Jorge Luis Borges "The Waiting"

"The Waiting" is a story written by Jorge Luis Borges about a man who is waiting for something or someone. At the beginning, we don't know what or who he is waiting for, but it quickly becomes clear that he is a self-conscious character who avoids getting involved in anything too deep. Borges crafts the story in a modernist and experimental style, vividly describing the environment. He even provides the exact time and place: number four thousand four on a street in the northwest part of Buenos Aires at nine in the morning. This precise setting allows us to easily visualize the man's situation.

Borges employs imagery in every detail, but we never get much backstory, leaving us to piece together theories and guesses from scattered clues. There is never a definitive answer, but the process of analysis is central to the story. The title, "The Waiting," suggests a state of inertia, a process that is hard and time-consuming, yet multidimensional.

From the first lines, we see that the protagonist is going to rent a room for himself. He talks about changes, though we don’t know exactly what changes he means, but he is clearly aware of them. He is a very cautious character who avoids drawing attention to himself, focusing on every little detail. For instance, he refuses to use foreign money because he believes it might make him more memorable. His mindfulness is a key theme in the story, as he is escaping from someone—even though he doesn't know if that person is alive or not. This leads him to isolate himself and live in loneliness.

When a woman asks for his name, he doesn’t give his own, but instead provides the name of his enemy, Villari—a name that he says has troubled him. Yet, the narrator's own name remains unknown to us. Borges makes us question every detail, especially why the protagonist is running from someone. He could be a figure from the underworld or a former member trying to escape. He wants to avoid any encounters with them, but we still don’t know what exactly he is waiting for.

At one point, the protagonist speaks as if he has spent a long time in jail or a hospital. Then, when he looks at the newspaper, he sees that Alejandro Villari is dead. We realize that this is what he has been waiting for—his enemy's death. However, instead of feeling relief, he begins to question death, life, reality, and dreams—other central themes of the story. Even the protagonist doesn’t know if what he’s experiencing is reality or a dream, making us question it as well.

It becomes apparent that he regrets something. He is living in his own personal hell, a punishment he has inflicted upon himself. His torment is waiting for his enemy’s death. It's possible that Villari had already died, in which case this life might be a dream. This thought disturbs him because he cannot decide whether it is a relief or a misfortune. He dismisses it as absurd, but the idea lingers.

After learning of Villari's death, the protagonist speaks of the daily pleasures of life, yet describes his room as if it were his hell. Then, at the end of the story, an unexpected event occurs—Villari arrives with a stranger and they overpower him. In this moment, the protagonist realizes that he is trapped in a dream-like limbo, waiting for something that has now turned into his own personal hell. This final twist introduces the theme of magic, as it is an impossible event that could only happen in a dream or a nightmare.