The shadows of Silvina

Those who met her describe Silvina Ocampo as an eccentric, hilarious, unpredictable, funny and somewhat perverse personality. Edgardo Cozarinsky tells of an occasion when she quoted him at the Rosedal in Palermo: "I arrived there one spring afternoon around 6 o'clock and saw her chatting animatedly with a man in a dirty, worn-out raincoat. I hesitated to approach, but when she saw me she greeted me with a smile and called me with a gesture. He introduced me as a young writer; the man, who soon retired, was presented as "the exhibitionist of the Rosedal". Once alone, Silvina explained to me that he was afraid of her: "The first time the raincoat was opened I asked her to wait a moment and put on my glasses". Those who knew her little, however, describe a shy personality and a very low profile. That withdrawn personality was combined with the three great figures that overshadowed her over the years: her sister Victoria, her husband Adolfo Bioy Casares and her friend Jorge Luis Borges. Silvina, a younger sister, a deceived wife, a writer who was relegated to the sidelines, always wandered among this trio. During her lifetime, Silvina Ocampo was always in the shadows and did not know the success of her work. His books had a modest circulation and his reluctant attitude to interviews and social exchanges did not contribute to the situation. Time did him justice and today his texts are revalued and printed in luxurious editions. Perhaps what the writer lacked was a good marketing strategy; perhaps she suffered the curse of always being compared to the best. Or maybe the world wasn't ready for her yet.