Asterion, the Minotaur, from his own point of view

Abstract

The following paper analyses Jorge Luis Borges' tale "The House of Asterion" ["La casa de Asterión"] with the aim of revealing how the main character, prisoner in his own house, feels captive inside of himself and wishes for death as a possibility of achieving freedom. In order to develop this idea, the narratological category of space is used. The paper concludes that Borges' tale might be considered as fiction within fiction because it reproduces the myth of the Minotaur not from an outside perspective but from the idea that Asterion has of himself; thus providing this literary work with a new possible meaning.