>"South" is a story by Borges that somewhat resembles Nabokov's Lik (1939)

 

That is an interesting observation. Indeed in both stories the authors drive neurotic protagonist through accidents of life to inevitable conclusion much differing from grandiose vision he intends to relive/re-die (J). In Borges story (1938) library’s secretary Juan Dalman dreams of life in the South to relive romantic vision of his heroic ancestor but instead fulfills that ancestor’s death from Indian’s spear in his own - from drunkard’s dagger. Inversely, Lik envisions grandiose death on stage but has his destiny sealed in mediocre life by shiny new white shoes. In VN’s story there is more contrast, more light, which sharpen the vision in reader. White shoes on that Thursday evening are more final then the dagger of gaucho and we still don’t know time of the day when Dalman stepped out into the valley. But Dalman is derived from ‘dale’ – valley. To Borges, who had blood infection in 1938, resulting in eventual loss of sight, - words were the light.

 

- George Shimanovich