The South (original Spanish title: El Sur) is a short story by Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges, first published in La Nación in 1953, and which appeared in the second edition (1956) of Ficciones, part two (Artifices).
Juan Dahlmann is an Argentine library secretary. Although of German descent, he is proud of his Argentine maternal ancestors. He has a number of artifacts from his forefather: an old sword, a lithograph photo, and a ranch home in...
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The South (original Spanish title: El Sur) is a short story by Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges, first published in La Nación in 1953, and which appeared in the second edition (1956) of Ficciones, part two (Artifices).
Juan Dahlmann is an Argentine library secretary. Although of German descent, he is proud of his Argentine maternal ancestors. He has a number of artifacts from his forefather: an old sword, a lithograph photo, and a ranch home in southern Argentina he has never found time to visit.
In February 1939, he obtains a copy of the Arabian Nights. He takes the book home, and -- eager to examine it -- rushes up the stairs and gashes his forehead against a recently painted beam. The wound Dahlmann suffers forces him to lie bedridden with a very high fever. After a few days, his doctors move him to the hospital. On his way there, Dahlmann feels happy, thinking that the move will do him good. At the hospital, however, Dahlmann's treatment for his injury causes him immense pain,...
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