what some of you think about this dichotomy. What do you think about the nihilism-idealism spectrum? When is delusion useful? Should humans really aim to be entirely rational and logical? I’m open to any questions or comments.
Have a good weekend.
-Ieuan
*Note with Spoiler Alert for Don Quixote*
At the end of Don Quixote, as Alonso lies dying in his bed, his sanity returns, and he declares that all books about chivalry are worthless. He repents for his madness and wishes that nobody falls into the trap of believing in those stories as he did.
The author, Miguel De Cervantes, wrote Don Quixote as a parody of the chivalric tales of his time. He wasn’t a fan of ‘Knights Errant,’ to say the least. Clearly, I selectively chose elements of the story that support my worldview. My takeaway is not the lesson I believe Cervantes intended to impart to his readers. In fact, it is probably the complete opposite. So, to dispel any doubt, I don’t claim that my conclusion here is entirely rational or scientific… Figured I would acknowledge that for those who have read Don Quixote.
