The Mark of the Phallus: Homoerotic Desire in Borges' "La forma de la espada"

Abstract

The fiction of Jorge Luis Borges is intriguing and yet, unsettling. These qualities seem to originate in what I consider two principal characteristics of Borges' work: confounding ambiva? lence and a clever use of paradox. His work is paradoxical insofar as it is macrocosmic, and yet microcosmic; central, and yet peripheral; collective?it seems to speak with many voices?and yet it is deeply personal and evokes the strongest emotional responses, especially in lyrical passages that reveal the unmistakable presence of Borges himself. It is precise, concise, and straightforward in its expression, and yet there is something ambiguous, nebulous, and absent in its style. These and other contradictory qualities amplify the richness and suggestivity of Borges' stories and may help explain the extraordinary quantity of criticism devoted to them. Paradox in Borges' work is frequently indicated by a mask used to disguise a false identity. As critics such as Emir Rodriguez Monegal (29-32) and Sylvia Molloy (18-25) have noted, Borges' fascination (and discomfort) for masks, a life-long obsession with paradoxical dualities in which truth is concealed by false appearance, becomes a central organizing principle in Borges' writings. The craft of fiction for Borges, then, is the unmasking of the reality lying below the surface of the false fa?ade. And this process of revelation is accompanied by the simultaneous sensations of pleasure and uneasiness. In this essay, I will examine how Borges cleverly uses a visible mark as a mask, concealing as well as displaying the truth regarding the main character in the story, La forma de la espada. The reality that the Borgesian mask both disguises (closets) and reveals (outs) is homoerotic desire.