The other Death by Jorge Luis Borges

Name: The other Death
Author: Jorge Luis Borges

This short story explores the concept of a parallel universe where death exists as a living being, rather than an event. The narrative follows a man who encounters Death and engages in a conversation about the nature of mortality and the afterlife. Through their discussion, the protagonist comes to understand that Death is not just a passive entity, but an active participant in the cycle of life and death.

By Jorge Luis Borges · First published 1972 · Genre: Magical Realism, Philosophical Fiction, Historical Fiction · 3,095 words

First lines

I have mislaid the letter, but a couple of years or so ago Gannon wrote me from his ranch up in Gualeguaychú saying he would send me a translation, perhaps the very first into Spanish, of Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem "The Past," and adding in a P. S. that don Pedro Damián, whom I might recall, had died of a lung ailment a few nights earlier. The man (Gannon went on), wasted by fever, had in his delirium relived the long ordeal of the battle of Masoller. It seemed to me there was nothing unreasonable or out of the ordinary about this news since don Pedro, when he was nineteen or twenty, had been a follower of the banners of Aparicio Saravia. Pedro Damián had been working as a hand up north on a ranch in Río Negro or Paysandú when the 1904 revolution broke out. Although he was from Gualeguaychú, in the province of Entre Ríos, he went along with his friends and, being as cocky and ignorant as they were, joined the rebel army. He fought in one or two skirmishes and in the final battle. Returned home in 1905, Damián, with a kind of humble stubbornness, once more took up his work as a cowhand. For all I know, he never left his native province again. He spent his last thirty years living in a small lonely cabin eight or ten miles from Ñancay. It was in that out-of-the-way place that I spoke with him one evening (that Í tried to speak with him one evening) back around 1942; he was a man of few words, and not very bright. Masoller, it turned out, was the whole of his personal history. And so I was not surprised to find out that he had lived the sound and fury of that battle over again at the hour of his death. When I knew I would never see Damián another time, I wanted to remember him, but so poor is my memory for faces that all I could recall was the snapshot Gannon had taken of him. There is nothing unusual in this fact, considering that I saw the man only once at the beginning of 1942, but had looked at his picture many times. Gannon sent me the photograph and it, too, has been misplaced. I think now that if I were to come across it, I would feel afraid.

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The other Death is listed on Textopian as a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, dated 1972 CE.

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Work type: Short story
Author: Jorge Luis Borges
Date: 1972 CE
Language: English
Genres: Magical Realism, Philosophical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Metafiction, Fantasy
Length: 3,095 words
Structure: 1 section, 21 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genres

Magical Realism — The narrative blends realistic events with fantastical elements, such as the alteration of historical events and the supernatural conjecture about Damián's life and death.
Philosophical Fiction — The story explores deep philosophical themes, including the nature of reality, memory, and the possibility of altering the past.
Historical Fiction — The plot is set against the backdrop of historical events, specifically the battle of Masoller, and incorporates real historical figures and settings.
Metafiction — The narrative self-consciously addresses the nature of storytelling and the reliability of memory, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.