The Ironic Gospel

In The Gospel according to Mark, by Jorge Luis Borges, irony is the funnel in which the author allows his views on religion to flow. He introduces Espinosa, an extremely kind man from Buenos Aires who joins the Gutre family in La Colorada for the summer. He is thirty-three years of age, and he is a “free-thinker”, as his father before him— yet he makes the sign of the cross every night for his mother’s sake. Borges introduces evident ironic circumstances to further press his point that religion is wholly an ironic concept— hypocritical even.
Many things allude to the fact that Espinosa is a Christ figure. Things like “His wide intelligence was undirected; at the age of thirty-three, he still had not quali­fied for graduation in the subject to which he was most drawn”, and “Owing to an acquiescent nature, he was full of opinions, or habits of mind, that were questionable” as well as the fact that he simply began to grow out his beard refer to Jesus Christ. Referring to “How to Read Literature like a Professor”, Baltasar Espinosa has all the tell-tale signs of being a Christ figure. Borges suddenly interrupts this by mentioning that Espinosa is a free-thinker, that he does not accept any one religion, and he mentions that his “theology was rather dim”. Jesus Christ led people into a completely different faith, one that was contrary to popular belief, thus making his habits of mind or opinions “questionable”. Borges shows us that Espinosa was simply a wanderer who was finding himself at a ripe age. He makes this comparison to Jesus telling the reader that Jesus was simply a man who had big ideas, much like the free-thinkers. Borges also mentions that
The Gutres are incredibly obtuse, poor, simple folk who have accepted Espinosa as their leader and treat him with utter respect. Espinosa thought of them “like children, to whom repetition is more pleasing than variations or novelty”. This mimics the actual gospel according to St. Mark, since the followers are described as being very simple-minded and basically like sheep. What is found out later in the story is that the Gutres are in fact the Guthries from Europe. The fact that they own an English Bible is explained by their lineage of Englishmen as well as Native Americans. Since they cannot read or write even in Spanish, English is far out of the question. Borges uses irony here by displaying how these simple people take concepts that they don’t understand and blow them way out of proportion. After hearing Espinosa read and reread this text, the Gutres decide to use it as a How-To Guide to saving their souls.
The Gutres were practically ordered by Espinosa to crucify him, and this goes the same for Jesus Christ and his murderers. What is prominent in this story is Espinosa’s unwillingness to argue or oppose— just like Christ’s inclination to non-violence. The rain that occurs is almost a cleansing for the Gutres. While Espinosa steps out onto the gallery the final drops of rain fall and a gold-finch calls out. This is referring to the doves that fly after the biblical Flood, doves being the symbol of hope. The Gutres believe that after sacrificing Espinosa, there is hope for their souls yet. The irony in this is that it is a pillar in the Christian faith not to kill. The story of the crucifixion is often told with sorrow, and “Thou shalt not kill” is one of the Ten Commandments. To repeat this event in the name of cleansing is ridiculous, and Borges makes it so that the reader sees the absurdity in religion.
Jorge Luis Borges’s religious beliefs are definite in this short story. The many biblical references are proof that the Christian faith was forced on him. The bitter twist of events demonstrates his vision of religion and hypocritical and extreme, and only for the simple-minded. Since Espinosa is so amiable, the author makes him a free-thinker because he is what he sees in himself.