La forma de la espada

by Jorge Luis Borges

"La forma de la espada" es un cuento del autor argentino Jorge Luis Borges, publicado por primera vez en julio de 1942 en La Nación e incluido en la colección de 1944 Ficciones, segunda parte.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Spanish Literature, 20th Century

12 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1942

About the author

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known works, Ficciones (transl. Fictions) and El Aleph (transl. The Aleph), published in the 1940s, are collections of short stories exploring motifs such as dreams, labyrinths, chance, infinity, archives, mirrors, fictional writers and mythology. Borges's works have contributed to philosophical literature and the fantasy genre, and have had a major influence on the magic realist movement in 20th century Latin American literature.
Born in Buenos Aires, Borges later moved with his family to Switzerland in 1914, where he studied at the Collège de Genève. The family travelled widely in Europe, including Spain. On his return to Argentina in 1921, Borges began publishing his poems and essays in surrealist literary journals. He also worked as a librarian and public lecturer. In 1955, he was appointed director of the National Public Library and professor of English Literature at the University of Buenos Aires. He became completely blind by the age of 55. Scholars have suggested that his progressive blindness helped him to create innovative literary symbols through imagination. By the 1960s, his work was translated and published widely in the United States and Europe. Borges himself was fluent in several languages.
In 1961, he came to international attention when he received the first Formentor Prize, which he shared with Samuel Beckett. In 1971, he won the Jerusalem Prize. His international reputation was consolidated in the 1960s, aided by the growing number of English translations, the Latin American Boom, and by the success of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. He dedicated his final work, The Conspirators, to the city of Geneva, Switzerland. Writer and essayist J.M. Coetzee said of him: "He, more than anyone, renovated the language of fiction and thus opened the way to a remarkable generation of Spanish-American novelists."

Reviews

[AiK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Тема предательства и геройства раскрывается в этом коротком рассказе Борхеса. Здесь рассказ в рассказе, сначала Борхес встречается с человеком с приметным шрамом, поскольку разговаривать было не о чем, он просит рассказать историю шрама. Теперь рассказчиком становится его собеседник, рассказывающий историю своего шрама, идеальным полумесяцем простиравшийся от виска до скулы. Он говорит, что сражался за независимость Ирландии. Однажды к ним присоединился некий Мун, хилый, лет двадцати человек, напоминающий беспозвоночного, с пылом штудировавший коммунистические учебники, и всю мировую историю сводивший к экономическим противоречиям. Он бесконечно полемизировал, но доносил свои идеи менторским тоном, раздраженно и пренебрежительно. При первой же встрече с врагом, он встал, как вкопанный, окаменев от ужаса. Рассказчик спас его. На следующий день, Мун, сославшись на пустяковую рану, отказался идти. «Мне было так стыдно за этого человека, словно трусом был я, а не Винсент Мун. Ведь к тому, что делает один человек, словно бы причастны все люди. Поэтому трудно считать несправедливым, если бы ослушание в одном саду пало проклятием на весь род человеческий; трудно считать несправедливым, если бы распятие одного еврея стало спасением всех людей. Может быть, и прав Шопенгауэр: я — это другие, любой человек — это все люди. Шекспир в каком-то смысле тот же несчастный Джон Винсент Мун.»
Пожалуй, это ключевая идея рассказа, идея о сопричастности всех людей, что каждый человек является отражением другого человека. Герой стыдится трусости своего товарища, как если бы сам был таковым. Давая ссылки на первородный грех Евы и принятия Христом смерти во искупление грехов всех людей, Борхес дает нравственный посыл – каждый в ответе за другого.
Мун пытался доказать ему, что трусость – пустяк по сравнению с его умственным превосходством. Для подлости всегда нужно оправдание. Но сколько бы он ни оправдывал себя, в конце можно понять, сколько презрения к самому себе испытывал потом Мун.

[Glenn Russell]

"A spiteful scar crossed his face: an ash-colored and nearly perfect arc that creased his temples at one tip and his cheek at the other." --- opening line in The Shape of the Sword

I first encountered this Borges tale fifty years ago in the collection of fictions, essays and parables by the Argentinian man of letters entitled Labyrinths. One searing image cut itself into my memory, never to be forgotten, an images driven home in the concluding lines of this unforgettable short yarn.

