Time and Consciousness in Three Works by Jorge Luis Borges

This paper analyzes the concepts of time and consciousness in three works by Jorge Luis Borges. In «The Garden of Forking Paths», the phenomenon of a rhizomorphic labyrinth produces a limitless net of times, forking, converging and parallel to each other. It supposes a huge series of events, developing and coming out simultaneously as a multiplicity of scenarios. Since such kind of a labyrinth has no primary vector, its every point can generally connect to any other point. That is why the inner novel, a world of pure fiction inserted by the author into the main story can interfere with the life of its main characters. «A New Refutation of Time» is at first glance supposed to prove in all possible ways the inexistence of time at the level of metaphysics. However, as a human being, Borges declares himself unable to oppose and resist its implacable course. The third work considered here, «The Rose of Paracelsus», is distant from «The garden of forking paths» as regards the time of publication; nonetheless, it helps to establish unexpected intertextual relations, while the representation of facts as a myth is among its highlights. The reality of creation and destruction constantly present in the work of Borges is described and interpreted as a series of events that occur in the course of time; hence the tale «The South» is also discussed from this point of view. Generally, the works examined emphasize the complexity of time as a multifaceted phenomenon and make the reader think about how unique every moment is.

1. Bagno V.E. (1992) Khorkhe Luis Borkhes ili tysyacha i odno zerkalo kul’tury [Jorge Luis Borges or thousand and one mirrors of culture] in J.L. Borges Rasskazy; Esse; Stikhotvoreniya [J.L. Borges. Stories; Essays; Poems], Saint Petersburg, Severo-Zapad, pp. 5–22. (In Russian)

2. Barma O.A. (2012) Rizomorfnyi labirint kak forma vospriyatiya biblioteki v tvorchestve Kh.L. Borkhesa [Rhizomorphic labyrinth as a form of library perception in the works of J.L. Borges], Vestnik of Polotsk State University. Part E. Pedagogic Sciences, no. 15, pp. 141–144. (In Russian)

3. Barma O.A. (2013) Kontseptsiya rizomorfnogo labirinta v romane U. Eko «Imya Rozy» [Rhizomorph labyrinth concept in the novel by U. Eco «The Name of the Rose»], Vestnik of the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts, no. 1 (19), pp. 28–33. (In Russian)

4. Deleuze G., Guattari F. (2004) Mil mesetas. Capitalismo y esquizofrenia [Thousand Plateaus. Capitalism and schizophrenia], Valencia, Pre-Textos, 524 p. (In Spanish)

5. Echevarría Ferrari A. (1999) Espacio textual y el arte de la jardinería en Borges: «El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan» [Textual space and the art of gardening in Borges: «The garden of forking paths»], in A. de Toro, F. de Toro-Garland (eds.) Jorge Luis Borges: pensamiento y saber en el siglo XX [Jorge Luis Borges: thought and knowledge in the 20th century], Frankfurt, Vervuert Iberoamericana, pp. 71–104. (In Spanish)

6. Frank R.M., Vosburg N. (1977) Textos y contratextos en «El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan» [Texts and countertexts in «The garden of forking paths»], Revista Iberoamericana, no. 100–101, pр. 517–534. (In Spanish)

7. Lakoff G., Johnson M. (1980) Metaphors we live by, London, The University of Chicago press, 243 p.

8. Mateos Z. (1998) La filosofía en la obra de Jorge Luis Borges [Philosophy in the work of Jorge Luis Borges], Buenos Aires, Biblos, 125 p. (In Spanish)

9. Pantoja Meléndez J. (2012) El tiempo en un cuento de Borges: «El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan» [Time in a story by Borges: «The Garden of Forking Paths» (El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan)], Thémata. Revista de Filosofía, no. 45, p. 303–318. (In Spanish)

10. Rodríguez Flórez J. (2019) Relatando el tiempo: Cosmovisiones filosóficas y científicas en «El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan», de Jorge Luis Borges [Relating Time: Philosophical and Scientific Cosmovisions in «The Garden of Forking Paths» by Jorge Luis Borges], Trabajo de fin de máster, Universidad de Salamanca, 28 p. (In Spanish)

11. Stajnfeld S. (2014) Rizomas y árboles en «El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan», de Jorge Luis Borges [Rhizomes and trees in «The Garden of Forking Paths» by Jorge Luis Borges], in Á.M. del Rosario, P. Bernal, M.L. Bacarlett Pérez (eds.) Devenires de la literatura y la filosofía [Evolution of literature and philosophy], Toluca, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, pp. 75–101. (In Spanish)

12. Ulises Moulines C. (1999) El idealismo más consecuente según Borges: la negación del tiempo [The most consistent idealism according to Borges: the negation of time], in A. de Toro, F. de Toro (eds.) Jorge Luis Borges: pensamiento y saber en el siglo XX [Jorge Luis Borges: thought and knowledge in the 20th century], Frankfurt, Vervuert Iberoamericana, pp. 180–185. (In Spanish)