THE AVATAR IN PANAMA - Theses - Flinders University

3.2 Double Whammy: Mixed Doubles The Avatar in PanamaDouble Vision: Iterated Images; Obstinate ObjectsSymbolism and imagery in literature may not be meaningful inisolation but when interpreted in relation to each other, the context, andto the history of reader and writer, it is possible to see the intra andinter-dependent links. When dealing with a genre, this becomes moreapparent. Jaramillo Levi’s collections of texts may be compared withinthat thematic field using the incidences of images and objects, identicalor not, and which are spread throughout the author’s literary corpus.Jaramillo Levi himself says that as even his precise use of languagecan lead to ambiguity and multiple interpretations, so too, “es indudableque hay temas, actitudes, obsesiones y hasta imágenes y palabras quese vuelven recurrentes a veces en algunos cuentos”. 58The descriptions of various physical images that are replicatedor multiplied not just in Duplicaciones often correspond to the ubiquitoussimilar scenarios. Depictions of a dead of dying character often use“rostro amoratado, ojos saliendo de las órbitas, manos crispadas”; “lacabeza destrozada” isapplied to the victims of suicide; characters underextreme duress adopt the “posición fetal”. 59 “[Mueven] las aletas de lanariz” is a description pertaining to the subject’s olfactory sense or stateof being which is repeated in several stories to portray a high level ofconcentration preceding a significant action. 60Images and symbols usually retain their original and oftentraditional meaning or become actualised and are given a newcontext. 61 This is the case of the cuchillo, globo and la mecedora.Traditionally associated with vengeance, death and sacrifice, and anobvious phallic symbol, the knife is a ubiquitous weapon in JaramilloLevi’s work; in fact any implement capable of stabbing or puncturing likea knife is used to do so. References vary from bisturí and puñal to dagaand acero. 62 The balloon is an image of perfection, felicity, andwholeness and is significant as it is an object resulting from a58 See Appendix A1 question 11.59 Often when a person has suffered extreme physical or psychological trauma(including massive stress), they assume the foetal position in which the back is curvedforward, the legs are brought up tightly against the abdomen, the head is bowed asclose to the abdomen as possible, and the arms are wrapped around the head toprevent further trauma.60 See Appendix C Double Vision: Replicated Physical Images.61See Appendix C Replicated Objects.62“El simbolismo general de los instrumentos cortantes que se aplica plenamente aquies el principio activo (macho) modificando la materia pasiva (hembra) […] vafrecuentemente asociado a la idea de ejecución judicial, de muerte, de venganza, desacrificios. El cuchillo es el instrumento esencial de los sacrificios”. Chevalier yGheerbrant 385.201