The maximum depth of nesting of the story is Fraquita's tale, which begins in Q-2-j-(1)-(a). If we see Alfonso's experiences as all being at a single level, that makes The Saragossa Manuscript a story-within-a-story having seven levels: counting Has' movie as level one because it is a presentation of Potocki's novel (level two) that tells about two opposing army officers sitting together and reading Alfonso's book (levels three through seven, or a subtotal of five levels).

Maximum interaction of stories occurs during the gypsy Avadoro's tale (P & R), which he interrupts twice. During the first interruption, Alfonso says that he can't tell where reality ends and fantasy begins. During the second interruption, he counts the levels on his fingers but says that "it's enough to drive you crazy." People in the audience often feel confused at this point (if they haven't nodded out)!

The levels of the gypsy's tale become blurred when Avadoro meets Don Roque Busqueros, whom he previously knew only as a character within the story told by Lopez Soarez (Q-2-a). In particular, after Avadoro leaves the tavern in R-3, who narrates the events? Most commentators assume Roque does; therefore, I have used indentation and a story title to show a new level of narration at this point.

However, it is important to note that there are two other places in the film where action occurs without the narrator being present: the Inquisition arresting Don Pedro Velasquez in L (before he meets Alfonso); and Frasquita kissing her lover in R-4-a (after Roque has left her bedroom). So, if we accept absent narrators as a form of poetic license, then an alternative arrangement of levels is valid; namely, Roque's level is not "independent" but merely part of Avadoro's level (i.e., R-3-a would be renumbered as R-4).

In any case, the "outward" movement of Don Roque to become part of Avadoro's direct experience serves as a shock to the audience, increasing the complexity and making the movie even more difficult to comprehend at first viewing.

Each level in my outline includes segments (A through Z, or 1-4 within D) to indicate breaks in the action within the level. However, it is possible to interpret many of these breaks as changes in level because they are associated with changes in the flow of ordinary consciousness and/or forks in the road of life where one chooses between alternative possibilities: forming a plan while studying a map, falling asleep, being drugged by a potion, being stabbed, having a delirium from thirst, deciding whether to follow the Mayor's orders, hitting one's head on a stone floor, fainting from torture, etc. Thus the large book shown in the movie could be seen as having more depth than the five narrative levels assigned to it in my outline.

For example, after Alfonso dozes in B, the experiences of C might be interpreted as a dream within B. He then returns to this dream level within the "real world" level of B when he faints in I, and again if we interpret him as mesmerized in S (believing that he leaves the castle instead of the gypsy). This would make most of the events of the movie (including Avadoro's long tale) one level deeper than what I have indicated in my outline. The number of levels of the large book (the "manuscript") would therefore be six.

However, B itself might be seen as a visualization of the possible consequences of the plan that is forming in the mind of Alfonso while he looks at the map in A. He estimates that the shortcut will require three days of riding -- an amount of time that corresponds with his "waking up" at the gallows twice after spending time with Emina and Zibelda. At the end of Alfonso's third encounter with the two sisters/wives, the skull chalice does not cause him to lose consciousness; he merely closes his eyes. After he mirrors himself, he wakes up at the gallows again but with his valet and muleteer next to him. If we interpret the movie's events as a dream during a nap at the gallows, the number of levels of the large book increases to seven.

In addition, one might interpret the drinking of the skull chalice at the end of C and J as the start of a dream that occurs within the dream world of the two sisters/wives. In D and K, Alfonso "awakens" at the gallows, but according to what the Sheik says in U, all of these "awake" experiences were only a form of "passing time" during which the various characters put on a charade. Could Alfonso have been with Emina and Zibelda in the huge room all along, dreaming all of the outside world's events after drinking the chalice?

If so, the encounter with the Inquisition in H would constitute a disruption of the dream-within-a-dream. The torture might be understood as the onset of a nightmare. When Alfonso faints from the torture, he imagines that Emina and Zibelda rescue him and bring him back to the lavish room -- but we could interpret this as the two women appearing in his dream imagery while they soothe him (after they detect his nightmare by seeing and hearing signs of its onset). Either way, the next thing that happens is that the Sheik forces him to drink the chalice and return to the level of dream-within-a-dream, where the charade continues and he meets the Cabalist.

The conclusion of the gypsy's tale leads rapidly to awakening from the inner dream. The third drinking of the chalice (in U) does not cause him to resume the dream-within-a-dream; instead it opens a portal and Alfonso awakens from all dreams and imaginings -- not only the dream of Venta Quemada but also the fantasy/plan/visualization of what might happen if he takes a shortcut through haunted territory. In S, he is close to the time and place from which he started (in A). Although it seems that very little has happened from the viewpoint of the valet and muleteer, the inner adventure has made Alfonso wiser (and he has the book). His decision to take the shortcut now seems confident rather than rash.

In world literature, there are many tales in which the main character spends days or even years in a special place before discovering that the place has no physical existence and only a few minutes or seconds have elapsed. Some examples are: L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz, C. S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and Idries Shah's "The Skill that Nobody Has" (the first story in the final section of Seeker After Truth).

In my opinion, the key to understanding the convolutions of the plot is not to count the number of levels but rather to look at each place where a level finds "closure." Another important point to focus on is the use of analogy: Pasheko's tale mimics Alfonso's experience at Venta Quemada, but we in the audience don't know yet that it is fabricated; Pedro is told that he "looks like" Alfonso, and indeed they bond through their shared skepticism about ghosts; Lopez Soarez and Inez win their fathers' approval for marriage through a conspiracy of love that is orchestrated by Roque.

I have written an essay "The Saragossa Manuscript: Some Thoughts on Key Characters and Themes" which discusses points of closure. It also includes insights and musings about the purpose of the gypsy's long tale, the analogies between characters, the repetition of phrases and images, and the relationship between Alfonso and the large book (the manuscript).

To request a free copy of my essay, or to send me feedback, email schell@alumni.princeton.edu.

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