Sherlock Holmes in the Prism of Borges

by Suzanne Jill Levine


I couldn’t help viewing with Borgesian bifocals Guy Ritchie’s latest “avatar” of super thinker Holmes played by a louche neurotic Robert Downey Jr. whose dependable sidekick Dr. Watson is updated by an edgy Jude Law, the best looking Watson to-date. The good doctor in this version threatens out of exasperation to abandon but still stands loyal (like his staunch original) to his cocaine-addicted comrade. These current reincarnations of the famous pair are far sexier and more physical—veritable James Bonds of the fist and the gun, with a taste for the ladies—than Conan Doyle’s restrained if jocular Victorian duo. There is also an explicit homo edge—Downey interprets Holmes as a rakish dandy when he’s not hallucinating or fiddling—as when the two men meet with the doctor’s fiancée (whoever thought of Watson as the marrying kind?) whom Downey succeeds in alienating. After all, she gets between him and his handsome pal at the Royale, Oscar Wilde’s favorite Cafe.


In his own stories Borges improved on the mechanical duality of Conan Doyle’s complementary doubles who, in Borges’ view, were merely replaying another gimmicky twosome, idealistic Don Quixote and earthy sidekick Sancho Panza. Interestingly, Guy Ritchie’s version (Holmes’s nemesis played by a sinister Mark Strong has a Draculesque touch) dilutes the complementarity by making hero and sidekick more identical, adding a dab of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The doubles multiply with the chick-flick addition of two ladies, the doctor’s aforementioned fiancée and Holmes’s love interest, a seductress/villain played by Rachel McAdams (at the service of evil Moriarty) who is a double agent, obeying her menacing employer yet yielding to the charms of Downey’s Holmes, taking her cues perhaps from Bond’s Pussy Galore in Goldfinger.


Getting back to Borges: the film is a veritable amalgam of the detective genre so dear to Borges who paid homage to it with his ‘Death and the Compass’—a tale of two with one homo-suicidal mind. Indeed its most Borgesian dimension is its borrowings from Poe, Christie and most especially G.K. Chesterton’s ‘nightmare’ titled The Man Who Was Thursday: the film’s climactic scene occurs in Parliament, suggesting Chesterton’s vast political conspiracy which turns out to be the work of one man with many masks. Chesterton’s Catholic touch doubtlessly helps paint a dark foreboding London as a nightmarish labyrinth whose center is occult.


The match between Holmes and Moriarty is between reason and magic: science battles against the supernatural as rapid fire foreshadowings and explanations incessantly sweep the narrative back, forth, and around each crime. Endless repetitions of plot and characterization, spiraling variations transcend the individual—detective and criminal are potentially interchangeable in an ongoing cycle that also transcends this film. Whether or not they recognize it, Borges has possessed the unconscious of filmmakers and spectators alike, this spectator, certainly.


Suzanne Jill Levine is a leading translator and scholar of Latin American literature, whose publications include The Subversive Scribe, Manuel Puig and the Spider Woman, and hundreds of contributions to major anthologies and journals including the New Yorker, and over 20 volumes of translations of the most original writing from Latin America. A professor at the University of California, her many honors include National Endowment for the Arts and NEH fellowship and research grants, the first PEN USA West Prize for Literary Translation, the PEN American Center Career Achievement award, and a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship. She is currently general editor of five volumes of the works of Borges for Penguin Classics.



30 comments:

Hunting Violets (Resa Haile) said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hunting Violets (Resa Haile) said...

I wouldn't think it would be a problem to think of Watson as the marrying kind; he married Mary Morstan (who was actually a client of Holmes') in the stories. Note also the "gypsy" scene: "brothers not in blood but in bond."

vw bus said...

nice and cool book for reading, more adventure

Unknown said...

A very nice article thanks for sharing!!


Best Hajj Packages

Jual Hammer Of Thor Di Semarang said...


Thanks for the information
Share and Klick Info Blokwalking. Hammer Of Thor Asli
=> Hammer Of Thor Di Bogor
=> Hammer Of Thor Di Medan
=> Hammer Of Thor Di Semarang
=> Hammer Of Thor Di Bandung
=> Hammer Of Thor Di Bandar Lampung
Obat Good Man | Obat pembesar penis | Vimax Asli | Vimax Extender

anil kumar said...

downloadmyaadhar
download aadhar card
aadhar toll free number

Lincoln Madison said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lincoln Madison said...

Toll Free Numbers almost instantly improve your company's image and they put you in a better position to ensure you meet your customer's needs as quickly and efficiently as possible

Unknown said...

