Borges expresses a fear of mirrors in the story "Covered Mirrors". He meets a woman named Julia and shares this fear with her. Over three years, Julia develops the same mirror-related insanity that Borges fears, becoming convinced that mirrors show only Borges and not her own reflection. Borges uses irony, symbolism, and descriptive language to tell the story from his perspective and leave the reader to understand the unfolding events.

1. Presented By:
Ashley Rice
Jason Madison
Joseph Martinez

2.  Jorge Borges was born in Buenos Aires on August 24,
1899 to Leonor Acevedo Suárez and Jorge Guillermo
Borges Haslam. He grew as a member of the middle
class in Argentina. In his teen years Jorge Borges moved
with his family to Switzerland where he attended
school. Borges returned to Argentina in 1921 and soon
after began to get some of his writing published in
Surrealist literary journals. Borges also worked as a
librarian and lecturer at the University of Buenos Aires.
His father, Jorge Guillermo Borges was a lawyer and a
psychology teacher. His mother, Leonor Acevedo came
from a long line of family members who served in the
military. They both were able to understand written and
spoken english. Jorge Borges’s had a younger sister
named Norah. He was very close to his sister and at
certain points in their childhood she was one of his only
friends. He was keep out of school for about the first ten
years of his life by his father. So with his lack of
traditional schooling he was presented only with
Argentine nationalism knowledge from his
father. While at school Jorge Borges’s was the center of
ridicule by his peers which made him hate school even
though he excelled at it. Borges was greatly influenced
by symbolism. He had a unique style that was also
influenced by his understanding of multiple languages.

3.  In Covered Mirrors, by Jorge Luis Borges, the story begins with his fear of mirrors,
reflections that seem to mock every movement made in an eerie fashion, essentially
praying each day that his dreams would not encompass the mere thought of
mirrors, veering from reality. Moving forward, Borges meets a young woman
named Julia. At first only speaking on the telephone, Julia subsequently emerges
into large eyed, black haired woman with a stern figure. Julia, a descendant of
Federalists, and Borges of Unitarians family members, placed their ancient
disagreements aside to enjoy each other’s companionship. Under the cover of
dusk, they would take strolls along the Balvanera countryside until reaching the
ParqueCentenario in the Caballito district of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
 As the story progresses, Borges unveils the disenchantment of love, nor the idea of
love between him and Julia. Fearful of the intensity possessed by her, Borges
attempts to diffuse his disquieting position by divulging information of his past.
Reluctant in his reminiscing, Borges brings into light his fear of mirrors that seems
to “implant” a seed into the mind of Julia. Three years pass as the metaphorical
“seed” blossoms into insanity that surmounts Julia’s being. Borges learns that all
mirrors surrounding Julia are in veil to conceal the reflection of him, usurping her
own. Gazing upon the mirrors, returns a discomforting unease that leaves Julia
rendered vulnerable and helpless. Borges describes her fate as extremely repulsive,
although does not express sympathy.

4.  In Covered Mirrors, Borges
expresses his fear of mirrors and
as he shares his confession of
fear with a woman named Julia,
she too begins to fear the sight
of mirrors. I believe Borges is
afraid of mirrors because he is
scared of his body being
“outside” of his real body. He
does not like seeing two of
himself. He senses that his
reflection is not really he and
that his imagination is playing
tricks on him. He is also afraid
that the reflection will start
moving by him and his body
will not be moving in reality. As
he tells Julia about the mirrors,
her mind begins to play tricks of
her as well and she tends to
develop the same fear as Borges.

5.  Understanding that style in literature helps the students understand how
language conveys images and meaning. “Covered Mirrors” was not a
conventional style. It was dreamlike and it embraced a hidden surprise. This
was a great example of a Borges-style story.
 Irony is utilized in this story and it is evident by the fact that the fear of
mirrors belonged to Borges but it is Julia that is driven insane by the fear of
mirrors.
 The relationship between Borges and Julia symbolizes their unconventional
or unorthodox view because traditionally the two would not associate because
they were of two different backgrounds one being of federalist ancestry and
the other being of Unitarian ancestry.
 The story is told by Borges in the first person to the reader. This allows
Borges to effectively develop the events in the story so that the reader is left
with the task of putting it all together.
 Borges uses figurative language to go beyond the original meaning of the
words used in this story. He uses personification in “[mirrors] they followed
my every movement” to implicate that the mirrors have attributes just as
humans do even though it is an inanimate object.

6.  Borges uses a metaphor in “ I must have planted the hallucination
that was to flower...” to describe the way his own ideas had been
implanted in Julia's mind and then after time they grow larger than
they originally were just like a flower that grows from a single seed.
 This story was filled with very descriptive portions that jump out at
the reader. Borges writes “Constant, infallible functioning of
mirrors” to provides clues that he really is conscious of the never
ending roles that mirrors provide. He goes on to write “...Their
cosmic pantomime, would seem eerie to me.” so once again Borges
shows how much he is fixated on the mirrors and how they haunt
him. He also said “...horror is monstrously abroad in the world
again.” to trigger dark images in the readers mind by using these
descriptors. Furthermore, he wrote “...between us neither love itself
nor the fiction of love, in her an intensity... I feared it.” which was a
very strong part of the story. It is here in which Borges begins to give
hints of the despair to come.
 Borges also makes use of abstract language which refers to things that
are intangible, that is, which are perceived not through the senses
but by the mind., such as God, and the guardian angel.

7. Bibliography
Borges, Jorge Luis.
Collected Fictions.
New York: Penguin
Putnam Inc., 1998.