«La degeneración de la estirpe olímpica». Lettura di Ragnarök di Jorge Louis Borges

Abstract

«La degeneración de la estirpe olímpica». A reading of Ragnarök byJorge Louis BorgesIn this article, we will analyze in detail, through a double contextualization,the short story Ragnarök by J.L. Borges. On the one hand,we will look at the text on the background of the Nineteenth-Centurytheme of the gods in exile, which finds in H. Heine its initiator. Onthe other hand, we will compare it with the mechanisms of the literarysupernatural as formalized by the critic F. Orlando; we will especiallyconsider the use of mythology in those ages closest to us. The plotbrilliantly exploits the technique of estrangement in order to explorethe ambiguous relationship between men and (political, cultural, etc.)authority, which is perceived at the same time as an object of desireand a source of anguish.