This article is very useful, thank you for sharing. And allow me to share articles too, it's about health and treatment. God willing
Cara Menghilangkan Mata Berlemak (Pterigium), https://obatgondokberacun.com/cara-menyembuhkan-erosi-serviks-secara-alami/, Cara Menyembuhkan Erosi Serviks Secara Alami,

Nabila Widianti said...

nice from information, i'm very like and thank you for sharing
Obat Sesak Nafas Karena Penyakit Jantung
Cara Menghilangkan Benjolan Di Langit-Langit Mulut Tanpa Operasi, Cara Mengobati Kista Rongga Mulut Tanpa Operasi, Cara Mengobati Kista Rongga Mulut Tanpa Operasi

Doddy said...

kembali ke dalam gambar oleh internet hosting bandar dan pedagang dengan suara di situs mereka sendiri, namun itu tidak akan memotong mustard untuk berbicara dibandingkan dengan hal yang sebenarnya.
asikqq
dewaqq
sumoqq
interqq
hobiqq
rajawaliqq
paito warna terlengkap
paito warna singapore
paito warna sydney

delhi escort girl florima paul said...

Hi my self Florima Paul an educated, stylish, fashionable Delhi Escort Girl, Offer Exclusive and best ever services to high class person and give them the full value of money they spend on me or my services.

Aerocity Escorts
Connaught Place Escorts
Fantasy Delhi Escorts

Foreigner Delhi Escorts

Local Area Delhi Call Girls

Delhi Sex Services

Local Area Delhi Escorts

Saket Escorts
Call Girls in Saket

hot services in Mumbai said...

Ooooh, wonderful! That image is like a BIG christmas present all wrapped up in golden ribbons. Thanks for the link.
Escorts in Kharghar▐ ▶

Escorts in Thane▐ ▶

Low Price Escorts in Mumbai▐ ▶

Russian Escorts in Mumbai▐ ▶

Independent Escorts Service in Mumbai▐ ▶

Escort Services in Mumbai▐ ▶

Kalyug Ki Laila said...

Beautiful, joyful works :) I cordially greet you and I am happy to see you :)
Kharghar Escorts Service
Kharghar Call Girl Photos
Escorts Service in Kharghar
Affordable Kharghar Call Girl Escorts
Kharghar Escorts Contacts

Selina Shetty said...

Nice post! I really appreciate to read the post here and also its great that the people here are giving their opinion which is really useful for me to decide whether it is good or not.
Escorts Service in Paharganj
Escorts Service in Rajouri Garden
Escorts Service in Saket
independent delhi escorts agency
female companion in delhi
Delhi Escort Girls

_____$$$$_________$$$$
___$$$$$$$$_____$$$$$$$$
_$$$$$$$$$$$$_$$$$$$$$$$$$
___$Independent Escorts Delhi$
___$$Cheap Rate Delhi Escorts$
___$$$$$$Delhi Escorts Photos$
_$$$$$$$Delhi Escorts$$$$$$$$
__$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
__$$Call Girls in Delhi$$$$$$
____$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
_______$$$$$$$$$$$$$
__________$$$$$$$
____________$$$

Hunting Violets (Resa Haile) said...

There is a lot of spam in the comments here. You might want to set up comment approval so that you see comments before they’re published.

YOLAMA said...

Reading books is really amazing
http://www.samnasystems.com/
http://www.junafoundation.com/
http://www.alphareltrade.net/
http://www.timraidershope.com/
http://www.avifajet.com/

YOLAMA said...

This post is very simple to read and appreciate
http://www.joomlavex.com/
http://www.masterpakarseo.com/
http://www.jialisjet.com/
http://www.faifzilla.com/
http://www.empowerpur.com/

YOLAMA said...

Thank you very much for providing important information
http://www.randomhanger.com/
https://www.dandydelsor.com/
http://www.energipoor.com/
http://www.charleymen.com/
http://www.shocharley.com/

BATU said...

Reading books is really amazing
http://www.balloongatherings.com/
http://www.napecinnovation.com/
http://www.educlopedia.com/
http://www.royalsiamlegend.com/
http://www.secretdesimmortels.com/

BATU said...

