Borges and Cervantes: Truth and Falsehood in the Narration

Abstract

Jorge Luis Borges' relation with Cervantes has not been studied enough. In this article, we will see how Borges knew and admired Cervantes, and how Don Quixote was a powerful influence in Borges' short stories. Borges uses some of Cervantes' narrative devices (different narrators, the questioning of the narration, the lack of memory…) to undermine the truth of the narration. He does so, like Cervantes, as part of a literary game, but also because it suits his own notions of reality-the questioning of the narrative truth represents the impossibility of understanding reality as a whole, whereas the emphasis on the story as a fiction embodies the idea of reality as a dream.