In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

178 ARRAYS
is playing with dice.' What can we do! That's life: accidents, coincidences
... " Surprisingly, this is not the end of Azorfn's story. In the third
and final scene, Adolfo and Antonio are calling Pepe back to the trainhe's
gotten off at the station to buy some refreshments. He misses the
train and becomes the husband of the new restaurateur's pretty daughter.
Although the text ends with a reiteration of the Heraclitean aphorism,
the plot undermines rather than confirms any interpretation of the events
as a case of sheer randomness. Can it be random that a random event
and its circumstances repeat themselves at an interval of more than
twenty years? [see Uncertainty vs. Reality]
Another railroad story by Azorin, published in the same issue of
Blanco y Negro, likewise draws readers' attention to patterns of recurrence
beneath the apparent randomness of the railroad world. In the
narrow corridor of a sleeping car, Manolo literally runs into Clarita, a
friend from his adolescence. The last time he saw her was many years
ago, at a tumultuous party; they quarreled, and he left in the wee hours.
Still unmarried, Manolo makes every possible effort to revive the erotic
attraction that once existed between him and Clarita. Clarita, in contrast,
consistently diverts their conversation to the beauties of the
Castilian landscape as it passes before their eyes in the dawn light. Finally
Clarita explains to Manolo that she is on her honeymoon: just yesterday
she married one of his former rivals. Without another word, she disappears
into a compartment of the sleeping car. When Manolo subsequently
meets up with Rafael, Clarita's husband, the reunion is scarcely
a surprise for him; yet he plays his part perfectly in this "random"
encounter. While Rafael extols the erotic charms of his young wife,
Manolo takes over Clarita's role from the earlier conversation and
praises the purely aesthetic charms of the Castilian countryside. Thus,
exactly as in the story about Adolfo, Pepe, and the pretty daughters of
the station's restaurateurs, one notes a repetitive pattern in the chiastic
relation between Manolo and the honeymooners. In the final scene, all
three protagonists have adopted forms of behavior that help them overcome
feelings of jealousy and frustration. Rafael introduces his bride to
Manolo, and both Clarita and Manolo act as if they have never seen each
other before: "Here comes my wife. I'll introduce you to her ... Clarita,
my friend Manolo Bazan." "Pleased to meet you, sir." "Madam, the
pleasure is mine" (Blanco y Negro, 119).
How can the railroad system, with its intricate synchronization, serve