THE AVATAR IN PANAMA - Theses - Flinders University

2.2 Modernismo and its Masters: Darío and Quiroga The Avatar in PanamaAs the dying man nears unconsciousness, he is literally able tophysically distance himself from his own body:Puede aún alejarse con la mente, si quiere;puede si quiere abandonar un instante sucuerpo […] Y al pie de un poste descascarado,echado sobre el costado derecho y las piernasrecogidas, exactamente como todos los días,puede verse a sí mismo, como un pequeñobulto asoleado sobre la gramilla, descansando,porque está muy cansado… (163).This concept of traveling outside the body is a usualoccurrence, given the circumstances, and a variation on the case forautoscopy. 53 The story is punctuated throughout by “la muerte, se estámuriendo, muerto, va a morir, muerto, muy fatigado, está muycansado”, to the point where death and the state of rest became oneand the same. In the last paragraph the perspective moves from thedying man to that of the horse whose movement marks the man’sdeath: “y el hombre tendido –que ya ha descansado” (164).The Dead and Dying: Animals and insectsQuiroga’s forte as a short-story writer lies in his precise use oflanguage, brevity of description, and his unique characterisation fromvarying perspectives. With characters crossing over from this world toanother, and his collection of tales narrated by various animals in“Bestiario”, Quiroga has been a quintessential influence on JaramilloLevi. 54 Several of Jaramillo Levi’s variations in narration fall into thecategories of dead, dying and animal characters. The dead and dyingcategory encompasses three scenarios: the protagonist may narratefrom the perspective of a corpse; the action is centred on a corpsewhich is vital to the plot; or the story is told from the outlook of amoribund character. Quiroga abandoned the urban civilization of Parisand its inhabitants and embraced the flora and fauna of Misiones: thusfor him writing from the perspective of the animal kingdom had a53 Autoscopy is defined as a visual experience where subjects see their image inexternal space viewed from within their own physical body. There are however otherphenomena involving visual perceptions of the self that fall outside this definition; outof body experiences and near death experiences are not viewed from within the body.Autoscopy requires a visual component but there must also be a psychic element forthe subject to feel identity with the image and there may also be kinaestheticsensations, like being followed. These experiences may occur in isolation leading todoppelganger experiences. Dening, T. R. and G. E. Berrios. “Autoscopic Phenomena”British Journal of Psychiatry (1994), 165, 808-810.54 Snakes, dogs, bulls, and horses narrate “Anaconda”, “El alambre de púa”, “Lainsolación”, “Yaguaí”, and “La abeja haragana”. Interestingly, Julio Cortázar and JuanJosé Arreola both have divisions in their collections entitled “Bestiario”.108