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Wisdom of a Fool: Don Quixote de la Mancha

by Niece Dite and Sister Usha

Divinely Female

Sometimes, the wisest people around are the ones everyone else thinks are crazy. Such is the case of the legendary character Don Quixote de la Mancha. We hold up Don Quixote as a shining example of how men should treat the women in their lives. He was the hero of a novel by 16th-Century author Miguel de Cervantes. Several years ago, the story was adapted into a Broadway musical called "Man of La Mancha;" the most famous song from that play was "The Impossible Dream."

Don Quixote was an elderly nobleman, in the closing years of his life. His mind and his senses were being adversely affected either by advancing years or by some unspecified disease. He set out on a quest, traveling across the countryside. Most of his deeds seemed crazy, for example, mistaking a windmill for a hostile knight and attacking it. Everyone around laughed and ridiculed him, thinking of him as a deranged lunatic.

Why would we choose to respect such a man? We have a one-word answer to that: Dulcinea. One evening, Don Quixote and his servant rode into a small inn in the countryside. The inn was full of men drinking ale, eating food, and singing songs. Don Quixote looked at the waitress serving the men and mistook her for a wealthy noblewoman. He fell to his knees and began praising her as such. He called her a cultured, refined lady, a beautiful virgin, the most lovely woman he had ever seen. When he called her a virgin, all the men in the room laughed. They knew that she was not only a waitress but a part-time prostitute as well. But Don Quixote did not heed their laughter and did not listen to their jokes. He persisted in praising her anyway. He coined for her the nickname "Dulcinea," meaning "The Sweet One."

Dulcinea was stunned by this, standing there listening in silence. Noone had ever said things like this before. She must have thought initially that he was ridiculing her, but as she listened, she realized that he truly meant what he said. In his heart, he believed that she was someone special and beautiful, worthy of respect. All the other men treated her as a toy. This stranger respected her and worshipped her.

Dulcinea was profoundly moved by this experience. She gained self-confidence and began to respect herself. She came to realize that she was capable of a better, more rewarding existance than what she had. She began to dream, and to realize that her dreams might someday come true.

All men should emulate the way Don Quixote treated Dulcinea. Perhaps he exaggerated things a bit, but he was on the right track. Femininity is in itself something awesome, and any person having it is worthy of respect. Every woman should be proud to be female, and take confidence from the immense power and responsibility she holds in her heart. Every person who has ever breathed a single breath on this wonderful blue planet owes his life to the mother in whose womb he was protected and nurtured. No man has ever done this, and every man should remember this. He should honor his own mother, and he should honor every other woman on earth as a mother or potential mother, creatrix of life and source of love.

We pray that someday all men may understand the profound debt they owe to femininity. Is this an impossible dream? Perhaps. But that is another thing that Don Quixote taught us: no matter how hopeless, no matter how far, one should always reach for the stars and dream the impossible dream.