Labyrinths

One of the great writers of the 20th century (as measured by profound influence on other writers as well as sheer brilliance in his handling of the written word) was Argentine-born Jorge Luis Borges. One of the recurring themes in his work is that of labyrinths, so much so that one of his books is titled, Labyrinths, Selected Stories & Other Writings.

The labyrinth is an ancient theme in literature. In Greek mythology Theseus took upon himself the task of entering a labyrinth to slay the minotaur, a half man / half bull creature. {aside: for an orginal and entertaining retelling, look for Andre Gide's Two Legends: Oedipus and Theseus.}

Miguel Cervantes, in Don Quixote, makes reference to the labyrinth, using it as a metaphor for the mind. This hero and gallant knight errant is explained away as a madman lost in the labyrinth of his delusions, a metaphor that is with us to this day.

Our own lives can be labyrinths as well. We seek an end that we know not what, and travel down corridors with the hope that they lead to treasures and not dead ends.

For what it's worth, when the world wide web first emerged in the early nineties, it seemed to me to itself be a labyrinth. We travel from page to page, getting lost in the web, hoping to find treasures, not sure where the next link will lead.

At that time I created a deliberate labyrinth on my website, to more or less share this idea or way of seeing. If you have a few minutes, I invite you to take a tour of my labyrinth. The entrance can be found at the bottom of this page here: http://www.enewman.biz/edpage-1.html