The quote from Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's "Don Quixote" highlights the complex relationship between human emotions and animal instincts. Cervantes suggests that while sorrow is inherently a human experience, excessive sorrow can degrade one's humanity, leading individuals to act more like animals. This commentary on emotional strain presents a bleak view of how humans might lose their rationality and moral compass when overwhelmed by pain.

In this perspective, sorrow serves as a defining characteristic of human existence. However, the fragility of the human psyche is underscored, indicating that if individuals do not manage their sorrows properly, they risk becoming unrecognizable versions of themselves, guided by instinct rather than reason. Through this lens, Cervantes emphasizes the importance of emotional resilience and the dangers of succumbing to despair.