Borges’ Sword

The sword mentioned in Jorge Luis Borges’ epitaph acts as a symbol of separation—sensory and otherwise—between the Greek teacher and the external world. In the novel’s opening chapter, the Greek teacher discusses Borges’ epitaph, which reads, “He took the sword and laid the naked metal between them” (3). The Greek teacher considers the origins of the quote, which arises from a Norse saga involving a one-night romance between a man and a woman. At the end of the chapter, the teacher notes that, during his trip to Switzerland, there “was not yet a knife between me and the world” (4) because he had not yet lost his vision. In this way, the image of a blade gestures towards the way in which the teacher’s blindness separates him, in both physical and emotional ways, from the world around him.

The Unnamed Woman’s Dream