I have lived nearly fifty years, and I have seen life as it is. Pain, misery, hunger … cruelty beyond belief. I have heard the singing from taverns and the moans from bundles of filth on the streets. I have been a soldier and seen my comrades fall in battle … or die more slowly under the lash in Africa. I have held them in my arms at the final moment. These were men who saw life as it is, yet they died despairing. No glory, no gallant last words … only their eyes filled with confusion, whimpering the question, “Why?”
I do not think they asked why they were dying, but why they had lived. When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. To seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!
― Dale Wasserman, Man of La Mancha: A Musical Play
The quote comes from “Man of La Mancha,” a musical play written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion. The play is inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” but is not a direct adaptation.
“Don Quixote” a novel published in two parts (1605 and 1615) by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, tells the story of Alonso Quixano, an older gentleman who becomes obsessed with the chivalric romances he reads.
Believing these fantastical stories to be true, he renames himself Don Quixote, appoints a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, and sets out on a quest to revive chivalry and bring justice to the world.
Throughout the novel, Don Quixote’s delusions lead to a series of absurd and often humorous encounters, which serve to satirize the popular chivalric romances of Cervantes’ time.
The play reimagines Cervantes’ story, setting it within the context of Cervantes himself awaiting trial by the Spanish Inquisition.
As part of the play, Cervantes enacts the story of Don Quixote for his fellow prisoners, transforming the bleak dungeon into the vibrant world of his imagination.
This passage is a poignant reflection on the nature of human suffering and the quest for meaning in a world filled with pain, misery, cruelty and injustice.
It speaks to the existential despair that can arise from witnessing and experiencing the harsh realities of life, encapsulated in the vivid imagery of soldiers dying without glory and the cries of suffering that permeate both the battlefield and the streets.
The speaker suggests that the true torment of those facing death is not the fear of dying but the struggle to find purpose in their lives amidst such overwhelming darkness.
This existential questioning—”why they had lived”—touches on a fundamental human concern: the search for a reason to endure the hardships of life.
“Man of La Mancha” uses the character of Don Quixote as a symbol of idealism and the power of the human spirit to transcend reality through imagination and belief in a better world. In this context, the quote challenges the notion of what constitutes madness.
The passage articulates a profound skepticism about the value of practicality and realism when they lead to the abandonment of dreams and ideals.
It challenges the reader to consider that the true madness might lie in accepting the world’s pain and misery as inevitable and unchangeable, rather than envisioning and striving for something better.
In this light, the refusal to see life “as it is” becomes a radical act of defiance against a world that too often crushes hope and dreams under the weight of “reality.”
The quote and the play as a whole advocate for the transformative power of dreams and ideals. They argue that the human capacity to imagine a better world, to fight against the tide of cynicism and despair, is what imbues life with meaning and purpose.
This message resonates with the core themes of Cervantes’ original work, celebrating the enduring relevance of Don Quixote’s quest and the universal struggle to find dignity and beauty in a troubled world.
“Man of La Mancha” and this quote, in particular, serve as a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit, the importance of maintaining hope and idealism, and the profound impact of our perceptions on our experience of reality.
It challenges audiences to reflect on their own lives and the ways in which they choose to confront or succumb to the “madness” of the world.