Irony, a literary device frequently employed to maximal effect in a short story when the irony is contained in the final word, the final sentence or sentences, as is the case with The Shape of the Sword.

Ah, the sword. Think of the many men as well as women who have lost their lives receiving a decisive thrust from a sword. Throughout history, the sword has come to symbolize many things: power, protection, authority, strength, courage - and violence.



One particularly memorable line: "Whatever one man does, it is as if all men did it."

So speaketh the narrator strolling the streets of a northern provincial town in Brazil when his interlocutor is none other than Borges himself. Yes, Jorge Luis Borges has written himself into his own tale here.

The Shape of the Sword, a tale of courage and betrayal, a tale one must read for oneself.

"Perhaps Schopenhauer was right: I am all other men, any man is all men." What think ye of the narrator's statement? After reading The Shape of the Sword, your assessment might change - or be enlarged. Link: http://www.coldbacon.com/writing/borg...

As a bonus for lovers of irony, here's a modern day tale containing a sliver of the Borgesian spirit -

THE LADDER by Greg Boyd
I go next door to borrow a step ladder. No big deal. But deal. It's gone, my neighbor says, stolen or borrowed by my son or my son-in-law or some cheap crook, loaned by me to a neighbor, i don't know, but gone either way. Sorry. Okay, I say. But I still need a ladder. I get on the phone, try the hardware store. All out of stock. Take a raincheck? No thanks. Next the rental place. They've got everything. Extension ladder? How big, 18 or 24 or 30 feet? A step ladder. No steps right now, except for a kitchen two-step for changing light bulbs and reaching the top shelf if you're short. Try tomorrow morning early. Need it now. I think of the swap meet. Drive out there. Pay for parking and admission. Everything's for sale; people's lives are spread out on blankets and card tables: clothes, furniture, car parts, junk, kitchen utensils, framed posters, tools, jewelry, hot dogs, knives, bird cages, bicycles, toys, books, plants and aquariums, everything except a step ladder. On the way back I pass a garage sale. Slam on the brakes. There it is. Old wooden one with paint dripping on the rungs. A little paper sign on it: NOT FOR SALE. How much will you take for the ladder? Not for sale. Give you more than it's worth new. Don't want to sell it. Fifty bucks? Ain't selling. Will you rent it to me for a day? Garage sale not rent, but I'll tell you where I got this one. Paint supply place downtown. Good deals. Below retail. Open Sundays? Don't know. Worth a try. I try. Out of business. But down the street I find another hardware store. And they've got a ladder. New aluminum job with ribbed steps and red warning stickers that say not to stand on the top step. Already sold, says the manager. Last one we got. Customers coming back for it any minute now. I'll give you twice what it cost, I say. Can't do that, says he, an old guy, poking his ear. Gray hair in the ear, and lots of wax. Split the difference with the customer, I offer. Nope. It's already paid for. Bad business, dishonest, poor service, and other similar stuff. How about a quick rental? I flash a fifty. His eyes light up a little. Before he can say anything, though, the ladder's new owner walks up. I talk to him. Big guy wearing blue jeans and a flannel shirt unbuttoned over a sleeveless undershirt. Offer to buy. Need the ladder, he says. For a job. Me too. How about a loan. I mean a rental? I'm in the trades, he says. You rent the ladder, you rent me with it. Also my truck plus mileage. Union wages, of course. Deal, I say. I pay up front and we shake on it. A pleasure to work for you, he says. we get back to my place, he, I, the ladder, the truck. He unloads and carries the ladder inside, and down the stairs to the basement. He climbs up the ladder and unties the rope that is anchored to the high beam that supports the basement roof. The rope falls noose-end to the floor. That it? he asks. I guess so.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Léanlo! Es muy breve pero está bien escrito y atrapa desde la primera línea.

[Dina · Rating 3 out of 5]

And with that steel crescent left a flourish on his face forever—a half-moon of blood.

