Four kinds of memories in the works of Jorge Luis Borges

Abstract

The works of Jorge Luis Borges allow us to cast an original glance at certain psychodynamisms that play a part in the configuration of memory and oblivion. His work constitutes, in great measure, a denunciation as well as a plea: it denounces the “alienating power,” as it were, of the memory of previous generations, who tend to alienate individuals in the histories of others, histories unconnected to them that fatally retain them within a labyrinth closed to change. On the other hand, the works of Borges constitute a plea for the defence of a liberating memory for both individuals and peoples. Among the folds of the “changing shape of a memory made of oblivion” that Borges describes, the author discriminates four kinds of memories: the memory of rancor, the memory of horror, the memory of pain, and the memory of splendor. While the memories of rancor and of horror remain opposed to oblivion, to forgiveness, and to the work of mourning, the memories of pain and of splendor integrate the past into an affective restructuring and, at the same time, bring about the hard, slow, and intricate work of mourning.

Key words:

• memory
• oblivion
• history
• mourning process
• memory of rancor
• memory of horror
• memory of pain
• memory of splendor

Notes

1 English translations of the poem extracts have been created specifically for this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Luis Kancyper

Author

Luis Kancyper, physician and analyst, is full member of the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association and of the International Psychoanalytic Association. He has for many years offered seminars and clinical supervisions in several psychoanalytic societies in Latin America and Europe. In 2014, he was awarded the Mary Sigourney International Award. His books have been translated into different languages: Jorge Luis Borges o el laberinto de narciso [Jorge Luis Borges or Narcissus’ labyrinth], 1989; Resentimiento y remordimiento [Resentment and remorse], 1991; La confrontación generacional [The confrontation between generations], 1997; Jorge Luis Borges o la pasión de la amistad [Jorge Luis Borges or the passion for friendship], 2002; El complejo fraterno [The fraternal complex], 2004; Adolescencia: El fin de la ingenuidad [Adolescence: The end of naiveté], 2007; Resentimiento terminable e interminable [Terminable and interminable resentment], 2010; and Amistad, una hermandad elegida [Friendship, a chosen brotherhood], 2014.