The Female Quixote

Delusion plays a central role in The Female Quixote, most notably through the protagonist’s belief that the French romance novels she loves reflect reality. This is a product of her tragic youth, as Arabella constructs an alternative reality to mediate her trauma. Whether dealing with her parents’ death or her relative isolation, the world of French romances provides her with an escape that she accepts as reality. The absurdity of her situation masks a fundamental tragedy of her alienation, but she is not aware of her delusion. Arabella genuinely believes that this is the way the world works, because she needs to believe this to cope. This delusion is a problem, as it destroys relationships and reputations, even putting her in danger. Regardless of these threats, however, her delusion is bulletproof, and the other characters cannot find any way to argue her out of it. The irony of her belief that these books reflect reality is hinted at in the novel: They were written long after the historical events that they claim to portray and flatten and distort history. As such, Arabella is not only incorrect in believing that the world operates according to the principles set out in her historical novels; she is mistaken in believing that they represent an accurate depiction of any society at any time.