The 80th anniversary of 'The Aleph', that story that encompasses the entire universe

The Mariano Moreno National Library inaugurated the exhibition Infinite veneration, infinite pity: 80 years of 'The Aleph' , a tribute to the story that Jorge Luis Borges published in 1945 in the magazine Sur , directed by Victoria Ocampo, and which over time became one of his most revisited and universal texts .

“We're celebrating a story that marked a before and after in Borges's life ,” explains Germán Álvarez , curator of the exhibition. At the time, the writer was experiencing a climate of frustration : The Garden of Forking Paths hadn't won the National Prize, as he had hoped, and literary recognition still seemed distant.

His connection with Estela Canto —to whom Borges dedicates the story—was decisive. That love affair, which began in late 1944, transformed into the figure of Beatriz Viterbo, the central character in "The Aleph," and informed the writing of a story where intimacies and mythologies intertwine.

At the National Library, “The Aleph” is presented as “ a rewriting of the Divine Comedy , a mystical experience, a secular approach to themes and problems of science – transfinite numbers and the fourth dimension of space –, a response to those critics who did not understand the stories in The Garden of Forking Paths and, above all, a hopeless farewell to the possibility of love.”

First published in 1945 and later included in the 1949 book of the same name , "The Aleph" narrates the discovery of a secret point in the basement of a house on Garay Street that allows one to contemplate, simultaneously and safely, all places in the world . This total vision, close to Cantor's infinite mathematics and the Kabbalistic tradition, condenses Borges's obsession with time, eternity, and the immeasurable.

The story is also a self-referential piece : Borges includes himself as a character and splits into the frustrated writer who wins no prizes, while Carlos Argentino Daneri—his fictional counterpart—does achieve recognition with his banal poetry. This irony reflects Borges's malaise in the 1940s and at the same time anticipates his revenge: in 1957, his collection of short stories, El Aleph, won the National Literature Prize .

The exhibition explores the biographical and textual plot of the story : from the first editions to the canonical version of 1972, including the typewritten manuscript by Estela Canto, forgotten for decades and auctioned in London in 1985.

“ We try to explain to the visitor the interweaving of the manuscript's materiality , of its relationship with Estela Canto, how she types it up and then it's forgotten in Estela's house. How her mother takes a certain liking to Borges, because he's a young man who goes every morning to see her, to chat with Estela's mother, and leaves her letters, postcards that are like an appendix , almost textual, to the fiction of 'The Aleph,'” Álvarez, a member of the Center for Borges Studies, recounts with emotion.

How did those first writings of what would become "The Aleph" come about? "Every morning, he writes to Estela and brings a postcard to her door . He knocks on the door and leaves it for her mother, because Estela was asleep and couldn't see her, so the one who received it was her mother. Thus, a relationship with the mother is formed: she grows fond of this young Borges , who comes every morning to ask about his daughter, to leave her letters, postcards, books," explains the curator.

The manuscript was in the living room she shared with Estela , kept in a chest of drawers. "When Estela's mother died, she found the manuscript of 'The Aleph' in that piece of furniture in the 1980s," Álvarez adds. Far from hoarding the papers, the woman did something else: "In 1985, Estela Canto sold the manuscript at Sotheby's in London . Some time before, she had met with Borges to tell him of her intention to auction it off . There's a funny anecdote that says Borges replied: 'If I were a gentleman, I'd go to the bathroom right now and hear a gunshot.' Finally, when it was auctioned off in London, Borges was still alive, having died in June 1986," she adds.

The exhibition also features high-quality facsimiles, historic editions, and materials from Borges's personal collection held at the National Library.

Objects linked to the three main characters – Borges, Beatriz Viterbo and Carlos Argentino Daneri – are also recreated , and showcases are included with famous rewrites, such as that of Rodolfo Fogwill and the work of Pablo Katchadjian in El Aleph engordado , for which Borges's widow, María Kodama, took him to court.

The proposal expands into other disciplines: scores by Daniel Mellero and Marcelo Moguilevski , along with artists' books inspired by the story, show how Borges' work continues to dialogue with music and the visual arts.

For Álvarez, the key is to understand that "all writing is autobiographical," as Borges himself asserted. "The Aleph" reflects the frustration and disenchantment of the 1940s, but also anticipates the recognition that would come later. Its impact was such that today it is considered a point of convergence in world literature : a metaphor for absolute knowledge and, at the same time, for the impossibility of grasping it.

Throughout his career, Borges began to draw on a series of readings, and Alvarez, along with his fellow curator Laura Rosetti, turned to this bibliography as a métier.

“The National Library has a collection called Jorge Luis Borges, which is part of Borges's personal library, and he made notes in those books. Borges was an “extractive” writer : when he read, he was already writing, and he set in motion a series of mechanisms. This included notes in the margins of books, very precise observations, layouts, and topic selection. In reality, they were like structures or true reading campaigns that Borges undertook every time he set out to write,” the curator explains.

This exhibition also includes some of the books Borges consulted to draw on different Eastern and Western traditions, from the arts, literature, mathematics, physics, and science in general, in order to shape this story.

“ 'The Aleph' draws on diverse sciences and arts . So, we wanted to recreate, through that reflection, how the arts of that time are reflected in the Aleph. Or vice versa. So, we wanted to expand into graphics, music, and, of course, literature ,” Álvarez says of the project.

The entire exhibition ultimately presents itself as another interpretation of this work . "They are what we call transpositions; transpositions toward other art forms that resonate with this work," the curator concludes.

Infinite veneration, infinite pity: 80 years of "El Aleph" can be visited at the Mariano Moreno National Library (Agüero 2502), with free admission, until May 31, 2026, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Leopoldo Marechal Room.