THE AVATAR IN PANAMA - Theses - Flinders University

3.3 Reinventing the Double The Avatar in Panamaahora, con el cigarillo encendido” (67). Carlos has fallen back to sleepwhile reminiscing, and coincidentally, the fire of his earlier dream, in theguise of “un enorme pájaro”, takes place due to his unextinguishedsmoldering cigarette. His fate, unbeknown to him, is presumed to bethat of Cortázar's characters.“Mar afuera” (CB) also uses dreams to a devasting end much inthe same way as “Agua de mar”. 57 A man has no recollection of how hecame to wake up “bocabajo”, fully dressed and wearing his shoes on abeach in “Mar afuera”: “Había occurido casi sin darse cuenta”. Thestory is full of contradictions or oppositions; “Amaneció vacía y él tiradosobre la arena / Aunque no recordaba nada, tenía conciencia de nohaber bebido / Espejo opaco en ciertas áreas, radiante en buenaparte”. An alcoholic blackout is discounted by his not having drunkanything. He strips himself of his clothes and enters the waterswimming out to sea, “[s]u cuerpo absorbía con deleite el líquidocontacto frío”, and becoming tired, he realises the beach hasdisappeared: “¿Hacía dónde nadar?” He is stranded:De golpe recuerda entonces. Reconoce elsueño. La pesadilla lo tiene atrapado, realahora. La creciente confusión y el pánico sonuna misma oleada interna. Helada corriente quelo paraliza (34).The ambigious ending is a typical device used to finish thesetypes of story, and it is here that Jaramillo Levi's role stops and thereader’s must begin - to decide the character’s future.Aside from the contamination of the oneiric, the fantastic, andthe real by each other, there also exists the uncanny interruption of thedream state of another person, or another person’s dream. Thisintermingling of telepathy and dreams is exemplified in “Te amo, Silvia”and “Piensan que no tuve un buen motivo”.“Te amo, Silvia” is a magical fantastic story which exploresvoyeurism, imagination, obsession, and lesbianism. Every eveningEdith observes her neighbour and object of desire, Silvia, undress.Armed with imagination and these mental visualizations, Edithpleasures herself and begins to dream, “[u]no tras otro. Como porencargo.” There is also dream communication on the part of the twocharacters, as Silvia has other ideas: “Pero una noche su vecina logródarse cuenta de que la estaban soñando en situaciones muy contrariasa su gusto. Los ojos quisieron salírsele como dardos buscando elcerebro que la ponía a complarcerse en relaciones no autorizadas”(151). Edith confronts Silvia, confesses her love for her, and admits she57 See “Agua de mar” which is examined in 2.1 Death’s Twin Brother: O. Henry, 83.249