Causal patterns and chance in the narratives of Jorge Luis Borges

Authors

Suradech Chotiudompant

Publication Date

2006-01-01

Abstract

The essay investigates how the narratives of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges explore the role of the human mind in problematizing, and intervening in, the causal pattern, thereby exposing the reader to an awareness that causal patterns are no longer a transcendental system, but an open-ended procedure in which our mind always has a part to play. The first part of the essay discusses how Borges, especially in his short story 'Emma Zunz,' views causality as a complex human construct. The second part analyzes Borges's treatment of chance in 'El jardin de senderos que se bifurcan' (The garden of forking paths) as an external factor that disrupts causal patterns in its distinct way. The essay aims to show that despite these attempts at causal destabilization, causal patterns are indispensable. This leads to a conclusion that our overt reliance upon causal patterns and covert suppression of chance, which significantly affect our representation of reality, come to be regarded as part of the human condition.

DOI

10.58837/CHULA.ARV.19.1.6

First Page

135

Last Page

154

Recommended Citation

Chotiudompant, Suradech (2006) "Causal patterns and chance in the narratives of Jorge Luis Borges," Asian Review: Vol. 19: No. 1, Article 7.
DOI: 10.58837/CHULA.ARV.19.1.6
Available at: https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/arv/vol19/iss1/7