The Freudian Ominous in Jorge Luis Borges. An Analysis of the Text The Book of Sand

Authors

  • Santiago Marghetti Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

Keywords:

Ominous, Freud, Borges, The Sand Book

Abstract

Freud, in 1919, wrote The Ominous as part of his theoretical, epistemological and ontological turn, that took shape in 1920 with Beyond the Pleasure Principle. In these texts, the author abandons the hypothesis that the human psychic apparatus is directed by the principle of pleasure-displeasure and enunciates the death drive, together with the repetition compulsion. The Ominous is that which was condemned to disappear under the rule of repression, but emerges as an unknown in the familiar. This appearance generates, in most cases, a feeling of terror before something that is unknown and traumatizes the soul. This text, together with Duel and Melancholy, were the prelude to the theoretical postulates of late Freud. 

The relationship between Borges and psychoanalysis is a well-known subject of study, since the writer took some psychological elements to carry out several of his stories, essays and books. In this article, we intend to glimpse and analyze the presence of The Ominous in The Sand Book, to deepen the study of this relationship and open future questions on psychoanalysis and literature.

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References

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Published

2024-07-05

How to Cite

Marghetti, S. (2024). The Freudian Ominous in Jorge Luis Borges. An Analysis of the Text The Book of Sand. Nota Al Margen, 2(3), 158–172. Retrieved from https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/notalmargen/article/view/44670

Issue

Section

La literatura y las cosas