Tautologies and phantasmagorias: time for Jorge Luis Borges and James Joyce

Abstract

The circular structure of Finnegans Wake (1939), by James Joyce (1882-1941), as well as the separation of the text into four books and the overall intertextuality with the philosopher Giambattista Vico (1668-1744), immediately point out how much the topic of temporality is central to the most sui generis of all joycean publications. Time was also a central theme for the writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986), who addressed it more directly in his essays but created hypotheses on the subject in his fiction as well. This paper approximates Finnegans Wake and some of Borges's meditations on temporality, especially in his short story “La Biblioteca de Babel” (1941). Considering the broadness of the topic, I narrow my focus to the notion of eternity and how it may include circularity and repetition. I also briefly address what Borges published about Joyce’s work.