Bierce, Bioy Casares, and Borges: The Mirrors and Labyrinths of Intertextuality

This article analyzes the intersection of works by Ambrose Bierce, Adolfo Bioy Casares, and Jorge Luis Borges as mirror images of themes and descriptions in describing a miraculous occurrence, albeit only in the labyrinthine mind of the protagonist, often categorized within the genre of the fantastic. The article’s intertextual approach focuses on sensorial perceptions that only grant validity to an internal reality (what the mind interprets) rather than to an external reality (what the eyes see). All three works in this study are concerned with a criminal condemned to death who seeks to prolong his life. The protagonists have similar responses, although their motivations are different.