[Saba · Rating 4 out of 5]

The philosophical part of the story fascinated me:
"Whatsoever one man does, it is as though all men did it. That is why it is not unfair that a single act of disobedience in a garden should contaminate all humanity; that is why it is not unfair that a single Jew's crucifixion should be enough to save it. Schopenhauer may have been right—I am other men, any man is all men, Shakespeare is somehow the wretched John Vincent Moon."

[Joel Stenseth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. These short stories just keep getting better and better. Badass story with a wicked twist at the end.

[Oktay Yagiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maravilloso y poetica!

'?Usted no me cree?' balbucco '?No ve que llevo escrita el la cara la marca de la infamia?'

[Dmitry Butsenets · Rating 3 out of 5]

Шизофрения как чувство вины

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is why, in polite society, one never asks another: "where'd you get that scar?"

[SCDavis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this story this morning and it is worthy of a better slower read. This quote from the story perhaps encapsulates the theme.

"Whatever one man does, it is as if all men did it. For that reason it is not unfair that one disobedience in a garden should contaminate all humanity; for that reason it is not unjust that the crucifixion of a single Jew should be sufficient to save it. Perhaps Schopenhauer was right: I am all other men, any man is all men, Shakespeare is in some manner the miserable John Vincent Moon."

[Gonzalo Milano · Rating 5 out of 5]

El acto de un hombre es el acto de todos los hombres. ¿Escuchar las infamias de otros no es otra cosa más que rememorar las suyas propias? Quizás despreciar a Moon es despreciar el mismo concepto de traición que nos es heredado con nuestra humanidad. Vincent Moon parece tener todas las cualidades repudiables en el pasado como en el futuro y se hace presente como la personificación de esa irreparable herencia pedante, cobarde y traicionera que nos persigue a todos.

[Carolien · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://biblioklept.org/2020/02/03/th...

An interesting sting in the tale. A man with a badly scarred face becomes in land owner near Brazil. One night he tells the story of how he was scarred to a traveler. Well worth a read.

[Joe Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cinematic 4 page story about a couple soldiers. Feels like A Separate Peace with it's naivette and boyishness and has a little bit of comedy since it's told so unironically straightforward. Also reminded me of the movie 1917 because of the long scenes in foreign houses hiding from the enemy .

[Mole Mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The routine of the civil war had impelled me to act as I had acted. Besides, the capture of a single one of our men could have compromised our cause.
A short story that feels a bit too ephemeral - too rushed. Still good, just not enough.

[mic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borges no solo construye una narrativa llena de suspenso, sino que con el giro del final redefine con excelencia la percepción del lector y eleva la historia a algo más intrincado; como postula Ricardo Piglia en su tesis del cuento dual.

[Ana Fernanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

9. Notas de La forma de la espada:
Este es el más cuento de los cuentos de Borges en Ficciones so far. Un irlandes con una cicatriz de media luna en su cara le cuenta su historia al narrador (Borges?) con un twist al final.
"Ahora desprécieme"
Final thoughts: Basicón

[Verano por siempre · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Denu Cagianesa]

Lo habia leido en secundaria pero ahora en la facultad lo volvio a leer

[Catu Batalla · Rating 5 out of 5]

god

[Dani Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Increible plot twist que sorprende en tan corto cuento.

[André Prado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviravolta narrativa bem conduzida em um conto curto.

[Marvin Silvera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una historia de traición, arrepentimiento y vergüenza muy bien ejecutada, un relato quizá introspectivo y por momentos personal que contiene una correcta exploración de personajes.

[Andrea Hernández Flores · Rating 2 out of 5]

Borges Borges Borges... este señor no me convence y con lo que hemos platicado de él en el taller, menos me dan ganas de volver a leerlo

[Poncho González · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gusto, y creo el mas sencillo de leer hasta ahora

[luz ✿]

traidor como todos los ingleses

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,9

[Shelby M. (Read and Find Out) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[barbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

no me cae bien, pero que bien que escribía.

[Luis Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

el mas sanguinario so far. las cicatrices son cool pero siempre tienen historias mejores detrás (siempre y cuando las cuente 1 genio como borges)

[Simon Berling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mycket bra berättat