Illusion in Man of La Mancha

In the real world, one is always advised to face reality, confront fears instinctively, and deal with adversity objectively in order to learn, mature and acquire wisdom. This philosophy of life seems the most reasonable in attaining the life skills which individuals need to cope. The play, Man of La Mancha, however offers an alternative philosophy to this where illusion is seen as the best coping mechanism for unhappiness. Sancho, Alonso Quijana and Aldonza all use illusion as a means of escaping unhappiness, whereas neither Alonso nor Sancho achieves anything practical, Aldonza find meaning in her life as a result.

Alonso Quijana, a retired country gentleman, wishes to no longer, “be a plain Alonso Quijana but a dauntless knight” thus he puts on the imaginary armour of a soldier in the hope of battling evil in the world. Burning with “the fire of an inner vision,” Quijana, oppressed and indignant of man’s “murderous ways toward man,” seeks to challenge the Great Enchanter whom he has characterised as the representative of all evil. It is only through a world of illusion that Quijana becomes an intrepid foot soldier empowered to confront the “bleak and unbearable world...base and debauched.” Quijana’s view of the world was that evil is rampant and the weak are slaves to this evil and injustice. “He ponders the problem... how to make better a world...” and “to become a knight-errant, and sally forth...to roam the world in search of adventures...to right all wrongs, to mount a crusade...to raise up the weak and those in need.” By becoming a knight he would have more powers to stop these “wrongs” from occurring. In the movie, Man of La Mancha, Don Quixote says, “he transformed the giant into a windmill...to prevent...

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...ght. She is a mere peasant among billions of people and by changing one person into a lady the world’s problems were not solved and would never have been solved. There will always be conflict and evil, and the constant battle between good vs. evil will always persist. Alonso thought he was a saviour but ended up a broken man because of his false sense of chivalry and courage. Even his squire, Sancho who thought he was on a great adventure fighting evil, battling, and escaping his mundane life now has to return to his wife who he dreads because Quijana is dead and hence has no one to lead him. For Sancho, the adventure is over. Illusion simply acts as an absurd escape from reality. It can be said however that Aldonza offers some light at the end as through Quixote’s imaginary Dulcinea, she acquires some self-worth and seems to be on the ‘road to redemption.’