In many ways, this story is about the character of Borges' inability to form real relationships -- and so any true sense of identity -- in his world. He loved a woman who did not return his affections and was even "annoyed" by him, and ends up "befriending" her cousin after her death even though he secretly detests him, and suspects Carlos of the same feelings towards him (Borges, par. 1; par. 32). His experience with the Aleph, and his inability to relate this experience to the reader, is evidence of his disconnect with the world. His world also used to have a very narrow focus -- i.e. Beatriz, the woman he loved -- and the Aleph serves to instantly and infinitely expand his world while at the same time deepening his disconnect with it, rather than helping to rectify it with more identifiable features. The character of Borges is...
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