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Borges on Chaos Theory
About a weird, lovely short story.
Cervantes crudely juxtaposes the humble provincial reality of his country against the fantasies of the romance, while Menard chooses as his 'reality' the land of Carmen during the century that saw the Battle of Lepanto and the plays of Lope de Vega. Moreover, other modern authors of historical fiction, writing about those times, would have indulged in colorful stereotypes and romanticism (says the narrator) but in Menard's work there are "no gypsy goings-on or conquistadors or mystics or Philip IIs or autos da fé. The story goes on to analyze some passages of both works, comparing the 1602 version with the Menard one, contrasting their philosophical messages, stylistic quirks, and influences (e.g. years as a soldier in the Spanish Navy on one side, Nietzsche on the other).
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