Emma Zunz by Jorge Luis Borges: the Concept of Justice

Authors

  • Rosa Vila

Keywords:

Justice, punishment, truth, Justicia, castigo, verdad

Abstract

Emma Zunz, by Jorge Luis Borges, is the story of a girl who decides to kill her boss in order to avenge her father’s death, believing that her father’s version of an event that occurred years before was true. Thus, she devises a secret plan, which includes losing her virginity to a complete stranger, shortly before committing the crime, so she could argue that her boss had raped her and that she killed him in self-defense. Firstly, the text shows the contrast between formal justice and taking justice into own hands. Secondly, the question of self-inflicted punishment, which in the story takes place before the perpetration of the crime. Finally, the issue whether truth is the version that can be inferred from the evidence presented in a trial, or the one which is kept to themselves by those involved in a crime.

Emma Zunz, de Jorge Luis Borges, es la historia de una chica que decide matar a su jefe para vengar la muerte de su padre, creyendo que la versión de su padre de un hecho que ocurrió años atrás era cierta. De este modo, diseña un plan secreto, que incluye la pérdida de su virginidad con un desconocido, poco antes de cometer el crimen, para poder argumentar que su jefe la había violado y que ella lo mató en defensa propia. En primer lugar, el texto muestra el contraste entre la justicia formal y la justicia por cuenta propia. En segundo lugar, la cuestión de la pena infligida a uno mismo, lo que en la historia se produce antes de la comisión del delito. Por último, la cuestión de si la verdad es la versión que se puede inferir de las pruebas presentadas en un juicio, o la que se guardan para sí mismas las personas involucradas en un crimen.

DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2519490

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Published

03-02-2014

How to Cite

Vila, R. (2014) “Emma Zunz by Jorge Luis Borges: the Concept of Justice”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 4(6), pp. 1232–1240. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/329 (Accessed: 29 March 2024).