Friday, September 05, 2014

Better left so, perhaps …

… Review: ‘Georgie & Elsa: Jorge Luis Borges and His Wife, the Untold Story’ —The Washington Post. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

In 1967, Borges — then 68 years old — unexpectedly wed the 11-years-younger Elsa Astete Millan. A widow, Elsa had been an early flame of “Georgie” (as Borges was known to intimates). However, it would appear that their late-in-life marriage came about for completely unromantic reasons: Borges was blind and needed someone to take care of him, given that his strong-minded mother was now in her 90s. Elsa, in turn, may have felt some initial tenderness for Borges, but, in di Giovanni’s account, gradually reveals herself to be simply a middle-aged gold-digger.

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