Borges and I

Maps, one of Borges’s favorite symbols, represent` the spatial relationship between Borges’s dual identities. Borges grapples with an internal identity that eludes spatial confinement. In contrast, his external persona, known as “Borges,” is firmly grounded in the spatial world, existing through his literary works and the places where his name finds a home. The author encounters this persona through documents, like academic rosters or biographical dictionaries. Though this persona is defined by Borges’s preferences such as his affinity for maps, Borges regards it as an inaccurate or “falsified” representation of himself.

Likewise, while often considered objective documents, maps are affected by the mapmaker’s lens. For example, maps can convey different kinds of information like topography, water currents, or political borders, selectively highlighting different aspects of the same land. Maps are also living documents that change as the world does—contemporary maps have more accurate depictions of landmasses than antique ones because more of the world has been explored, measured, and documented. Additionally, old maps include now-outdated place names like the USSR, Bombay, or Czechoslovakia. Finally, maps are often shaped by cultural context; for example, maps produced in North America sometimes center North and South America, splitting Eurasia onto the left and right sides of the map. As such, maps shape one’s understanding of the world and are likewise shaped by the mapmaker. Similarly, Borges’s persona is simultaneously shaped by his internal guideposts and the way readers interpret them.