Kyriakos
08-11-2012, 06:20 PM
I am a fan of his work, and have singled out a few stories with ominous undertones. Although i am not claiming that the core of the work is about such a feel, it is a motif in many of his stories.
Some which have dark elements include the following:
-The man on the threshold
-The gospel according to Mark
-The South
There are other works by him with similar tone, but i am of the view that those are the better examples (i ommited his self-proclaimed attempt to mimic Lovecraft's style, for i think it is a hybrid of Borges and Lovecraft and not very much to my liking).
Of the three mentioned i find the middle one to be the gloomiest. The unlucky hero is met with a premonition of doom, and is the tragic cause of his destiny unfolding in the faraway estate he had found himself in almost by accident.
The man on the threshold is one of my favourite pieces by Borges, because it is so simple on the surface, and so labyrinthine in its tonality. India by itself serves as a vast location where a man can be obliterated by sheer size of the country alone. i also think that the ending, however predictable (the story would not work in any other case) is still ominous and magical in its cruelty.
The South, Borges' own favourite work of his, appears to be an elaborate construction of a false second state of existence for its protagonist. Did he ever leave the hospital? At any case, he wanted to, and wanted to die in the South, as probably will happen, the South of his memory, even if he still is inside the hated building of his endless torment.
You can suggest other stories which fit this mood in your view, and discuss them. Borges at first appeared to me to be a strange writer, but now is rapidly becoming my favourite :)
Some which have dark elements include the following:
-The man on the threshold
-The gospel according to Mark
-The South
There are other works by him with similar tone, but i am of the view that those are the better examples (i ommited his self-proclaimed attempt to mimic Lovecraft's style, for i think it is a hybrid of Borges and Lovecraft and not very much to my liking).
Of the three mentioned i find the middle one to be the gloomiest. The unlucky hero is met with a premonition of doom, and is the tragic cause of his destiny unfolding in the faraway estate he had found himself in almost by accident.
The man on the threshold is one of my favourite pieces by Borges, because it is so simple on the surface, and so labyrinthine in its tonality. India by itself serves as a vast location where a man can be obliterated by sheer size of the country alone. i also think that the ending, however predictable (the story would not work in any other case) is still ominous and magical in its cruelty.
The South, Borges' own favourite work of his, appears to be an elaborate construction of a false second state of existence for its protagonist. Did he ever leave the hospital? At any case, he wanted to, and wanted to die in the South, as probably will happen, the South of his memory, even if he still is inside the hated building of his endless torment.
You can suggest other stories which fit this mood in your view, and discuss them. Borges at first appeared to me to be a strange writer, but now is rapidly becoming my favourite :)