In his collection of short stories in Labyrinths, Jorge Luis Borge theorizes about the nature of time and reality through intricate and imaginative plots. The title of the collection, ‘Labyrinths’ speaks to the complexity and uncertainty that surrounds the existences he bases he stories in. Like a Labyrinth, the complex philosophical positions he takes and in turn our understand is constantly shifting and evolving without one set or correct path.
I found the idea of immortality to be a recurring theme in some of these short stories, including ‘The Circular Ruins’ and ‘The Garden of Forking Paths’ where he presents the idea that the journey through life is a never-ending cycle that is continuous. In The Circular Ruins, we see this with the man that dreams up a person only to realize he was dreamt up himself and that person is presumably to follow the same fate. In ‘The Garden of Forking Paths’ we see this in the discovery of the novel that contains an infinite number of possible paths and outcomes with every decision constantly creating new paths and possibilities without an ending.
I found it interesting that he would refer to himself in his stories, specifically ‘Borges and I’, differently from how someone would if they were writing a diary entry or a story about themselves. He takes a contemplative out of body approach where he sees himself as something that’s separate from his metaphysical form “Borges”. I think in this way he also immortalizes himself.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I think he has an expansive viewpoint on the world and what’s in the realm of possibilities. Outside of themes and various repetitions that tie the stories together, I haven’t noticed much else in terms of continuity or an overarching narrative. Some of the stories were hard to follow but there were often points where something interesting would happen that would prompt me to want to re-read the story and try to interpret it again.
I found Borges’ approach to complex philosophical concepts quite thought provoking and different from what I’ve previously been exposed to. From it I take home the idea that there is no one way to view the world but different perspectives and a constant evolution of our understanding.
My question for discussion: What story struck you as being impactful or left a lasting impression on you? Did it change how you view some aspect of life?
Yes, this is a collection of stories and not a novel. Perhaps that is why you did not see the development of the narrative arc, but rather variations and repetitions, and the interplay between them, as Dr. Beasley-Murray says in his lecture. Is there anything in particular that caught your attention? A phrase, an image? Or even a character…
Hi! Great question. the story that made me reconsider some fundamentally epistemology is “Funes the Memorious”. The idea that memories can hinder thought, countering the popular belief that the fallibility of memory is dangerous. Particularly Funes’ attempts to imagine something new that they had not seen before had a high impact and highlighted the importance of imagination and inane mental wonderings, and what a burden it would be to have to remember them all.
Hi,
Great post! I definitely agree with you on Borges having a unique and thought-provoking approach to presenting philosophical ideas. I love how you mention the theme of immortality; it’s one the themes that wasn’t obvious to me, atleast at first as I was more focused on the theme of identity.
To adress your question, I personally loved the Circular Ruins.
Hello! Thank you for the great post. I really enjoyed reading the connection you made with the title of the book and the complexity and uncertainty with each story in the collection as I hadn’t put that connection together and found it really interesting! In response to your question, a story that left a lasting impact on me was “Borge and I” as reading it brought me a new perspective on identity to me that I hadn’t really thought about beforehand.
Thanks for the insightful post! I never really considered Borges’ philosophy when reading his work, but perhaps I will try and see if he has any specific philosophical ideas or views in his short stories. I completely agree with you that many of his stories are confusing difficult to read and do not follow any linear path, and I believe that had he wrote full length novels, a non-linear story would work really well. One story that had a lasting impact on me was Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote, I would not say that it left a positive impression on me, but rather leaves me with an example of when too much symbolism and obscure references ruins a story.