Franz Kafka gave us some of the Twentieth Century’s greatest literature including masterpieces like The Metamorphosis and The Trial. One such piece is The Truth About Sancho Panza, which I am quoting here from The Basic Kafka; Washington Square Press (1979), pages 242-243.
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The Man of La Mancha:
The duo of Don Quixote and his companion, Sancho Panza, was immortalized in Cervantes’ Don Quixote, and made into my favorite musical, The Man of La Mancha. Quixote is the alter ego of a man named Alonso Quijano, an aging gentleman who chases windmills, thinking they’re dragons. Sancho, his servant, follows along for the ride.
The classic way of understanding this marvelous work, is that Alfonso Quijano is a deluded man, served loyally by Sancho.
As Don Quixote, Quijano shapes the world into his own image, putting a noble and chivalrous “spin” on all his encounters, thus elevating all around him. Windmills become great dragons. Robbers become comrades. And, a fallen woman becomes a damsel in distress. It’s the deluded version of the Power of Positive Thinking. Quixote is an intoxicating madman.
Sancho may be chasing his master chasing windmills, but he's happy.
Enter Kafka:
Franz Kafka has another take on the story. It’s darker, but like everything Kafka writes, we sense a ring of truth. Kafka focuses, not on Quixote, but on Sancho Panza.
Without making any boast of it Sancho Panza succeeded in the course of the years, by feeding him a great number of romances of chivalry and adventure in the evening and night hours, so diverting from himself his demon, whom he later called Don Quixote…
This can be interpreted two ways.
Interpretation One:
The first is that Sancho Panza cunningly misled his master by convincing him to go on a number of crazy adventures, thereby avoiding Quijanoa's "demon."
Here Panza is the great manipulator who wants his master distracted because it serves his interests. What’s appealing with this cynical interpretation is that it mirrors the bread and circus that society can throw at us in an attempt to distract us from problems that require attention.
There is an interesting power in provoking another into a quest, while benefiting from the project.
This interpretation has an interesting take on helping a person feel happier. It involves manipulating others as a way to avoid problems for yourself; more on that later.
Interpretation Two:
Kafka tells us that there is only one person here – Sancho!
Because of his own restlessness, psychological issues or just the pain of living, Sancho makes up an alter ego named Don Quixote, who goes on numerous fantastic – and self constructed – adventures. Kafka tells little about Sancho and his demon. But, we can guess.
- Sancho is depressed and initiates the counter phobic excitement of adventure in order to feel better.
- Sancho senses emptiness of life, and produces meaning that feels chivalrous and wonderful. Becker’s Denial of Death deals with this issue at length.
- Sancho has a Bipolar variant with manic episodes that kick in every once and awhile.
- Sancho simply feels small and confined. He constructs the great Don Quixote in his mind, as an alter ego to give him comfort. Much like a child plays policeman in order to enjoy being grownup for a moment.
- Sancho wants faith and imposes a kind of magic on the world. Perhaps Kafka is critiquing our wish to manufacture a greater reality. If this is the case, Kafka tells us that religion can be very satisfying, but it may be fantasy.
Dodging a Demon:
Kafka continues....
…that this demon thereupon set out uninhibited on the maddest of exploits, which, however, because of its lack of preordained object, which could have been Sancho Panza himself, harmed nobody.
Interpretation One:
Panza is worried that Quijano is deeply unhappy, and that he could take out his frustrations on his loyal servant. He sees it all the time with other masters and their workers. So, he consciously manipulates his master, hoping that all these fantastical exploits will protect him from problems.
A demon distracted is a demon that's less dangerous.
Interpretation Two:
Think of how some people need to climb Mt. Everest, for what? Or, others pursue fitness to an extreme, or beauty or wealth or keep counted their Facebook friends! Each of us have passions that are less than rational, that motivate and move us. We are all Sancho Panza trying to create chivalry and passion out of fantasy. And, it works.
There are those who are terminally self-destructive. The object of their demon is themselves. There is no compensatory passion or mission, just self criticism and picking at old wounds. The human condition can lead any one of us to consider feeling bad about all past mistakes and hurts.
But, Sancho Panza happiness tells us to make a mission. And, that mission may just give us joy.
Kafka tells us that Sancho Panza happiness is worthwhile even if its fantasy.
For many in the mental health industry, Sancho Panza happiness makes sense.
- Think of a Life Coach who helps you find a passion and make it happen.
- Or the Power of Positive Thinking, which argues that the mind can overcome negativity. This story is as old as the ancient Stoics.
- Or the new science of Optimism, which promotes a way of thinking that changes your world for the better. You can create your own luck.
The Value of a Mission:
Kafka tries to tell us that our passions may have their roots in human restlessness. He tells us that fantasy has value. But, Kafka is a truth teller. He abhors fantasy because it’s false, as much as he admires it because it works.
A free man, Sancho Panza philosophically followed Don Quixote on his crusades, perhaps out of a sense of responsibility, and had of them a great and edifying entertainment to the end of his days.
Interpretation One:
Now safe from harm, Sancho Panza can watch with amusement as his boss goes on his hilarious and unproductive escapades. Sancho has created a small world of happiness for himself, knowing that he has the power in the relationship, while Alonso Quijano, also known as Don Quixote, cannot turn on him as long as he is preoccupied. What bliss that must have been!
Interpretation Two:
Sancho Panza watches himself enjoy endless drama and passion, knowing at some level that it is all foolhardy. And, yet, he feels filled up and vital, despite the trickery he plays on himself.
There is happiness in creating our own vision of the world. I wonder if that is what Cervantes was trying to tell us in the early seventeenth century, when Don Quixote was first published.
When is fantasy constructive and when is it dangerous?
That is a discussion for another time.
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