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Life Lessons These days, it seems that everything we encounter poses us with a question; however, there is no more important question to be answered than Life what is it? Is it merely the days we spend here on Earth, or is there some larger life that we all aspire to? Though none of us can answer these questions, we continue to plague ourselves with questions such as: What is it to be alive? As humans are we subject to a predetermined fate, or do we have free will, or is there really some combination between the two? Life s A Dream takes these age old questions and gives us answers; answers that are meant to serve as a lesson for each of us in how we should live our lives. Basilio believes the prophecy of the stars to be the fate for his son Sigismund; thus, he locks Sigismund in a dungeon depriving him of two very important tenants that are essential to growth as a human being, social interaction and love.
On a somewhat selfish whim, Basilio releases Sigismund in hope of defying this destiny; however, he quickly sees that Sigismund s behavior seems to be fulfilling the prophecy that has already been laid out by the stars. Basilio decides to re-imprison Sigismund, forcing his only son back into a dungeon to believe that his single day of real freedom was only a dream. His decision is an attempt to keep his kingdom peaceful, but his plan backfires when the citizens of his country rise against him to fight for Sigismund, the rightful heir to the throne, to assume his duty as their king. Sigismund, disoriented and in a state of suspended disbelief after awakening from a drug-induced sleep, is freed by the citizens and goes after his crown and revenge upon his father stating, I am as my stars make me (III, I, 162). The reader, or audience, assumes that fate is at work and the prophecy will come true; however, Pedro Calderon de la Barca subtly foreshadows the reversal of our expectation in Clotaldo s lesson to Sigismund: But you would do well, even in your dreams, To honour those who care for you each day. Kindness is never wasted, even in dreams, And gentleness is never thrown away, (II, ii, 81).
Because of this subtle foreshadowing, we are pleased to discover that Sigismund has, in fact, learned from his dream and his advisor, Clotaldo. His remark shows that he denies his own selfish desire for revenge; thus, not only does he change his fate by free will, but he manages to restore honor to Poland s royalty: My soul cries out for vengeance but I see my victory must be my own surrender (III, ii, 222). But what does all of this really mean? What are we to learn about fate and free will? The lessons are in the text, and there are several embedded in the speeches of various characters. Pedro Calderon de la Barca must have been a wise man to answer such puzzling questions in a solitary piece of literary art.
I believe that his assertion, and my own, is that life is a gift, much like our dreams, and a window to the bigger picture of eternity, which is our fate: In this strange world to live s a kind of dreaming And each of us must dream the thing he is Till he awakes. The King dreams he s a King For every King that rules men in his King-dream Must wake at last in the cold sleep of death. And what is real is nothing, and a man Is nothing neither. It is all a dream (II, ii, 88). This is the underlying meaning of this play, and thus, the link to nearly every other play we have read; the ancient Greeks that taught us of fate, the easterners that taught us that we must submit to the natural order, the humanity plays that taught us to have faith in something greater than ourselves (God). Pedro Calderon de la Barca manages to bring all of these former lessons together to teach us the duality of this small experience of life on the grand scale of eternity.
Like the Greeks, he teaches us that fate does exist in death we will all die; it s an inescapable fact. Furthermore, like the easterners, he teaches us to submit to a higher, natural order: A learned man s the victim of his learning, For he who has foreknowledge of his fate Murders himself, (I, ii, 91). We are not supposed to know what lies ahead, that s why we are given free will. If we knew the path we were supposed to take, we would not have free will.
It is this free will that distinguishes us from all other species; the only predestination we have is death; our eternity is chosen by us through the choices we make in this life. This idea lends itself to the Christian teaching in the humanity plays Abraham and Isaac and Everyman, asserting that while fate and free will both exist, what is important is our faith in eternal life and that we live our lives so that we may die in peace and go to heaven. In Sigismund s speech at the end of act three, scene one, he transforms from the student to the teacher when he states: What matters is to try To do what is right. Then if it is real Right justifies itself, And if it is unreal It does no harm to have Some credit up in heaven It may be useful on the day That we awake and end the play, (III, I, 165).
Here we learn that life is like a play and a dream; it is short in comparison to eternity, and serves merely as practice for it. As Christians, our belief in eternal life in heaven or hell is a driving force in life that is fueled only by our faith with absolutely no proof. Because Sigismund treats his new life in faith that it is not a dream, he will reap the reward he so desires. It is his fear of being re-imprisoned that parallels the Christian fear of eternal damnation, both of which are held in faith to be avoided. Basilio teaches us through his own error; he thought he could cheat fate, and when he thinks he cannot, he admits, I ran away, and ran to what I ran from. I hid a thing, and hiding it I found it (III, ii, 43).
The lesson we gain from Basilio is that we cannot escape fate, and by asserting that the only fate we know is death, we realize our mortality and submit ourselves to a higher order. We use our free will as a compass to guide us through our life here on Earth and even though we know that we will die, it is our actions in life that will determine where we live eternally. Because the evolved Sigismund chooses to deny himself revenge, he wins himself the crown, and in doing so restore Rosaura s honour, makes Estrella a queen, and allows Basilio to watch his legitimate heir assume the role of King. Therefore, the prophecy is a hoax because the only predetermined fate is death, and when Sigismund does ascend to the throne he proves to be even more learned and great than his father. Each of us should have taken from this play a valuable lesson on how to live so that our fate may be favorable.
I believe whole-heartedly that this was Pedro Calderon de la Barca s intention in writing this play. Sigismund, a monster, is symbolic of his own tormented self, and his moment of desengano is symbolic of the reconciliation between his own passions and the higher order: I believe now that all human lives Are just like dreams. They come, they go. Perfection is impossible, we know. Then noble hearts, show mercy thus, And for our worst faults gently pardon us (III, ii, 281). Barca s lesson for us is the same as it was for Sigismund.
The ultimate fate is death the only predestination; everything else is up to us. Should we choose to have faith and live right, eternal happiness shall be ours.
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