"The Sect of the Phoenix" (original
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
title: "La secta del Fénix") is a
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
by
Argentine writer
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...
, first published in ''Sur'' in 1952. It was included in the 1956 edition of ''
Ficciones
' (in English: "Fictions") is a collection of short stories by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges, originally written and published in Spanish between 1941 and 1956. Thirteen stories from ''Ficciones'' were first published by New Dire ...
'', part two (''Artifices''). The title has also been translated as "The Cult of the Phoenix."
Plot summary
Borges gives an enigmatic description (or at least, assertion of the existence) of a secret society dating back to ancient times, the members of which "resemble every man in the world" and whose membership consists simply of the performance of a strange ritual.
Discussion on meaning
Essentially the story is an extended
riddle
A riddle is a statement, question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that requ ...
, the mysterious description referring to a commonplace fact (as Borges points out in the prologue to ''Artifices''). The probable and common answer is that the riddle refers to
sexual intercourse, and Borges himself confessed as much. However, in relation to the debate on Borges' sexual orientation, it is argued by some
that the secret Borges had in mind was, more specifically,
homosexual intercourse or homosexuality in general; to support this, they point to such clues as "scattered across the face of the earth,
€¦only one thing — the Secret — unites them and will unite them until the end of time." Against this reading, however, one might observe the story's claim that "the history of the sect records no persecutions", which cannot be true if the 'Secret' is homosexual intercourse. Moreover, the name of the sect associates it with the mythological
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, suggesting regeneration and renewal of life: the more obvious analogy, therefore, would be with procreative (that is, heterosexual) intercourse. It is also referred to in ''
El Aleph'', a precursor to this story.
See also
*
Mass of the Phoenix - ritual by Aleister Crowley
References
Inline
Other
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sect of the Phoenix
Short stories by Jorge Luis Borges
1952 short stories
Fictional secret societies