THE AVATAR IN PANAMA - Theses - Flinders University

2.3 Dobles and Duplos: Latin American Perspectives The Avatar in Panamaof speech and subject pronouns are mixed as the protagonist’sperspective moves from yo to nosotros when identifying with hisamphibious form. “Aislé mentalmente una […] Vi un cuerpecito rosado[…] la parte más sensible de nuestro cuerpo” (162). The axolotl areobjectified and depicted as inanimate statues of sorts. Theseamphibians “eran como testigos de algo”, and seemingly possessknowledge of the possibility of another, different life. The protagonistfeels their gills move as if they were his own, as one twin would feel thepain of the other: “En ese instante yo sentía como un dolor sordo”(165).In the literal sense of the word “Axolotl” is truly uncanny as forFreud uncanny moments occur precisely when subjects find themselvesat one with the unfamiliar or unrelated entity, who is most often theperson’s own double. In “Axolotl”, the protagonist witnesses the returnof his repressed double, a double that is both analogous to him, yetunfamiliar as it is not of his species. He moves from observer of theOther, to the Other. Responding to the axolotls’ call for help he forgetshis human side and moves into the Other’s place: “Veía de muy cercala cara de un axolotl inmóvil junto al vidrio. Sin transición, sin sorpresa,vi mi cara contra el vidrio, la vi fuera del acuario, la vi del otro lado delvidrio. Entonces mi cara se apartó y comprendí” (166). This storyevokes hues of horror as the protagonist comes to the followingrealization: “El horror venía –lo supe en el mismo momento- de creermeprisionero en un cuerpo de axolotl, transmigrado a él con mipensamiento de hombre, enterrado vivo en un axolotl, condenado amoverme lúcidamente entre criaturas insensibles” (167).In “Axolotl” the aquarium’s glass acts as a barricade betweensubject and object, a metaphor for the barrier of personal space. Afterthe metamorphosis, the man’s body remains on the other side of theglass and acts as a mirror, which separates the axolotl from theobserver and maintains a certain distance (60). The glass barrierreflects the axolotl to him, dissolving the barrier between them.One of Jaramillo Levi’s bestial shape shifting experiencesincludes a woman’s gradual transformation into a dove in “Laspalomas”. 9 Due to political and economic unrest, the young woman issent alone by her parents to a foreign country, most likely the UnitedStates as this story was penned in Iowa City. As soon as she boardsthe plane, memories and landscapes are erased: “estando ya en elavión, desde el cual se me iban escapando por momentos los paisajes,los recuerdos”. This occurs as if she were preparing to adopt analternative persona in the other culture. The plane travel is therefore anallegory for the creation of this new identity; the protagonist clearly feels9 Jaramillo Levi, “Las palomas”, Duplicaciones, 109-112.116