Borges Reads Machado: A Translation of “A Cartomante” in Revista Multicolor De Los Sábados

Abstract

Comparisons between Machado de Assis and Jorge Luis Borges share one commonality: they all fail to mention any direct relation between the two authors. This article discusses a translation of Machado's “A Cartomante,” published in Revista Multicolor de los Sábados, a literary magazine edited by Borges, as a direct link between them. It proceeds to analyze parallels between Machado's “A Cartomante” and Borges' “Eastman, el proveedor de iniquidades,” both published in the same space, to finally undertake a close reading of the translation. It concludes that both stories are literary metafictional narrative experiences with genre fiction, initially aimed at expanding reading publics of modernizing Latin America. A new light is thrown in the understanding of these two writers; namely Machado is here recast as part of Borges' ever-expanding canon.