d. Religion in the
novel The Name of the Rose
Reading Umberto Eco, it is not difficult to appreciate his
approach to religion as he manifested it in his maiden novel. Though an
unbeliever, Eco treats religion with a mixture or balance of reverential
admiration and provocative challenge.
d.1 Appreciation for Religious Tradition
By re-creating a monastic
ambience set in the medieval period, Eco upholds the enduring validity and
attraction of religious tradition. Writers who espouse a modernistic view would
tend to shy away from Eco’s approach; instead they will try to destroy the
present’s link with the past, the old, and the hackneyed. Eco does exactly the
opposite. He connects the reader with a distant past that nevertheless served
as catalyst of a better future for humanity.
It is necessary to understand
tradition, especially religious tradition, whether Christian or other. This
sets Eco apart from his contemporaries in arts and culture who insist on a
radical break or on deconstruction of what has gone before. (cf. Cromwell and Marcus,
2016).
One does not have to be a
believer in order to appreciate and understand religious traditions. In an
interview, Eco explained his cultural fascination for religion even after
drifting away from the sphere of belief:
“I do believe in religion. Human beings are religious animals, and such a
characteristic feature of human behavior cannot be ignored or dismissed.” (Zanganeh,
2008). Perhaps this has something to do also with his Italian genes!
Eco clearly appreciates the
agencies through which culture trickled down to our time. The choice of the
Middle Ages as temporal setting of a novel may astound many with grim thoughts
of remoteness and darkness, if not decadence and corruption usually associated
with that period.
Eco however sees things
differently. The time when the church reached the summit of glory and power was
also the epoch that produced abundant fruits that benefitted future
civilizations. Far from denigrating religion in general, Eco proclaims his confidence
in the possibilities a culture steeped in religion offers. “To me, they were
not the Dark Ages. They were a luminous time, the fertile soil out of which
would spring the Renaissance.” (Zanganeh, 2008).
d.2 Challenge towards Introspection
It is easy to find pop culture materials
that exploit the people’s hermeneutics of suspicion towards religious
institutions. Books and films teem with topics about conspiracies and
controversies that originate from churches or faith groups. There is a tendency
towards historical revisionism regarding religious figures or events like
church councils, the Crusades, or the true nature of Christ.
Eco avoids writing in this coarse
and crass fashion. True, he does not exalt the religious institution for the
unsullied truth or purity of its faith. But he does not destroy the institution
either. By presenting the very human reality of human foibles encroaching on
divine sanctuary, Eco challenges the reader, whether religious or not, to look
into himself or herself and make a personal reflection.
“What model reader did I want as
I was writing? An accomplice, to be sure, one who would play my game. I wanted
to become completely medieval and live in the Middle Ages as if that were my
own period (and vice versa). But at the same time, with all my might, I wanted
to create a type of reader who, once the initiation was past, would become my
prey – or rather, the prey of the text – and would think he wanted nothing but
what the text was offering him. A text is meant to be an experience of
transformation for its reader.” (Eco, The
Name of the Rose, 2003, 563).
The frailty of a religious
institution mirrors the weakness of every person. It is not a monk alone that
confronts temptations every day.
Adso’s lust and Abo’s greed are the temptations of every one, whether
believer or unbeliever, practicing or nominal adherent. By showing that monks
and friars are weak human beings, Eco brings home the point that the capital
sins are very much alive and we are all capable of falling into them. Instead of
judging the religious intentions of those in the monastery, the novelist
presents the struggles of its inhabitants as fulcrum for self-analysis.
The perspicacious author is
postmodern in the sense that though he is welcoming of traces of religion, he does
not necessarily have to pledge allegiance to it. Rather he invites the readers to think and to strive to
discover the elusive truth on his own. This is also an implied challenge to
people who subscribe to a religious community since the security and comfort of
structured faith does not necessarily entail the attainment of perfection. Even
the most splendid abbey will one day be razed to the ground and all its
treasures, knowledge, and piety reduced to ashes and smoke.
As for the church, Eco does not condemn
it nor ridicule it even for the inconsistencies he finds in it. But he boldly
exposes what he sees as contradictions between its teachings and the lives of
the people who must live those tenets. He tacitly gives the church a warning
not to categorically trust its own closely-held certitudes. While the fires
were ravaging the buildings of the monastery, William taught Adso a vital
lesson:
“I saw for the first time the
portrait of the Antichrist, who does not come from the tribe of Judas, as his
heralds have it, or from a far country. The Antichrist can be born from piety
itself, from excessive love of God or of the truth, as the heretic is born from
the saint and the possessed from the seer. Fear prophets, Adso, and those
prepared to die for the truth, for as a rule they make many other die with
them, often before them, at times instead of them… Perhaps the mission of those
who love mankind is to make people laught at the truth, to make truth laugh,
because the only truth lies in learning to free ourselves from insane passion
for the truth.” (Eco, The Name of the
Rose, 2003, 526).
Conclusion
The fascination with the dynamics
of religion continues to be expressed in the many texts of pop culture like
film, songs, television programs and novels. In the mystery novel, the thrill
for solving life’s mysteries is connatural with facing up to the ultimate
mystery that only an opening to religion or spirituality can fully attain. Text and life are reconciled by a
penchant for moral order, the joy of surprise, and the resolution of life’s
endless puzzles.
Umberto Eco has responded to the
deep human craving to seek out the traditions that nurture the spirit. In his
most famous literary creation, The Name
of the Rose, he lays before the reader a monastic world that resonates with
the vicissitudes of the present day. The religious themes that can be carefully
gleaned in the novel are rich sources of reflection on our own spiritual
quests.
By piercing the religious
ambience with a compelling and complex story, Eco shows the value of
appreciating the heritage of the past, though it may be imperfect. He takes the
opportunity to provoke people to reflect and not simply rely on inherited
convictions.
In the end though, the novelist
only wanted to share the delight he felt with his novel to his readers. Complex
and serious as it is, Eco’s novel is meant to primarily promote a diversion, a
relaxation, a journey into a world that amuses and educates at the same time.
In this, Eco is a believer in the power of pop culture. He writes:
“I wanted the
reader to enjoy himself, at least as much as I was enjoying myself. This is a
very important point, which seems to conflict with the more thoughtful ideas we
believe we have about the novel.” (Eco, Postscript,
1989, 565).
