Introduction: “The Circular Ruins”
“The Circular Ruins” by Jorge Luis Borges is a surreal short story that invites readers into a dreamlike realm. In this enigmatic tale, Borges weaves a narrative of a man who tries to dream into an existence of a perfect being. The story explores metaphysical themes and the complex interplay between reality and illusion. Also, intricate prose and philosophical exploration have spurred scholarly interest into the story, resulting in a wide range of critical analyses and interpretations. Various scholars and literary critics have offered insights into the symbolic elements, allegorical layers, and philosophical underpinnings of the story as follows.
- Wilson, Jason. “Chapter 5: The 1940S, War, Peronism And Writing.” Jorge Luis Borges (Reaktion Books). 106-129. n.p.: Reaktion Books Ltd., 2006. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 27 Mar. 2023.
In this chapter, Wilson Jason traces back the interest of Borges in metaphysics and theology in relation to his short fiction. He is of the view that Borges has developed his interest in science, time, and space since childhood. According to him, his story “The Circular Ruins” was called Anchorena which means unreality of things. Commenting on the story and creation of Adam’s son by that ghost man, Jason Wilson says that it is actually like a “We engender and are engendered” type of story, while its title alludes to “Pythagorean and Eastern cyclical time” (108). This is a hint to his studying of metaphysics during his childhood and he knew that originality only exists in the real world but its copies are in minds or dreams. It means that everything that happens, happens actually in dreams first. The writer, as Jason Wilson quotes, himself experiences the same dreamy quality when writing the story. His outing escapade with his friends was just dreams for him except the story. Therefore, as Jason has stated that the anonymous character of “The Circular Ruins” never know that he, too, is a dream who is dreaming another dream about his dreamed son Adam. The circularity of the time comes to full circle by the end when Fire does not burn the ghost man, making him realized that he himself is a dream. Jason Wilson beautifully summarizes the entire story in the first section, related it to his father in the second section and then interpreted it in the third through the time and space theory of Pythagoras. However, he has already discussed his biographical details which further shed light on his interest in metaphysics.
- Lydenberg, Robin. “Borges as Writer of Parables: Reversal and Infinite Regression.” The International Fiction Review 6.1: 1997. Web. 27 Mar. 2023.
Commenting on the story “The Circular Ruins” concerning reversal and infinite time, Robin Lydenberg first narrates the entire summary of the story with occasional quotes from the story. He is of the view the reality of the regression or ascension and the reversal of the dream converges in this story. In other words, it dawns upon the priest that, in fact, he also is beyond time and space. The entire summary shows that Robin Lydenberg has a point to prove that he dilates upon by the end when he finishes it. He is of the view that this is akin to a Biblical parable.
Comparing this parable with “The Circular Ruins” he is of the view that it suggests “a vast and disturbing commotion within static confines” of the universe. It is this “spiral” or circular motion that finally goes to the final master who is also beyond time and space. His contention is that if a fictional character can exist in time and space or reality, then a real character can be fictitious, too. This means that it unsettles the readers. He not only thinks about the fiction itself but also his existence like the anonymous hero of “The Circular Ruins” who becomes clear that he, too, is a dream, the reason that Fire cannot burn him. This, Robin Lydenberg calls, is the “regressive or ascending uncertainty” found in Borges’ fiction, specifically his story “The Circular Ruins.” However, he lays the responsibility of the interpretation upon the readers saying that it is “the interpreter and his situation … illuminated” rather than the other way round. He thinks that his fictions are an experience of the assimilation of the audience into the narratives. This draws into “the uncertain spiral of each narrative” bringing it away from time and space.
- Sieber, Sharon Lynn. “Time, Simultaneity, And The Fantastic In The Narrative Of Jorge Luis Borges.” Romance Quarterly 51.3 (2004): 200. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 27 Mar. 2023.
This paper by Sharon Lynn Sieber discusses the concept of simultaneity and Time with reference to the fiction of Jorge Luis Borges. The writer says that the interaction of time and the fantastic in Borges is linked with simultaneity which means it is because of the contradictory nature of the language as a system of the representation of reality. He is of the view that the nature of the time and fantastic is hierarchical and opines that Borges presents contradictory images to make the reader suspend his belief. In fact, Borges wants his readers to free their minds from the limits of time and space. This actually means to free minds from the “constraints regarding the nature of a sequential” which does not exist in the language of mystics as in the case of the story “The Circular Ruins.”
Commenting on this willing suspension and use of time- ree language, he says that the nameless character creates a person who dreams a dream about a person he is going to create in his dream. This dream is like, he argues, the “pictogram or petroglyph and its essence is similar to what Emerson says of the condition of man” that each man is hieroglyphics. This means that nobody can understand the person first or in other words, life is an enigma until a person experiences it himself. Then he comes to know that it is beyond time and space. In other words, like in his other stories, every character finds his life’s purpose or achieves his goal similar to surrender as in the story “The Library of Babel.” That is why the main character finds the end of his objective which is his son Adam. Then the “man persisted in a kind of ecstasy” because he has come to understand that this is the real life that he has been looking to find out in the ruins.
- Bronstein, Catalina. “Borges, Immortality and the Circular Ruins.” International Journal of Psychoanalysis 83: 2002. 648-662. Web. 27 Mar. 2023.
In this article, Catalina Brownstein has beautifully compared two stories regarding the use of immortality as a symbol of time to show that Borges has highlighted the use of time in “The Circular Ruins.” He says that both stories “deal with the omnipotent phantasy of canceling chronological, linear time. He means to say that these stories have not been written in a linear fashion, but in the immortal world where time and space have no importance. Catalina Bronstein calls the anonymous priest as Mr. A to state that his achievement in dreaming about his son is not an achievement; rather his achievement is going beyond time and space into immortality. She quotes the story saying that it is because of this that the old man “understood that he also was an illusion” or in other words, he understands the reality of life. This is an understanding of immortality.
Comparing its epigraph to the end of, Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll, Catalina Bronstein says that it is a la Alice who is denied real existence. In fact, she was dreaming of somebody else’s dream like the priest in this story, “The Circular Ruins”, which means to disregard time and space and try to create a dream out of a dream. However, she beautifully aligns it with the Biblical quote that God created man in his own image. There, too, the question of chronological time loses its importance and immortality becomes a reality to stare in the face of the priest. One more point she argues is the importance of memory or remembrance. The priest or the old man forgets what he dreamed last night or the last day. This makes time even more insignificant as compared to what he is dreaming. That is why, “The Circular Ruins” seems a story written to point out time and space, says Catalina.
Relevant Questions
- How do scholarly annotations and commentaries contribute to a deeper understanding of the metaphysical and allegorical elements present in Jorge Luis Borges’ “The Circular Ruins”?
- In what ways do literary critics and scholars analyze Borges’ narrative techniques in “The Circular Ruins,” and how do these analyses enhance our appreciation of the philosophical themes explored in the short story?
- How has the critical reception and scholarly discourse evolved over time regarding “The Circular Ruins,” and what significant perspectives or interpretations have emerged from annotated bibliographies on Borges’ work?