Borges Stories
Borges Emma Zunz
one of the passages will be from the beginning of Emma Zunz, and I'll just ask you about the narrator's portrayal of Emma, what implications arise early on in the story before you even know the outcome of the story, but having known the outcome.
Miltons picture is in the Emma Zunz's desk drawer, and she very significantly, in terms of her odd psychological connection or disconnection to her father. DYS connection, so not a happy connection. She places the letter that informed her of his death, That starts the story, that letter by that faint or fine person is placed next to a photo of Milton Sills, which implies that she has a movie star crush on Milton Sills, so that kind of Borges suggested her sexuality is quote on quote normal.
“her father had sworn that the thief was Loewenthal“ “perhaps she thought that the secret was the link between herself and the absent man. “
“she had to repeat and then spell her name; she had to applaud the vulgar jokes that accompanied the struggle to get it correct“
“In April she would be nineteen, but men still inspired in her an almost pathological fear“
“ She opened it; under the portrait of Milton Sills, where she had left it night before last, she found Pain's letter. No one could have seen it; she began to read it, and then she tore it up.“
“How to make plausible an act in which even she who was to commit it scarcely believed? “
“One of them, who was quite young, she feared might inspire in her some hint of tenderness, so she chose a different one…so that there might be no mitigation of the purity of the horror. “
“She thought (she could not help thinking) that her father had done to her mother the horrible thing being done to her now. …Tearing up money is an act of impiety, like throwing away bread; the minute she did it, Emma wished she hadn't“
“Paradoxically, her weariness turned into a strength, for it forced her to concentrate on the details of her mission and masked from her its true nature and its final purpose“
“many times she had dreamed that she would point the firm revolver, force the miserable wretch to confess his miserable guilt,“
“She could not not kill him, after being so fully and thoroughly dishonored. “
“Emma began the accusation she had prepared ("I have avenged my father, and I shall not be punished ...") but she didn't finish it, because Sr. Loewenthal was dead. She never knew whether he had managed to understand.“
“The story was unbelievable, yes—and yet it convinced everyone, because in substance it was true. Emma Zunz's tone of voice was real, her shame was real, her hatred was real. The outrage that had been done to her was real, as well; all that was false were the circumstances,“
Borges The South El Sur
There will also be a passage from the end of the south or near the end of the south, when he is leaving gthe tavern to get into a knife fight, This is the scene in which one of the three Tough guys at a table next to Juan Dahlman challenge him, and one of them is described as being someone with Asian ancestry mixed with Spanish ancestry, and Dahlman himself has Germanic and Spanish ancestry mixed.
Focus on the south. The passage will have to do with the duel at the end, his Gaucho fantasy
“I n t h e c o n f l i c t b e t w e e n h i s t w o d i f f e r e n t f a m i l y b a c k g r o u n d s , J u a n D a h l m a n n — p e r h a p s i n f l u e n c e d b y h i s G e r m a n i c b l o o d — c h o s e t h e s i d e o f t h a t r o m a n t i c f o r e b e a r , t h e o n e w i t h t h e r o m a n t i c d e a t h .“
“ O n e o f h i s f o n d e s t m e m o r i e s w a s t h e i m a g e o f t h e f r a g r a n t e u c a l y p t u s t r e e s a n d t h e l o n g r o s e- c o l o r e d h o u s e t h a t o n c e w a s c r i m s o n .“
“b u t w h e n t h e S u r g e o n t o l d h i m h e h a d c o m e c l o s e t o d y i n g f r o m s e p t i c e m i a , h e b e g a n w e e p i n g i n m i s e r y f o r h i s s a d f a t e . “
“R e a l i t y l i k e s s y m m e t r y a n d f a i n t a n a c h r o n i s m s .“
“Tr a v e l l i n g w i t h t h i s b o o k , w h i c h w a s s o l i n k e d t o t h e s t o r y o f h i s m i s f o r t u n e , w a s a n a f f i r m a t i o n b o t h t h a t t h a t m i s f o r t u n e h a d b e e n e r a s e d a n d a j o y o u s a n d s e c r e t c h a l l e n g e t o t h e f r u s t r a t e d f o r c e s o f e v i l . “
“h e t h o u g h t h e r e c o g n i z e d t r e e s a n d c r o p f i e l d s t h a t h e c o u l d n ' t p o s s i b l y n a m e b e c a u s e h i s p e r s o n a l k n o w l e d g e o f t h e h i n t e r l a n d w a s m u c h l e s s t h a n h i s n o s t a l g i c a n d l i t e r a r y k n o w l e d g e .”
“C o n t e n t e d l y , D a h l m a n n t o o k n o t e o f t h e k e r c h i e f , t h e f l a n n e l p o n c h o , t h e l o n g p e a s a n t t r o u s e r s , a n d t h e w i n e b u t t ,“
“H e h a d j u s t s t o o d u p w h e n t h e o w n e r a p p r o a c h e d h i m a n d e x h o r t“
“N o w i t w a s d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t h i m a n d a g a i n s t h i s n a m e a n d h i s n e i g h b o r s w o u l d k n o w a b o u t i t . D a h l m a n n p u s h e d t h e o w n e r a s i d e . H e c o n f r o n t e d t h e f a r m h a n d s , “
“h e r u f f i a n c o m p a d r e 1 9 w i t h t h e A s i a t i c f e a t u r e s … w a s p r e t e n d i n g t o e x a g g e r a t e h o w d r u n k h e w a s , a n d t h a t e x a g g e r a t i o n w a s b o t h f e r o c i o u s a n d m o c k i n g . “
“a n o l d o v e r- w r o u g h t g a u c h o …t h r e w h i m a n a k e d d a g g e r , w h i c h c a m e t o r e s t a t h i s f e e t . I t w a s a s i f t h e S u r h a d d e c i d e d t h a t D a h l m a n n s h o u l d a c c e p t t h e d u e l …..h a t n e a r l y i n s t i n c t i v e a c t c o m m i t t e d h i m t o f i g h t . T h e s e c o n d , t h a t , i n h i s c l u m s y h a n d , t h e w e a p o n w o u l d f a i l t o p r o t e c t h i m , b u t r a t h e r t h a t i t w o u l d j u s t i f y t h e m k i l l i n g h i m“
“h e t h o u g h t t h a t d y i n g i n a k n i f e f i g h t o u t i n t h e o p e n a n d o n t h e a t t a c k w o u l d h a v e b e e n l i b e r a t i n g f o r h i m , a j o y o u s f i e s t a ,“