[The last melancholia of Alonso Quijano, the Righteous].
In Cervantes' immortal novel, "Don Quixote" is the nom de guerre that Alonso Quijano--a honest Spanish yeoman nicknamed "The Upright One"--adopts under the spell of insanity that has lured him into being a knight rider. A psycho-spiritual analysis of Don Quixote's return to mental health is presented, covering the time-span between Don Quixote's coming back to this native village and his last days. By way of a "historical diagnosis", the author proposes some clinical explanations: Goodman Quijano's last illness might have been a plasmodium falciparum-caused malaria; malaria, however did not contribute to reinstate soundmindedness (as per Wagner von Jauregg's therapeutic criteria, for example). Goodman Quijano's last fit of melancholy disclosed contempu mundi in him, a renunciation giving way to a joyful lucidity--in other words, a psychological awakening to a sublime conscience level of genuine spiritual characteristics.
Chiappo
L
L
Fac. de Ciencias y Filosofía, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima.
D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology*; D004324:Drama; D006801:Humans; D008092:Literature, Medieval; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008513:Medicine in Literature
La última melancolía de Alonso Quijano, el Bueno.