THE AVATAR IN PANAMA - Theses - Flinders University

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3.2 Double Whammy: Mixed Doubles The Avatar in PanamaA further example of a unifying element in Jaramillo Levi's workis the comprehensive repetition of certain objects. The stories “Suicidio”and “Testigo” both share a mirror which is not just a recurring image butdoubles as a narrating character in the latter case. The commercialbrand of “Underwood” typewriter is a story’s title, and the typewriteritself reappears in “El vecino”. Glasses and owls, and various bodypartsmake appearances in “Los anteojos” and “El búho que dejo de latir”,and there are many more replicated objects throughout all of JaramilloLevi's work. 41This last work “El búho que dejó de latir” displays a multiplicityof characters and incorporates other stories from Duplicaciones as theworld of anaesthesia and childhood memories fuse. The names ofcharacters mentioned are Miguelito (the narrator), Lic Valdez (hisfather), Jaime perhaps from “El incidente”, tío Miguel, and Pepe from“Los anteojos”. It is ironic that this story was not included in the firstedition of Duplicaciones but was in subsequent ones as it provides agood psychoanalytic mélange of some of the characters throughout thecollection, and presumably from the protagonist’s experience.Where or When: Setting the SceneSpatial and temporal anomalies are prevalent in literature of thedouble. In Jaramillo Levi’s writing there are no descriptions of castles,woods, and crumbling houses as there were in the Gothic period. In thecontext of his work, there are no such urban descriptions as they arenot central or significant. In fact, places are seldom mentioned. Asfragments of narrative a scene often does not need to be set. Instead,descriptions concern the introspection of the protagonist and theirunfolding psychic activity which may often lead to the use ofmetafictional and mise-en-abîme devices as alternatives. Yet, hisstories were written in a multitude of places, cities and countries andalthough he generally records the date and place he wrote each story atthe end of the text, the places, dates, or times which would usuallylocate the reader are for the most part not mentioned in his stories. Thischronological vagueness facilitates an argument for the recurrence ofcharacters throughout his body of work. It also contributes to theiruniversality. However, there are general locations that reappear likecities, states, and countries: Fuerte Amador, a Panamanian coastal cityis referred to in “El incidente” and “Nereida”, stories whose charactersmay also be linked; the North American city and state of Iowa is thesetting for: “La fiesta del sótano” [Iowa city], and “La gringuita de lamoto”, and Costa Rica is mentioned in “El buho que dejo de latir”.Specific places like restaurants, streets, and hotels also appear: Méxicocity’s Avenida Álvaro Obregón is the location in “El incidente”; andrestaurant Los Violines, the Hotel Ponce de Leon, and various locations41 See Appendix C Replicated Objects.196
3.2 Double Whammy: Mixed Doubles The Avatar in Panamain Miami, Florida rate a mention in “Piensan que no tuve un buenmotivo”. Many tales set in the contemporary era have as its setting apark -the urban version of the wood or forest which is a classic settingfor fantasy literature. 42 There are other commonly used settings butwhich generally remain non-specified or undefined such as the beachand sea; a basement or cellar; or a hospital. 43Themes and plots based around the concept of time are foundin Jaramillo Levi’s fiction and this is often reflected in the language andliterary symbols used. There is a subtle recurring imagery that isspecific to temporality as it masquerades in many guises: that oftimelessness, simultaneity, the interminable, and the innumerable.Symbolically, the passage of time can be measured by particularcountable images which include manchas and estrellas. 44 By contrast,images that represent that which is uncountable or infinite include arenaand polvo. 45Double-talk: Recurring Words and PhrasesJaramillo Levi explains the recurrent use of certain vocabularythroughout his work:Creo que cada uno de mis cuentos, si bienpreciso en su uso del lenguaje, se las ingeniapara permitir la ambigüedad, las múltipleslecturas, incluso la imposibilidad de entender demanera taxativa ciertas situaciones cifradas. Sinembargo, es indudable que hay temas,actitudes, obsesiones y hasta imágenes ypalabras que se vuelven recurrentes a veces enalgunos cuentos. 46In many stories dealing with transmutation in the literature ofthe double there seems to be a process through which the characterexperiences several phases of distemper. The author himself states:“En muchos de mis cuentos hay alguien que mira, que espía, que42See 1.2, footnote 73, page 55. This is exemplified by the works of Théophile Gautier(“Le chevalier double”), Rubén Darío (“Betún y sangre”), Edgar Allan Poe (“A Tale ofthe Ragged Mountains”), and E.T.A Hoffmann (“The Doubles”).43 References to stories set in hospitals are documented in 2.2 Hospitals andhallucinogenics 102. For a breakdown of locations in Jaramillo Levi's work, seeAppendix C Where and When.44 Manchas represent the passage of time, ideas of the transitory and death, and referto the abnormal, discolouration and imperfection. Cirlot, Dictionary of Symbols.45 For a definition of arena see footnote 53; for polvo see footnote 55. See alsoTimelessness.46See Appendix A1 question 11.197
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2.3 Dobles and Duplos: Latin Americ
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Psychiatry’s fugues are literatur
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I certify that this thesis does not
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Introducing the Double:The Seductiv
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2.1 The North American Double The A
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3.1 Shoes and Mirrors: Images of Do
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3.3 Reinventing the Double The Avat
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Concluding Remarks: the Paradox in
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Concluding Remarks: the Paradox in
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Appendix A1:Double-Speak: Interview
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Appendix A2:Dentro de los zapatos:
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Appendix B: Enrique Jaramillo Levi:
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Appendix C:Thematic Taxonomy of Dou
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List of Works CitedThe Avatar in Pa
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