Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Susana Bombal" by Jorge Luis Borges operates on multiple planes of time, space, and imagination to create a rich tapestry around its central character, Susana Bombal. She is depicted not merely as a person crossing a "chaste garden" but as a universal muse transcending historical epochs, places, and even forms of art.

The poem begins with a vivid snapshot of Susana Bombal: "Tall and proud in the evening, she crosses the chaste garden." Yet this exact moment, described as "pure irreversible instant," rapidly expands into an exploration of her metaphysical existence. The "here and now" in which she exists is juxtaposed with her being in "an antique Ur of the Chaldees twilight" or in a forgotten temple turned to dust. By associating her with Ur, an ancient Sumerian city, and with a temple "once stone and splendor," Borges transforms Susana Bombal into an eternal figure who has witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations.

She is also linked to the "magic alphabet of antipodean stars," suggesting a cosmic presence, and the act of "smelling a rose in England" makes her seem at once terrestrial and specific. The layering of different places and times suggests that she embodies both the tangible and the ephemeral, connecting her to something much larger than a single moment or locale.

Susana Bombal is further described as existing wherever "there is music," in the "light blue" and "in Greek hexameter." This reveals that her essence is also embedded in forms of art and artistic expression. She seems to have an impact on "our loneliness," indicating a universal sense of longing or desire that she inspires. Her reflection appears "in the fountains," as though she is a mirage we glimpse in moments of beauty or solace.

Yet, despite these grandiose connections to history, geography, and art, the poem concludes by locating her soul "behind myth and mask." The phrase captures the enigma that she represents. No matter how gloriously and diversely her essence is captured through history, mythology, and art, the essence of who she is-a soul-remains "alone," perhaps unknowable.

The duality of Susana Bombal is that while she epitomizes elements of beauty, history, and art that are larger than life, she is also a solitary soul, perhaps searching for her own meaning just as others find meaning in her. Borges masterfully crafts this complex interplay, leaving the reader to ponder the poem's central mystery: who is Susana Bombal, the woman who is everywhere and nowhere, both a muse to the world and a solitary soul?

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