Borges uses a specific time and place, which he names ‘the aleph,’ as a means to explain that philosophical issues cannot be always understood using fact or formula. In fact, he makes one question the true meaning behind time and place in relation to one another and whether time and place are truly constants or if they mean different things to different people.
One of the first indicators that “The Aleph” is a magic realism piece of literature is that it follows the same pattern as Aura in terms of the way it is narrated: “The Aleph” is written in first person. Going along with that, this short story is told through the perspective of the author, Borges. The entire plot focuses on very realistic themes and then adds supernatural twists to them. For example, throughout the story, Borges focuses on women, past/future, and vision. In some ways, one might read this and think that perhaps Borges is writing a representation of real events that were happening in his life at the time. For example, Beatriz might be a representation of a woman he once loved that was somehow stolen from him; the aleph may in fact be a representation of visions he has that brings him back to another time, whether it be in the past or in the future – a place where he can be reconnected with his love again.
The story begins with Borges describing a woman that he is in love with, named Beatriz, who died several years ago. In order to keep her memory alive, he regularly visits her house on her birthday year after year. One year, her cousin, Carlos, describes to Borges his feelings about what the earth is transforming into. His main concern is that people will not feel joy in traveling anymore since they are beginning to have so much at their fingertips available to them within the comfort of their homes. He puts all of his ideas into a lengthy poem that he titles, “the earth”. This is a binary between the scientific and the theoretical – Carlos is writing a poem based on his perceptions and ideas, which cannot be proven, only interpreted and choosing to name this poem “the earth”, which is scientific and understood by others. In the middle of the story, Carlos phones Borges and explains that his house is going to be knocked down due to construction next door. He is extremely apprehensive about this because he claims that in the cellar of his house there is an aleph. Convinced that Carlos is completely crazy, Borges goes to witness this ‘aleph’ that Carlos claims exists, to see for himself whether or not it is real. Here is where the story gets interesting. In order for Borges to experience the Aleph, Carlos first feeds him a drink and very specific instructions, and then locks him in a cellar alone. At first, Borges does not see the aleph. Then, after closing his eyes and “feeling vague discomfort,” (pg 282) Borges opens his eyes to the vision that Carlos had been describing.
What Borges sees cannot be measured in terms of what we understand to be realistic. The things he describes are binaries of each other: “…I saw millions of delightful and horrible acts…dawn and dusk…the aleph was probably two or three centimeters, but universal space was contained inside it…” (pg 283). Philosophically, Borges may be describing a feeling, rather than a place. Sometimes, emotions are so strong that they take one out of their reality for a moment and bring one to a place where everything, even the impossible, is possible. It is important to recognize that emotions are very real – we all feel them, but what they do to us and how they impact our lives are out of our control. In fact, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible to articulate exactly what we feel just as Borges struggles with describing the aleph he sees. Borges may be trying to unfold the mystery of philosophy itself – that is, the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being. Borges states, “…the central problem – the enumeration, even partial enumeration, of infinity – is irresolvable,” (pg 282). We live in a world where we expect science to explain everything for us. If science is so dependable and truthful, how is possible for scientific theories to keep constantly changing. Perhaps Borges is trying to articulate in “The Aleph” that it is impossible to determine the reality of the unknown, because it cannot be justified or proven in the exact same way by more than one person. He ends the story by stating that he believes that the aleph he witnessed was a ‘false aleph’ (pg 285). I believe he is reiterating the point that what may be truth to one person may be fallacy to others.
On the other hand, the aleph that he sees may just be a dream or an illusion he experiences caused by the drink he was given before he saw it. It should not be unnoticed that before he was able to see the aleph he felt pain and he drank something given to him by Carlos. His vision may in fact be a hallucination or a dream. Either way, what he sees cannot be explained by anyone other than himself. In this way, Borges is challenging the truth behind concrete philosophical theories in general using magical realism.
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Borges uses a specific time and place, which he names ‘the aleph,’ as a means to explain that philosophical issues cannot be always understood using fact or formula. In fact, he makes one question the true meaning of time and place in relation to one another and whether time and place are truly constants or if it is possible for them to mean different things to different people. Borges focuses heavily on the binary between reality and fantasy and the idea of infinity and labyrinths in The Aleph. He fuses reality and fantasy by using real people and placing them in unreal situations. One of the characters, Carlos, was a real writer who Borges places in this fictional story. Carlos describes what he feels the earth is transforming into and explains that he is writing these ideas down in a poem entitled the earth. This poem is an example of the binary between scientific and theoretical, because it is based on Carlos’s perceptions and ideas, which cannot be proven, and named the earth, which is a scientifically proven entity and understood by all. Carlos’s character and poem are both examples of how Borges fuses reality and fantasy.
ReplyDeleteThe Aleph itself is a place where one can see everything on earth simultaneously. Borges attempts to describe all that he sees at this very point but says that it is impossible because “language is linear,” meaning he can see simultaneity, but cannot express the feeling using words (285). Philosophically, Borges may be describing a feeling rather than a place. Sometimes, emotions are so strong that they take one out of reality for a moment and bring one to a place where everything, even the impossible, is possible. It is important to recognize that emotions are very real – we all feel them, but what they do to us and how they impact our lives are out of our control. It is often difficult, sometimes impossible, to articulate exactly what we feel just as Borges struggles with describing the aleph he sees. Borges states, “…the central problem – the enumeration, even partial enumeration, of infinity – is irresolvable” (282). We live in a world where we expect science to explain everything for us. If science is so dependable and truthful, then why do scientific theories to keep constantly changing? Perhaps Borges tries to articulate in The Aleph that it is impossible to prove or disprove the unknown because it cannot be explained in the same way by more than one person. He ends the story by stating that he believes the aleph he witnessed was a ‘false aleph’ (285). To me, this statement reiterates the point that what may be truth to one person may be fallacy to another.
Borges toys with the binary of existence and non-existence. In The Aleph, there is no question as to whether or not he saw the Aleph but rather whether or not that which he saw actually exists, or if it was just a figure of his imagination. The aleph he sees may just be a dream or an illusion he experiences caused by the drink he was given before he saw it. (It should not be forgotten that before he was able to see the aleph he felt pain and he drank something given to him by Carlos.) Therefore, this vision may in fact have just been a hallucination. Either way, what he sees cannot be explained by anyone other than himself.
Borges also brings up the issues of perspective and the possibly of time fusing together. He blends the borders between the past, future and present by saying that through the aleph he can sell all of time at once. Borges makes us question whether or not it is possible for a person to be able to be in one’s own time/place while also experiencing other times and places at that same exact moment.