Youwarkee by Jorge Luis Borges
The story revolves around a man who discovers that he is the protagonist of a novel written by an author. The man becomes obsessed with understanding the nature of reality and his place within it. He tries to communicate with the author, but ultimately realizes that he is trapped in the narrative created by the writer.
By Jorge Luis Borges · First published 1957 · Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance · 160 words
First lines
In his Short History of English Literature, Saintsbury finds the flying girl Youwarkee one of the most charming heroines of the eighteenth-century novel. Half woman and half bird, or as Browning was to write of his dead wife, Elizabeth Barrett half angel and half bird, she can open her arms and make wings of them, and a silky down covers her body. She lives on an island lost in Antarctic seas and was discovered there by Peter Wilkins, a shipwrecked sailor, who marries her. Youwarkee is a gawry (or flying woman) and belongs to a race of flying people known as glumms. Wilkins converts them to Christianity and, after the death of his wife, succeeds in making his way back to England.
What this Textopian page supports
Youwarkee is listed on Textopian as a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, dated 1957 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Jorge Luis Borges
- Date: 1957 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Science Fiction, Christian Allegory
- Length: 160 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Youwarkee by Jorge Luis Borges
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Similar titles
- The Leveller by Jorge Luis Borges
- The End Of The Duel by Jorge Luis Borges
- The Mermecolion by Jorge Luis Borges
- Burak by Jorge Luis Borges
- The Mirror Of Ink by Jorge Luis Borges
- The Captive by Jorge Luis Borges
Genres
- Fantasy — The presence of a race of flying people and a half-woman, half-bird character establishes a fantastical setting.
- Adventure — The narrative involves a shipwrecked sailor discovering a new world and its inhabitants, typical of adventure tales.
- Romance — The central plot revolves around the love affair between Peter Wilkins and Youwarkee.
- Science Fiction — The concept of a race of flying people suggests speculative elements akin to early science fiction.
Tags
Philosophical Fiction · Metaphysical Novel · Linguistic Playfulness · Existentialism · Absurdism · Paradoxical Storytelling · Time and Space Manipulation · Reality Distortion · Fictional Universes · Multiverse Theory · Self-Reference · Ontological Inquiry