Don Quixote’s optimism and that of Cervantes (“the pen is the tongue of the soul”), is not superficial, a mere question of temperament.
In his speech about lineages, Don Quixote explains the relationship between virtue and heaven to his niece: “I know that the path of virtue is very narrow” […] and ends “in life, not life that has an ending but in the one that has no end.” (II, 6; 568) To Don Lorenzo de Miranda, son of Don Diego, the Don lists all the virtues essential to be a good knight-errant: “He must be a theologian so that he may give reasons for the Christian rule he professes, […] he must be adorned with all the virtues, theological and cardinal […] he must be chaste in thought, a man of his word, generous in action, valiant in deed, patient in adversity, charitable to the needy, and finally, a maintainer of the truth, although its defense may cost him his life.” (II, 18; 650-651)
Therefore, Don Quixote’s optimism and that of Cervantes (“the pen is the tongue of the soul”), is not superficial, a mere question of temperament, but one that is ontological and profound which comes from faith but anchors itself in hope, in the certainty of the fidelity of a God that fulfills His promises, an optimism whose precious fruit is the courage to love God and neighbor. We should not forget that since his birth as a character of the novel, Don Quixote is a “Christian knight” or a “knight-errant under divine inspiration” whose main motivations are the love of his lady, the desire to increase his fame, the service to his country, the righting of wrongs, and to “sally forth through the fourth parts of the world in quest of adventures on behalf of the distressed.” (I, 3; 68) All of these awaken in the reader the love of truth, freedom, beauty, goodness and justice.
Hope
Concerning hope, John Paul II, in Memory and Identity, thinks that faith in the Resurrection of Christ, the final victory of good over evil is at the root of our Christian hope: “The Paschal Mystery confirms that good is ultimately victorious, that life conquers death and that love triumphs over hate.” (p.55) These words are most appropriate in understanding the conclusion of Cervantes’ masterpiece.
At the end of the novel, we find a Don Quixote who has been defeated but conqueror of himself. He recognizes himself as Alonso Quixano the Good and acquires the knowledge of death as an essential truth of life. He has been unable to find complete fulfillment in this life due to the imperfections of the world and his own weakness. Unable to achieve total happiness in this temporal universe, he is, at the same time, able to find fulfillment through the awareness that death is the door to a transcendent horizon. The same person who was Don Quixote of La Mancha is the one who now knows himself to be Alonso Quixano. He is grateful to God for this extraordinary transformation and cries out: “Blessed be the Almighty for this great benefit He has granted me! Infinite are His mercies, and undiminished even by the sins of men.”(II, 74; 1045)
At this point, it becomes clear that the whole novel has been a humble but profound and optimistic tale of learning and redemption. The act of charity and mercy of the Good Samaritan Cervantes who rescues the old fool and madman in patches, revealing that “behind the foolishness of the fool there is still the dignity of a basically good and decent human being—a human being who does not quite know what he is doing.” (Bandera, p.11) Even the playful and benevolent irony of Cervantes, his genial sense of humor, contributes in a subtle way to this act of salvation, transforming it into the most eloquent expression of compassion, solidarity and empathy.
It´s time
It is time to ask ourselves: What changes and what is permanent in the life of the Don? The answer to this question may be found in the following quote:
After the priest had heard the sick man’s confession, he came out saying: “There is no doubt that Alonso Quixano is at the point of death, and there is also no doubt that he is in his entire right mind; so, we should go in and enable him to make his will.”
These sad tidings burst open the floodgates of the housekeeper’s, the niece’s, and the good squire’s swollen eyes; their tears flowed fast and furious, and a thousand sights rose from their breasts, for, indeed, as it has been noted, the sick gentleman, whether as Alonso Quixano the Good or as Don Quixote of La Mancha, had always been so good-natured and so agreeable that he was beloved not only by his family, but by all who knew him. (II, 74; 1046-1047)
In the Prologue of The Trials of Persiles and Sigismunda, through a student, Cervantes describes himself as cheerful writer, delight of the muses and this shortly before his death; also,he concludes with the following farewell: “Good bye humor; good bye wit; good bye merry friends; for I am dying and hope to see you soon, joyful in the life to come!” (48-49)
What is permanent is that the Don had always been trying to accomplish good in his life and since he is a Christian and has hope, he prepares himself to die in peace because he knows that what awaits him is permanent, that is, eternal life. This is the way in which Alonso Quixano dies, peacefully, in his bed, after repenting for all his sins, and having received all the sacraments. Don Miguel de Cervantes will die in the same way on April 23rd, 1616, confirming that “the pen is the tongue of the soul” and “he preaches well who lives well.” He leaves us, as a legacy of love, Don Quixote, the best known and influential Spanish novel of all times, to teach while amusing us with a masterpiece of honest entertainment whose language delights and its invention amazes and astounds, in an extraordinary mingling of delight and moral philosophy, truth with jokes, the sweet with the useful, and the human with the divine. It is a metaphor of man’s search for absolute beauty, goodness and truth.
Books
Works Cited
Bandera, Cesáreo. The Humble Story of Don Quixote: Reflections on the
Birth of the Modern Novel. Washington, D.C.: CUA Press, 2006.
Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quixote. Trans. Walter Starkie.
New York: New American Library, 1979.
—.Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda. Ed. Juan Bautista Avalle-Arce.
Madrid: Castalia, 1986.
Juan Pablo II. Memory and Identity. New York: Rizolli, 2005.
