End of the Game by Julio Cortázar
"End of the Game" by Julio Cortázar is a short story that explores themes of childhood, imagination, and the complexities of adolescent relationships. Set during a summer vacation, it follows three young girls—Letitia, Holanda, and the unnamed narrator—as they seek to escape the authority of their adult guardians. They create a fantasy world in a secluded area near the railroad tracks, engaging in a game called "Statues and Attitudes," where they embody various emotions and personas, ranging from fear to artistic figures like Venus.
As the girls play, they inadvertently navigate the nuances of budding sexuality and emotional awareness, particularly through their interactions with a young man named Ariel, who observes them from a train. His notes and attention create a sense of excitement and competition among the girls, revealing their unspoken desires and aspirations. However, the game takes a poignant turn when Letitia's recurring health issues prevent her from participating, leading to a sense of longing and missed connections. Cortázar's narrative delves into the innocence of childhood play while subtly hinting at deeper emotional currents, making it a rich exploration of the transition from childhood to adolescence.
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End of the Game by Julio Cortázar
First published: "Final del juego," 1956 (English translation, 1963)
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The mid-twentieth century
Locale: A country home somewhere in Argentina
Principal Characters:
Letitia , an adolescent girlHolanda , her companionThe narrator , another adolescent girlAriel , a young man
The Story
As the title of this story indicates, the characters are playing a game that comes to an end at the close of the narrative. Letitia, Holanda, and the narrator spend their summer vacation thinking of ways either to confuse or to elude the authority figures in their lives, the narrator's mother and her Aunt Ruth. When they manage to escape the watchful eyes of the adults, Letitia, Holanda, and the narrator retreat to their "kingdom," an area near the railroad tracks where they can act out their game and thus enter into a fantasy world of "Statues and Attitudes."
The game consists of deciding on a statue or an attitude that each of the girls will portray, and then striking a pose to express that statue or attitude. The attitudes—Fear, Envy, Jealousy—are done without props, but the statues—Venus, the Ballerina—require the use of ornaments, which the girls have gathered from the house. What begins as an exercise in freedom and liberation from the world of adults becomes a game of the discovery of adolescent sexuality, even though the girls do not understand it as such.
Although there is no specific information in the story about the relationship of the three girls or their age, it is evident that they are cousins or sisters, and that they are probably thirteen or fourteen years old. Holanda and the narrator understand the world of adults, for they know exactly how to create excitement in the house by spilling hot water on the cat, or dropping a glass while washing dishes, or coaxing the two older women into an argument over who should wash and who should dry. Letitia, a quieter, calmer girl, has a slight paralysis that causes occasional back pains and periods of confinement in bed. The game of Statues and Attitudes takes on a new importance one day when a man on the passing train throws the girls a note complimenting them on their performance. Letitia, Holanda, and the narrator begin to play the game more enthusiastically for the benefit of their admirer, Ariel. At the same time, they begin to invent details about him—his background, the school that he attends, where he lives.
Ariel begins to drop notes each day as the train passes; each day the notes become more intimate, and it becomes obvious that he prefers Letitia over the other two girls. He finally announces that he will get off the train the next day to speak with them. The next day, however, Letitia becomes ill and cannot accompany the girls to the kingdom. Instead, she gives the narrator a note to deliver to Ariel. When Holanda and the narrator meet Ariel, he engages them in polite conversation but cannot hide his disappointment that Letitia is not there. He takes the note and puts it in his pocket for later reading.
The following day, the three girls go to the kingdom and Letitia brings out the jewels that she has taken from the house for her performance. She dresses herself elaborately and performs the most extravagant statue possible as the train passes with Ariel leaning out the window to look at her. The next day, Holanda and the narrator go to the kingdom alone because Letitia is suffering from her paralysis. As the train passes, the two girls see the window empty and imagine Ariel sitting on the other side of the train, "not moving in his seat, looking off toward the river with his grey eyes."