[lit-ideas] Re: Borges's "South"
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:00:58 EST
For Borges, "The South" is what I'd call -- or polo players would call -- the
"Southern Circuit", i.e. the Southern Circuit in the Province of Buenos
Aires, the real pampas, as it were.
The Unsufferable Gaucho, in The New Yorker makes at least two references to
this story by Borges, and then we are reminded that the lawyer, Pereda, as
Borges as his favourite author, which is just as it should.
Cheers,
JL
Buenos Aires, Argentina
---
From wikipedia:
"Juan Dahlmann is an Argentinian library secretary. Although of German
descent, he is proud of his Argentinian maternal ancestors. He has a number of
artifacts from his forefather: an old sword, a lithograph photo, and a ranch
home in southern Argentina he has never found time to visit. In February 1939,
he obtains a copy of the Arabian Nights. He takes the book home, and -- eager
to examine it -- rushes up the stairs and gashes his forehead against a
recently painted beam. The wound Dahlmann suffers forces him to lie bedridden
with
very high fever. After a few days, his doctors move him to the hospital. On
his way there, Dahlmann feels happy, thinking that the move will do him good.
At the hospital, however, Dahlmann's treatment for his injury causes him
immense pain, and he quickly equates the hospital to a fiery inferno (An
interpretation of the story could be that what follows is an explanation of
his
idealized death -- the one Juan Dahlmann fabricates and stages in his mind --
in
order to pass into the next life in an honorable manner.) After days in the
hospital he is suddenly told that he is recovering, after almost having died
of
septicemia. Juan Dahlmann sets off to his ranch to convalesce. The story
shifts locations to a train station, where Dahlmann is waiting for a train to
travel to his ranch. He decides to go to a restaurant for a bite to eat. In
the
restaurant he notices a cat, the mythical creature who, in many cultures
(for example Egypt), is associated with eternity and the gods. After his meal,
Dahlmann boards the train, and rides out of the city into the countryside. The
train conductor enters his compartment and notifies him that the train will
not be stoping at his destination, but at a previous station. Once the train
reaches the deserted station, Dahlmann steps off into a small countryside
town. He makes his way through the dusty streets and finds the only
restaurant.
He sits down, orders food, and begins to read the 1001 Arabian Nights.
Three rowdy ranch workers sitting at a table nearby throw a bread crumb at
him; this he ignores. However, after a short while, they begin again. This
time, Dahlmann stands up in order to exit the establishment. The shopkeeper
(calling him by name) anxiously asks Dahlmann to pay them no heed, saying they
are
drunk. This prompts Dahlmann to do the opposite, to face them. One of the
ranch workers brandishes a knife. Seeing the situation getting out of hand,
the
shopkeeper calls out that Dahlmann does not even have a weapon. At this
point, an old man in the corner, a gaucho (which to Dahlmann represents the
essence of the South as well as the past) throws a knife to Dahlmann. It lands
at
his feet. As he picks up the knife, Dahlmann realizes that it will not be of
any use to his defense. He knows he has never wielded a knife in his life and
that if he fights that he is going to die. However, he feels that his death
in a knife fight is honorable, that it is the one he would have chosen when
he was sick in the hospital, and he decides to go. The story ends with
Dahlmann and the farmer exiting the bar and walking into the streets as the
setting
sun blazes behind them.The events of the story are semi-autobiographical:
Borges also worked in a library. At New Year's 1939, Borges suffered a severe
head wound and nearly died of blood poisoning Borges considered "The South" to
be his best story.
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