THE AVATAR IN PANAMA - Theses - Flinders University

3.3 Reinventing the Double The Avatar in Panamacomportamiento? No. Ella tendría quequedarse…Dejó de leer (182).Here, the written text in “Escribiéndo a máquina” is finished asthis is where the writer stopped writing: “Ahí se le había cortado aquellaidea” (182). A light switching on in the background induces the writerback into his trance-like state during which he continues his writing: “Alir a pararse lo invadió inesperadamente la idea perdida […] no podíadejar escapar la idea esta vez” (182). He fears the wife will interrupt himand ruin his creativity. “Leyó presintiendo los pasos a sus espalda”: Hereads the automatically produced text. “Los dos disparos” – gun shotsand fireworks – are heard indicating that the endings relevant to eachdimension are also melded. His dead wife then appears in dressed asshe was in the story. 63 The ghostly presences mentioned at the startcould be linked to the inexplicably cold hands he feels at the end of thetext which almost mirrors a gesture earlier in his story: “En sus hombrossiente posarse ahora unas manos que le parecen inexplicablementefrías” (182). It seems that what he has written is what is happening.One of the processes of metafiction is inherent in the title“Síntesis corregida y aumentada” where the narrative appears to becyclical but is in fact linear as it is revealed none of the events havehappened before. It also has dual viewpoints. The first section isnarrated from Raymundo’s perspective but in the form of a monologueeventhough he is addressing his friend Sergio (Te lo voy a contar;bueno te decía; claro, tienes razón, eso no te lo he contado aún).Raymundo is perplexed: “una sensación constante de estarviviendo nuevamente los hechos y de no poder ser un simple evocadorde algo que sucedió hace años porque de repente todo está pasandootra vez” (55). There is an explanation of sorts. According toRaymundo, the only variation of these to-be repeated elements are twoexceptions – the presence of Sergio, and the fact that Roxana ispretending not to have experienced this before (¿De veras no meconoces, Roxana? ¿No has vivido esto antes?) He wants the night torun as smoothly as it did previously: “Yo quería que la nochetranscurriera fiel al modelo evocado. No fue así” (58).This story’s demise relies heavily on coincidence which isexploited by Raymundo and displays the convergence of past, present,and future tenses. Rightly so, Sergio is sceptical thinking thatRaymundo has planned what is going to happen. The wish fulfilmentand compulsion to repeat is evident here: “comienzo a sospechar que63 The woman is referred to using another familiar image as having “rostro de maniquíseveramente maquillado, rasgos de un pasado vedette”. She may be the samewoman appearing in “Testigo” described similarly “la piel ojerosa, se habíamaquillado, haciéndola rugosa” (130, 131).255