BORGES CONTRA BLOOM: LO ESTÉTICO-IDEOLÓGICO EN LA CONFORMACIÓN DEL (LOS) CANON(ES)

Abstract

espanolRESUMEN Jorge Luis Borges y Harold Bloom coinciden en que la obra clasica o canonica posee un fondo misterioso, reacio a la descripcion: es "profunda como el cosmos" o bien nos impone cierta "extraneza". Pero disienten en lo esencial de sus concepciones. Para el primero, las cualidades de un clasico son externas y su valoracion cambiante, ademas, cada tradicion tiene su propio centro; para el segundo, las cualidades canonicas son intrinsecas y Shakespeare es el centro de una unica tradicion occidental. Aqui propondremos una comprension intermedia del modo en que las obras devienen clasi cas o canonicas. Determinar ciertos atributos "objetivos" resulta indispensable para su canonizacion, segun insiste Bloom, pero tales atributos, como querria Borges, varian a traves de la historia y las culturas. No hay, en consecuencia, un unico canon, sino una multiplicidad de ellos, seleccionados y organizados, sin embargo, no por misteriosas razones, sino bajo criterios estetico-ideologicos instaurados por cada tradicion. EnglishABSTRACT Jorge Luis Borges and Harold Bloom are in agreement that the classics or the "Western Canon" are steeped in mystery, worthy of the description, "deep like the cosmos," or that they impose a certain "strangeness" on us. But when it comes to their fundamentals, their two views differ. For the former, the qualities of a classic are external and their value can change, and each tradition has its own center. For the latter, the value of the canon is inherent, and Shakespeare is at the center of a single Western tradition. Here, we will draw from both views to understand the way in which works become classics or canonical. Bloom insists that determining certain "objective" qualities of a work proves indispensable for assessing if they should be part of the canon or not. But as Borges noted, said qualities vary throughout history and between cultures. There is not, therefore, a single canon, but a multiplicity of them, selected and organized, however, not for mysterious reasons, but under the aesthetic-ideological criteria established by each tradition.