Elisabeth Jeremko

Right at the onset of reading “The Zahir”, Borges hooked me in with his proclamation that “I am not the man I was then, but I am still able to recall…” (Borges, 242). I was highly curious to see what the Zahir would mean and what had happened to Borges in the story. After this, I loved the description of Teodelina Villar. Borges did such a concise, yet descriptive job of fully giving me an idea of what type of woman she was. I tend to think of myself as a perfectionist, so the description of her discipline being greater than that of Talmudists or Confucians was humorous. Borges says the reader might have expected that he was in love with her—I did not guess this, actually! As I read more and more Borges, I see how abruptly and sometimes out of order he presents details. While once annoying, I find his approach to relaying the story in “The Zahir” refreshing. Perhaps I am just more accustomed to Borges or maybe its this particular story. I am not quite sure. I started to lose Borges when he described money as “future time” (244). I found the story humorous again when Borges said that his whole description of the fantasy story was to get the coin off his mind. It is as if the reader is along for the ride, so to speak, of what goes on in Borges’ mind. The concept of the Zahir, as being any object able to induce nonstop thoughts revolving around it is really unique and interesting. His idea seems to become fully developed when referencing Tennyson’s idea of understanding a single flower being able to understand everything else. He then references the Kabbalist idea “that man is a microcosm, a symbolic mirror of the universe” (248). The story finishes up saying that he relentlessly focuses on the Zahir, where behind may be God. One thing I am confused about is how Julia’s presence in Borges’ life fits in with the Zahir. Is it one obsession to another? I cannot really find a connection.