The Southern Highway: movement and stoppage

Abstract

In this text, I intend to work symbolically on some intersections between Júlio Florêncio Cortázar’s short story “The Southern Highway” and analytical psychology, thereby discussing concepts such as ego and persona. I make some approximations and associations between aspects explored by Cortázar in this short story and the challenges of our contemporary life, which allow for a reflection on the ephemeral yet intense encounters that can define and structure our relationships and the profound need for contact that is becoming increasingly important and challenging. I end the text with an approximation between aspects of the story and the movements of isolation and stoppage that we also compulsorily experienced during the recent pandemic.