“Madness” in “Don Quixote” by Cervantes (post 6): Most literary criticism accepts the meaningless term “madness” and avoids Don Quixote’s diagnosis.

In my previous post, I pointed out that an eminent Cervantes scholar had said four contradictory things about Don Quixote’s “madness.” My main concern was that he did not discuss—did not seem to care—whether or not Don Quixote had a diagnosable condition (which I discussed in another post).

As you can see from Don Quixote and by searching “madness” in this blog, the literary use and acceptance of the word “madness” is an old, bad habit. The word does not mean anything specific. In the twenty-first century, its use is lazy.

I suggest that novelists, literary scholars, and writers in general put the following two books on a shelf in the room where they write:

1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (“DSM-5”). Arlington VA, American Psychiatric Association, 2013.

2. Frank W. Putnam, M.D. Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder. New York, The Guilford Press, 1989.

Whenever you are tempted to use or accept the word “madness,” look at these two books on your shelf and don’t do it.