Dream and Truth in Borges' "The Circular Ruins"

Abstract

From the analysis of "The Circular Ruins" by Jorge Luis Borges, the enigma of sleep is addressed in the dream. It is argued that, as an unconscious formation, the dream within the dream concerns the truth in its fictive structure. But its unique redoubled formulation puts the dream dreamed beyond the symbolic, allowing a strong affirmation {Bejahung} of the real {Realitat}. Symbolic and Real coalesce in the dream within the dream in function of the place in which an object belongs in its relation to the desire of the Other.