[2]Sprengnether, p. 181.

[3]Sprengnether, p. 181.

[4] Sprengnether, p. 140.

[5]Sprengnether, pp. 128-131.

[6] Sprengnether, p. 135.

[7]For a detailed analysis of the temporal structure of "Deshoras," see "Secuencia y temporalidad en 'Deshoras' de Julio Cortázar," by Marisa Abdala.

[8] All quotations from Cortázar's stories are taken from Cuentos completos /2.

[9]See Benjamin, p. 163

[10]This ambiguous relationship between the preadolescent boy and nurse-figure recalls, of course, Cortázar's story "La señorita Cora" (Todos los fuegos el fuego).

[11]My discussion of Sara in the role of nurse is indebted to Sprengnether's analysis of the relationship between Freud and his nursemaid, Dora, pp. 21 and 41-54.

[12]Several critics have observed the absence of paternal figures in Cortázar's work. More than one critic has pointed to biographical factors which could have contributed to this omission.

[13]Laplanche, pp. 56-59.

[14] Of course, the character of Walter Mitty comes from James Thurber's short story, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939), about a timid man who dreams of being a hero. There is also a 1947 movie based on the story and with the same title, directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Danny Kaye in the role of Walter Mitty.

[15]Sprengnether, p. 230.

[16] Sprengnether, p. 231.

[17] Sprengnether, p. 140. Sprengnether makes this statement in the context of her discussion of Otto Rank's reinterpretation of the father's role in the castration complex.