“Menard, on the other hand, writes” narrative matrices and discursive heroism in “Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote ”

Abstract

In the field of Borgesian literature, beyond certain brave and bellicose attitudes that have been interpreted as fully heroic, there exists another type of heroism, more unexpected and less overtly courageous, which wholly depends on discourse rather than on doing. This special kind of heroism may be understood, according to Javier Roberto González's theory of narrative matrices, as the discursive realization of a meliorative project freely and consciously undertaken, arduous in its nature and demanding in its execution. The present study will examine the case of “Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote ,” a programmatic essay story in which the role of the narrator is key to understanding this new perspective on heroism, nonetheless connected to the classical heroic tradition.