Borges and the mirror

 Borges was always afraid of mirrors when he was young, even the shiny mahogany furniture and the clear water, because the image of his body made him feel uncomfortable and frightened. Once, he and his sister were playing a hunting game indoors. He was in his imagination and saw a murderer with a vague image in the mirror of the wardrobe.

Years later, the mirror that created the illusion became a recurring image in his works. He said he was afraid of being copied, and hated the weird feeling of self-multiplying. In fact, what he hates is losing his nature. He also dislikes confusion caused by psychedelic drugs, drunkenness, or sexual impulses. He likes to be rigorous and is willing to always maintain a clear thinking ability.

 

His literature is rational and anti-intoxicated, but it is also a fantasy literature. His emphasis on the image of the mirror shows that his pursuit has a utopian nature. When he no longer felt the horror of the mirror, the mirror became a symbol for him—a symbol of what might happen on the other side of reality. He believes that fantasy literature has a longer history than realism literature. The most reliable thing is fiction, whether it is true or not, and it is a realistic conception based on experience; while the soul is made of fantasy.

In a work entitled "The Blinded Mirror", he wrote: "Through the mirror, I have understood the horror of this mysterious repetition or proliferation of reality since I was a child... I understand that I have always been anxiously guarded. Watch them." Next, he told a terrible story about mirrors that "miraculously appeared in real life". Through a story of others, he expressed his fear and dislike of losing his nature, and at the same time showed that he "doesn't care anymore" at this time. He wrote his own transcendence and new understanding.