The Face of Religion
in Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose”
1. The Presence of Religious Themes in Mystery Novels
Mystery novels accord a special
place to the realm of the religious, whether this is found in a character, a
setting, or a plot, and in some cases, in all three. While it has not always
been like this from the start, a good number of successful mystery novels have
their share of a religious figure, background, or underlying question that
touches on matters of God, faith or belief.
Publishers release a fresh stock
of mystery novels and thrillers by the thousands each year. It is remarkable
that a good percentage of these new additions to the reading library do have a
tinge of the religious theme. Joseph Bottum provides an informal estimate that
may help get the proper perspective on the matter.
“At a guess (exact figures are
impossible to find; another peculiar feature of contemporary publishing), perhaps
three thousand mysteries and thrillers are printed in English every year. And
by my rough survey of Amazon results, nearly a tenth of them touch on religion
in some clearly recognizable way. All of which means that, even by a
conservative count, mystery readers were confronted with more than two hundred
new volumes of religious fiction in 2010. And in 2009. And in 2008 … The genre
of God and the Detectives has grown to encompass more than anyone can actually
read.” (Bottum, 2011).
This is not to say that a mere
superficial use of religious motifs qualify a material as religious mystery
fiction. “Something of a religious theme, something of a theological insight,
has to be present as well. Something of God must be woven into the literary
fabric, not just embroidered on as decoration.” (Bottum, 2011).
Thus, it is not necessary that
there is a presence of a minister, priest or nun or that the surroundings refer
to a parish, convent or mission. Religion may not even be thematically or
directly explored. In many cases, the Christian worldview is considered a given.
The institutional religion is just perceived as ever present, interwoven in the
story without a tinge of self-consciousness. (cf. Bottum, 2011).
What accounts
for the seeming harmony between religion and the mystery novel? Of the few who have spent time
reflecting on this question, a major clue is provided by the English prolific
writer G. K. Chesterton, a former Anglican convert to Catholicism, the first
writer to employ the term “mystery story.” (cf. Morlan and Raubicheck, 2013,
xv). Chesterton perceived a cogent connection in the concern of religion and of
daily life about matters pertaining to morality.
a. Morality
First, mystery novels exhibit the
tendency to reflect on the question of morality in the world. Chesterton’s
famous underdog detective character Father Brown, first popularized in his
series of short stories, always appears as a reminder of what is good.
“Chesterton saw an increasing tendency in
detective fiction to reflect the morality of the modern world, or rather the
lack of morality. When there is no code of morals, ‘anybody may murder anybody
because anybody may marry anybody’.” (Morlan and Raubicheck, 2013, xiv.)
As the main character in
Chesterton’s hands, Father Brown elucidates people not only on what is good but
also on what is rational. As a Catholic priest, Fr. Brown takes it upon himself
to defend the good and in doing so, to uphold both faith and reason, which to
Catholic sensibility are always joined and not opposed.
Otto Penzler opines that with the
decline of the influence of the church in the life of its adherents, there came
about the surge in mystery or detective stories. He believes that this reading
preference compensates for the need to find a solution to the restoration of
society’s moral order without invoking the power or influence of the divine.
“There is a theory (brilliantly
advanced by me in the introduction to my anthology, The Best American Mystery
Stories of the 19th Century—and, oh, yes, by dozens of scholars before me) that
the detective story was able to achieve success only when people gave up their
absolute adherence to religion, a phenomenon that occurred in the 19th century.
The notion is that we all have a sense of guilt impressed upon us at a young
age and that it can only be relieved by a higher power: to wit, God, or one of
his lieutenants. When the extraordinary power of religious devotion diminished,
the door opened for a different agency to lessen our guilt and this took the
form of a detective.” (Penzler, 2014).
The enigma of life that was once perceived
in terms of religious imagery and language was transported to the fictional
page featuring the intrepid adventures of the detective. Reading this
development in a novel substitutes for the reliance once given to religion as
problem solver of the world.