Thank you very much for providing important information
http://jewishrnb.com/
http://stagraydon.com/
http://ourdancingbear.com/
http://inglemanparrish.com/
http://mondogonfiabili.com/

phdguidancein India said...

phdguidancein India
Contact as: phdguidancein chennai
PhD guidance 
About us 
         Looking for the best research help for your doctoral program? Well, you have chosen the correct research help center for your career. Writing a thesis or dissertation, research paper, journal publications seems to be a daunting process. That’s why many of the PhD students hiring us for the best thesis writing services and also for the entire PhD guidance. Our website offers the best option that you can talk with our experts likely; you can contact our thesis writers, business coordinators, journal publishing team, and advisory team. 
         The best onset of your PhD research begins here!!! It’s the tempting way of getting great guidance for your research!! We trust our teamwork more than anything, thus, we adhere to the complete satisfaction of our clients. We all knew that the doctoral degree is the pinnacle of your academic career and it needs effective research guidance. Hence, we offer the best research guidance for all PhD students. We stand with you from the beginning of selecting an appropriate research topic until you are awarded with your doctorate degree. Our company is one of the leading PhD research assistance in India; we have many years of practice and service in the field of PhD guidance on various streams such as engineering, medicine, technology, management, science, and much more. 
         As we renowned as the best PhD research guidance in India, we are teamed up with the best personalities, who have a broad view of their specialized domain. Each and every personal of our firm is provided with the unique knowledge and each one is communicable well in English and other native languages and we are ready to offer the best services like PhD topic selection, university registration, Guide selection, research paper writing, Journal publication, thesis writing and much more. 
         Our company offers 24/7 guidance for our scholars and offers a vast range of services to cater to the valid requirements of our customers. Our team is completely dedicated to offer the best services, and strive to achieve their respective roles and put their complete effort to attain the company’s vision. Since the time we started our firm we are dedicated to giving great services in all our specialized area and almost we achieve client’s satisfaction in all our work. Our firm has been successful in creating the mark among the research arena and we are engaged in the merits of perfection, dedication, innovation, and more. We are happy to have our satisfied clients all over the country and also we engaged globally with many projects. We have depth knowledge about almost all the domains especially in the field of engineering, technology, medicine, science, management, and more. 
We delight to have our key features to attain success in all our projects such as,
· We stand with you professionally 
· We dedicated to achieving on-time delivery
· affordable price 
· Extremely experienced and knowledged faculties
· Satisfied services 
As a whole we people are the best PhD consultants as well as the best research guidance. If you hire us you are stress free by knowing that your research is handling by the great experts.


Pedro Egger said...

Apart from the essay papers, students can order other writing works such as capstone projects, speeches, lab reports, research papers, nursing, and many more. Using the website is very easy, and there is a step by step process of ordering the essay gilf porn paper and download it once it is completed. The following is the process:

Griantek said...

This is a very informative post.. Thanks for sharing

Griantek- Best PhD Work Assistance, PhD Assistance,PhD Guidance in India,
PhD Assistance India.

Griantek is a Research & Development venture and was built in Grian

Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Griantek) in 2003. The journey started with

limited technical experts, but our striving work and dedication have made

us reach an impressive success and tech giant for the past 18 years in our

field. We have expanded ourselves with 8 branches in pan India and with

clients worldwide. Our organization has now enhanced our services in other

education fields like Funded Projects, Software Guidance Division, and

more.


ContactGriantek PhD Assistance for more details.

Unknown said...

check my site gucci replica navigate here this contact form check out this site Celine Dolabuy

ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pp said...

ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pp เกมสล็อตออนไลน์ รูปแบบใหม่ อัพเดทปี2022 มีเกมให้เลือกเล่นเยอะแยะ ไม่ว่าจะเป็น คาสิโนสด pg slot บาคาร่าออนไลน์เกมยิงปลาซึ่งสามารถเล่นผ่านมือถือได้ทุกระบบ

Xoslotz ทาง เข้าเล่น said...

Xoslotz ทาง เข้าเล่น สล็อตแบรนด์รายใหญ่ pg ให้เล่นมากยิ่งกว่า 11 บริษัทแนวหน้าและก็เว็บของพวกเราเป็นบริการเว็บไซต์รายใหญ่ที่พร้อมจะมีผลให้สมาชิกสมัครฟรีไม่มีค่าใช้จ่าย

Saaira Technologies said...

Nice article Thanks for posting it.

Thesis Writing Service

Tyekon Research said...

Expert Writers: Reputable research paper writing services, like Tyekon Research, boast a team of experienced writers with diverse academic backgrounds.
https://tyekonresearch.com/research-paper-writing-service.php

roulette game tricks in hindi said...

Discover effective strategies and techniques to enhance your gameplay in the roulette game tricks in hindi , all explained in Hindi for better understanding and application.

Visit www lion567 for access to a wide range of entertainment options and services.

The andar bahar trick app provides users with clever strategies and tips to improve their chances of success in the popular card game.

ludo satta king combines the traditional board game of Ludo with the excitement of Satta, offering players a unique and thrilling gaming experience.