De Bifröst ao infinito: Borges e a Islândia

Abstract

Scandinavian and Germanic mythologies permeated the actions and publications of the writer Jorge Luis Borges both directly and indirectly, especially with regard to Iceland. The knowledge he acquired through the study of the Icelandic Sagas and the Eddas served as a foundation for the publication of poems and other texts of his authorship. This paper proposes a brief analysis of the author’s main works related to Icelandic cultural heritage, which comprise seven compositions, as well as the familial and geopolitical contexts in which Borges was immersed to achieve literary success. Understanding Borgesian literature is essential to grasp the connections between South America and Scandinavia. More than that, however, it reveals how references to medieval texts and ancestral cultures can influence contemporary international relations, particularly during periods of conflict, as was the case in Borges’s time during the first half of the twentieth century.