Doppelgänger or illusion? One of Borges' many obsessions was the double: the idea of ​​meeting oneself. Borges uses doubles to contrast himself with things and people he is not or to explore the things he is. Norman Thomas di Giovanni explores this in detail in a chapter (titled “Borges at play: the self and selves”) of his book The Master's Lesson: On Borges and His Work1. The double can appear in many forms and used to different effects, but at its core it is about the question of the self. It is clear that this is an intrinsically human issue, as the idea of ​​the double recurs repeatedly in different cultures and languages. Borges's readings of other authors are also influenced by his thoughts on the double, particularly Shakespeare and the American transcendentalists Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson. While not strictly doubles, alter egos and mirrors are also used to show a different side of a character by comparing them to themselves. Four works by Borges in particular are identified: “The South”, “The Other”, “I and Borges” and “The Observer”. These pieces are notable because they all use the idea of ​​the double, but each in a different way. Di Giovanni's analysis of the use of the double is persuasive, but does not develop some ideas as fully as they deserve. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The double is a pervasive idea in all cultures. Borges himself explores this aspect in The Book of Imaginary Beings, describing various forms of the double in the world. There are numerous sayings and words for double, but the most interesting are the myths. The Scottish fetch and the wraith are both said to be doubles that bring you to death or seen before death, respectively. The Egyptian ka is supposed to be an exact double in every way and exists for every living and non-living being, even gods. Jewish beliefs place the sighting of a double, far from being an omen of death, as a sign that a person is a prophet. Di Giovanni takes up this passage from Borges' book, but does not analyze what its addition to the original work could mean. The Book of Imaginary Beings was originally published in 1957, before any other stories discussed other than “The South” (which uses the concept of the double differently than the other three). This implies that Borges was just beginning to explore the idea of ​​the double and how it could be used in literature. The double can be the same as the original, highlighting things never seen before, or it can be the opposite, acting in contrast to the original. Mirrors are used in literature to discuss doubles by including fewer fantastical elements in the piece. Even some of the language we use to discuss doubles implicitly uses mirror metaphors, such as the double being a reflection of a person. While Borges is no stranger to the fantastic, he still used mirrors, usually to represent final self-knowledge and death. For example, in his poem “20 May 1928” Borges used the mirror to symbolize a loss of control by stating that the man in the mirror is the original and the person outside is simply a double copy of his actions. Adding another level of abstraction, in “Conjectural Poem” a metaphor compares the night to a mirror in which the protagonist can see who he really is before dying. One of his later poems, “In Praise of Darkness,” finds Borges reflecting on his impending death. He writes: “Now I can forget them. I reach my center, / my algebra and my key, / my mirror. / Soon I will know who I am." Again, this uses a mirror as a metaphor for self-knowledge and death. The idea thatyou see when you die (or that you die when you see yourself), is connected to many of the myths explored previously, particularly recovery and the specter. Borges was a fan of the American transcendentalists Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo. Emerson, and in them he saw a part of himself, his desire for a different life. Borges was a very academic man throughout his life and wished he could be a man of arms like his ancestors. This often emerged in his writings, creating works about a life he did not and could not lead. Borges saw Whitman doing something similar, describing himself in House of Leaves as “extroverted and orgiastic” when in reality he was “chaste, reserved, and somewhat taciturn.” Borges saw in Emerson's writings, particularly his poem “Days,” a dissatisfaction with the way his life had turned out. These alter egos are a form of double, but are used as implicit literary doubles to the real authors rather than being entirely within the work. Di Giovanni paints Borges as "a magpie", taking ideas and themes from around the world. This presents another sort of double, in that Borges (and, according to Giovanni, many Argentine writers) could draw from everything but “was nothing in itself,” to quote Borges quoting William Hazlitt on Shakespeare. Borges felt a resemblance to Shakespeare in this sense, having taken so many things from so many places. By writing about so many things and so many people, Borges felt he was losing his personal identity. Borges was fascinated by combat and often included knife fights in his stories. In particular, “The South” is about a man very similar to Borges who ends up in a knife fight, which ends ambiguously with his presumed death. This man (Juan Dahlmann, a librarian) is Borges' stand-in and serves as his alter ego. It is clear that Juan is meant to be an avatar for Borges rather than simply a conduit for fantasizing about knife fights thanks to the biographical similarities he shares with Borges. Borges had an identical injury up until the date the story was set, a dedicated interest in the book Juan was reading (One Thousand and One Nights), and the same job as a librarian. “The South”'s use of an alter ego is in contrast to the next three pieces where doubles are very explicit within the lyrics. This predilection for knife fighting, especially in the work of such a literary author, is explained by di Giovanni and Borges himself as influenced by the fact that his relatives and ancestors on all sides were "men of action" rather than a "bookish guy". in person” as Borges was. While this is undoubtedly true, one must take into account the fact that the grass always seems greener on the other side and that Borges wanted something simply because it was denied to him. Up to this point in Borges' stories the doubles have been metaphors and symbolism, but the double that appears in "The Other" is literal: a 70-year-old Borges meets Borges at 18 sitting on a bench. Both believe that the bench is in their position in space and time and note that neither of them dreams of the other. Di Giovanni includes the passage saying that “each of [them] was a caricatural copy of the other,” but fails to analyze what deeper meaning the story holds. “The Other” is about the coherence of the “self” – while the younger and older Borges are the same person, they cannot understand each other despite the older Borges having lived the life of the younger Borges. This raises the question: If we change over time, can people really be considered the same people they were years before? “Borges and I” takes an approach based on the difference between the public and private self. There is a perceived difference between the "Borges" and the "I" in this story, where.