There is a deep tension in this masterpiece between the noble dreams we have for ourselves and the objective reality we actually inhabit. It tells the story of a man who traded his sanity for a life of heroic adventure.

This discussion explores the life of Miguel de Cervantes and his creation of the character Alonso Quixano. We track the knight’s progression through an inn he views as a castle and a squire who follows him for the promise of power.

• Cervantes’ own adventurous and tragic life as a foundation for his writing.
• The mechanics of reinterpreting objective environments into idealistic narratives.
• The role of social participants in maintaining a subject’s delusion through pretend ceremonies.
• How a friend’s intervention eventually forces a return to objective sanity.
• The final recovery of sani ...