O enredo aporético de “A terceira margem do rio” (G. Rosa) e “El inmortal” (J.L. Borges)

Abstract

While investigating some specific short stories from the end of the 19th century, we have faced some different situations regarding to the construction of the plot: authors like Cleveland Moffett (little known in the current literary scene) and Henry James create narratives that present an initial problem not solved in the end of its plots (and nor in other stages of the plot). These authors, however, do not fully cultivate this condition or even technique. Only in the twentieth century, we perceive writers such as Franz Kafka who structures their best narratives in the form of a plot that puts the reader in an unresolved situation and prolongs it until the end of the story without giving the readers a chance of effective elucidation. Jorge Luis Borges follows the same standard presented in Kafka’s compositions, he also produces some of his most famous works starting with the construction of a non-clarifying plot. In Brazil, Guimarães Rosa uses this device in some of his fictional texts. “A terceira margem do rio” presents itself as one of the main example (perhaps the best illustration within the fictional work conceived by Guimarães Rosa) related to the creation of what we call the aporetic plot. Through this perspective, our work seeks to carry out a detailed analysis concerning to the abovementioned short story and “El inmortal”, by Jorge Luis Borges. We initiate this study observing the ways in which the plots of both texts are presented, seeking to understand the artistic functioning of the concept denominated aporia as the pivotal cause of the plot. We emphasize that we will be careful while analyzing the particularities inherent to each artistic production.