In the short story “circular ruins”, the narrative revolves around a man who has a task of dreaming another human, somebody who would serve as a sort of “substitute” for his own existence. Borges describes everything the dreamer must go through in order to create this other being. In this sort of “journey”, the concept of labyrinths and cycles can be seen. As I began reading the story, I pictured the dreamer at the entrance of a labyrinth (literally), but as the story developed, it was like in order to accomplish his task he had to find his way in this labyrinth. In order to create the human he wanted so much, he would have to first figure out a way to reach the other side of the labyrinth.
When he first thought he was finally being able to choose from his “class”, the perfect student, he suddenly wasn’t able to dream anymore. Following the metaphor of the labyrinth, this occurrence would in reality be portrayed as him making a wrong turn. Every obstacle he had to face in order to reach his purpose would be like him making a wrong turn in the labyrinth, until he was able to find the ideal method of dreaming another being. Once he found the correct way to approach the matter, he was then able to achieve his goal (creating the human) and reach the end of the labyrinth.
Other than the labyrinth concept, as mentioned before, there was also the idea of cycles incorporated in the story. The idea of cycles is not uncommon for authors to use. For example, in “The Odyssey”, King Sisyphus is shown in the underworld having to eternally attempt to push a rock up a hill and roll it over to the other side. Whenever he would reach the top, the rock would then roll down back to the bottom again. In “circular ruins”, the same idea is grasped as the dreamer realized in the end that he, himself, was part of a cycle. That he was a simulacrum just like his “son”.
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