"The Lines of the Hand"

Julio Cortázar’s “The Lines of the Hand”

In a conversation with friends the other night thoughts about inspiration and writing came up. We talked a little about how you can force yourself to write when you don’t want to—that is, when you don’t feel particularly inspired. Also about inspiration-directed activities that go along with writing, among which are the usually mentioned reading, correcting proofs, planning new work, recitals. Several days later, which is to say today, I found myself thinking back on what we said, and also on Cortázar’s short-short story or flash fiction piece “Las lineas de la mano.” This piece can be found on the internet, in the original Spanish and in translation, and also in adaptation as a video. But in terms both of narrative and of stylistics, I think a good deal can be gained from re-reading (or re-viewing) what Cortázar presents. It’s tempting to publish the story here, and I somehow doubt there would be any difficulty with copyright, but I think it’s best just to note a few ideas for the time being. I’ve already said most of what I want to say about it in relation to inspiration. So in the space I have left, I’d just note something Cortázar has done very well, obvious yet not so obvious: It is the allusion to François Boucher’s Nude on a Sofa. It seems obvious that the eighteenth-century reference is planned. What I wonder is: Where do planning and inspiration meet? In sum, I hope others enjoy the piece as much as I do.