“The analogy of religion and the
detective story goes like this: There is a sin (murder), a victim, a high
priest (the criminal) who must be destroyed by a higher power—the alternative
to God—the detective. Individuals identify with the light and dark sides of
themselves—the detective and the criminal—and seek absolution and redemption.
Thus, the denouement of the mystery is the Day of Judgment when all is made
clear, the soul is cleansed—and the criminal, through the omnipotent power of
the detective, is caught and punished.” (Penzler, 2014).
b. Surprise
Second, the mystery novel
succeeds in fascinating readers because of its element of surprise. People read
not because they already know but because they are ready to know something that
goes beyond their suspicion. The element of surprise is a thrilling
expectation. Chesterton writes:
“The true
object of an intelligent detective story is not to baffle the reader, but to
enlighten the reader; but to enlighten him in such a manner that each successive
portion of the truth comes as a surprise. In this, as in much nobler types of
mystery, the object of the true mystic is not merely to mystify, but to
illuminate. The object is not darkness, but light; but light in the form of
lightning.” (Morlan and Raubicheck, 2013, xv.)
Religion,
whether it is supernatural or natural, thrives through revelation or discovery,
an explosion of astonishing truths, realizations and conclusions. Almost all
religions serve to propose something that comes across as new or fresh. It may
be something the believer already knows but needs a confirmation as to veracity
or validity. Perceiving life through the prism of faith opens one to surprises.
As Chesterton
affirms, even mysticism is not an exercise of spiritual self-aggrandizement
through accumulation of deep private encounters with the divine. The true
mystic reveals and shares the light to others. For those who do not attain the
heights of mystical absorption, the ordinary becomes a locus of surprise.
Benedictine Brother David Steindl-Rast, encouraging a spiritual reflectiveness
on all things, writes:
“No matter how dull or
intellectually trapped we are, surprise is close at hand. Even when our life
lacks the surprise of the extraordinary, the ordinary always wants to surprise
us afresh.” (Steindl-Rast, 1984, 21).
Both
religious experiences and mystery novels provide people with the opportunity to
become child-like, always open for something amazing. Religion gives people the
capacity to know surprise that leads to gratitude to the divine. Reading
enables people to feel the wonder of surprise that leads to humility, for not
discovering the truth right before their eyes for although it was too ordinary,
it was not too obvious.
c. Ongoing Mystery
Third, both
religion and mystery fiction are preoccupied with finding a solution to the
puzzles of life and to the great puzzle that is life itself. Both also expect
that a resolution will possibly emerge.
The novel
focuses on the daily mysteries of human existence, the temporary mystery which
when finally solved gives fleeting satisfaction. Religion gazes on the ultimate
mystery of all, the permanent mystery that is an ongoing or endless process. It
is never fully solved but even the attempt to do so already gives endless
satisfaction. (cf. Morlan and Raubicheck, 2013, xv).
Mystery
stories see the world through a religious slant, and sometimes specifically
through Christian eyes. Bottum sees the novel as imitating the human situation
of fallenness and brokenness, themes that are valuable to Christian theology
and spirituality. This may explain the attraction of mystery plots to churches,
religious figures, and settings.
“Mystery stories, in other words,
see reality in a Christian way—or, better, in a partially Christian way. It's
what the Christian worldview would be without Christ: sin without redemption;
the Fall without the Resurrection; justice, sometimes, but never mercy.”
(Bottum, 2011).
However the story does not stop
there. Just as in religion, grace interrupts the process of decay and
regression in order to give new hope, redemption also happens in a mystery
story. And this is the crucial element. “A detective story is religious if it
superadds an awareness of redemption to the fallen world assumed by all
mysteries. If it sees the chance of God's grace down in a universe of sin.”
(Bottum, 2011).
Both the detective
and the ordinary Christian face tremendous battles in their lives. However the
detective can only solve a crime and bring about justice. His role is thus
limited. The religious or Christian element extends some kind of comfort and
restores not only the moral order but supplies a sense of meaning to the
situation marred by wrongdoing. (cf. Morlan and Raubicheck, 2013, xvii-xviii).
