2 ?b90

234
His fate would appear to be sealed when Nicolds introduces him to a "cuaren-
t6n armado de todas las malicias" (1,448) and he has little further hope
of heroically conquering the Unconscious.
Androgyny is Foci6n's preferred solution and he imagines that he can
turn his fantasy into reality when he "meets" George and Daisy in New York.
His unaccustomed desire for the female, Daisy, seems to be his quest for the
positive feminine anima within. She is compared with shadows and reflec-
tions to such an extent that she becomes part of Foci6n which he cannot
quite reach: "La imagen, llegada como por innumerables reflejos, ninguno de
los cuales se precisaba ...
" (1,479); "Aquella Daisy que desde la primera
vez que la vi, me huy6 sin saberlo, iba a ser en el resto de mis dias en
esta ciudad, el constante reflejo infernal
...
" (1,480); "Era la inasible
(1,480). She is his glimpse of the intangible, lejania, indeed she
works in a house which could belong to Oppiano Licario for all the reasons
that the Chinese ivory toothbrush could have indicated his presence else-
where: "Trabajaba en la casa de un anticuario de objetos chinos" (1,481).
If Foci6n could be at peace with his feminine side, his anima, he would be
able to look beyond himself. In his earlier speech on homosexuality he
had discussed the predilections of medieval troubadours who courted reluc-
tant ladies but preferred their brothers: "Todo lo que el hermano me nieqa/
me lo regala su hermana" (1,352). Now he decides to approach the brother
since the sister is unobtainable; in other words the action which is requi-
red to take possession of the positive anima is too much for him and he
turns to another kind of love. His new friendship begins under the auspi-
ces of a poet, Hart Crane, whose visit to Cuba is used by Foci6n as an in-
troduction to Daisy's brother George. Art seems to ease Foci6n along his
chosen path, poetry has been created out of such relationships - Walt Whitman
is also invoked in this passage. In the midst of one of Foci6n's many joy-
ful unions with George, which are quite unlike any previous liaisons he has