Morel's machine projects not only humans, but their environment as well. The narrator's decay and death, unseen and unnoticed by the target of his affection, draw a horrifying portrait of the effects of the pursuit of immortality, in the case of Morel as well as in his own. Even though in a way their lives are preserved for eternity, their blindness reflects the terrible conditions of this eternal life. Through the course of the novel, the narrator realizes that the apparitions can't see or perceive him in any way.

Her beauty and unattainability symbolize that of immortality itself. Thus she also comes to represent the effects of the pursuit of immortality: a young, beautiful woman whose life was extinguished in the effort to preserve it. He will never be able to have her, as in capturing her essence for posterity, Morel's invention killed her in real life. She, preserved forever in her beauty by the invention of Morel, represents the elusive, unattainable beauty the narrator seeks. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.įaustine is clearly a symbol in the eyes of our beloved, paranoid, delusional narrator. She is a professor in the Spanish Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara.These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. Levine's most recent book is Manuel Puig and the Spider Woman: His Life and Fictions. Suzanne Jill Levine is the author of numerous studies in Latin American literature and the translator of works by Adolfo Bioy Casares, Jorge Luis Borges, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, and Manuel Puig, among other distinguished writers. Bioy also collaborated with Borges on an Anthology of Fantastic Literature and a series of satirical sketches written under the pseudonym of H.

Later publications include stories and novels, among them A Plan for Escape, A Dream of Heroes, and Asleep in the Sun (forthcoming from NYRB Classics). In 1940, after writing several novice works, Bioy published the novella The Invention of Morel, the first of his books to satisfy him, and the first in which he hit his characteristic note of uncanny and unexpectedly harrowing humor. He began to write in the early Thirties, and his stories appeared in the influential magazine Sur, through which he met his wife, the painter and writer Silvina Ocampo, as well Jorge Luis Borges, who was to become his mentor, friend, and collaborator. Adolfo Bioy Casares (1914-1999) was born in Buenos Aires, the child of wealthy parents.

The invention of morel