On 26-Feb-2017, I finished reading the book “The Name of the Rose” by Italian author and philosopher Umberto Eco. The ideas expressed in the book have left me marvelling at the wisdom of the author. Just like Tolkien transported me to Middle Earth many years earlier, mentally I was in a medieval monastery in Italy when I read "The Name of the Rose" (henceforth called TNotR in this blog post). Further, the message of the book is just as relevant today as during the setting of the book, which is more than 600 years ago !
My introduction to the book was the movie of the same name, starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater. The movie was shown on a TV channel. The idea of a priest in the 14th century who thinks and acts logically like Sherlock Holmes was a novelty to me. The presence of Sean Connery and the monastic environs of the movie whetted my curiosity. I ended up watching it completely. When the credits rolled at the end of the movie, I saw that there was a book of the same name, on which the movie is based. I idly wondered what the book must be like.
Many years ago, I was flummoxed when I watched "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". Since I did not understand the movie completely, I read the book - and I am glad I did that ! My blog posts http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/2004/01/a-beautiful-book-fellowship-of-ring.html and http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/2006/01/my-comments-on-lord-of-rings-trilogy.html contain my impressions of J. R. R. Tolkien's trilogy. With TNotR, this process was repeated. I watched the movie and understood it better than my initial understanding of The Fellowship of the Ring. Subsequently, I felt that I could read the book which was the basis of the movie.
My workplace is closed from Christmas to New Year. During this period, when I saw this book in a book store, it was natural that I picked it up. Having read the book, I am utterly captivated by it. A summary of the book is available in Wikipedia but since it can serve as a spoiler I shall not specify the link here.
A brief summary of TNotR follows: Medieval Italy saw clashes among various factions or orders of Christianity. There were the Franciscans and the Dominicans. The narrator is a Benedictine novice. Adso, the narrator and a priest named William, a Franciscan friar come to a monastery in Italy. An important debate between orders is due to take place there. There has been an apparent suicide in the monastery. The abbot of the monastery named Abo looks to William to unravel the reason for the death. William pursues clues using reason and logic. At times, he notices that there are conflicts with the social norms of the time. Without questioning the "right or wrong" of the situation, he investigates the suicide, which is followed by more deaths.
To me, the character of William of Baskerville is a revelation. I like the passion William displays to uncover the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be. The narrator Adso is a novice, but his character is interesting too. The meaning of the word "novice" was always "inexperienced" to me. After reading TNotR, I realised that it also means a person in probation in a Christian order !
I am a Hindu . My knowledge of Hinduism is less than what I would like it to be. Within Hinduism, Vedanta is one philosophical system with differing beliefs like advaita (non-dualism, i.e. the self is the same as the absolute), dvaita (the self and the absolute are different) and vishishtadvaita (the self and the absolute are linked by a personal God). Vedanta is explained at https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vedanta in greater detail.
Compared to my knowledge of Hinduism, my knowledge of Christianity is certainly far, far less ! The diversity among Christian orders and people as described in TNotR amazed me. I knew that there are two types of Christians: Catholics and Protestants, but I had not bothered to understand the differences among them until now. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism has a long and detailed explanation of Catholicism through the ages, including the period in which TNotR is set. Reading TNotR, I understand that sects and groupism are present in all religions.
Yet, isn't it curious to see how similar religions are, despite the obvious differences ?! The common traits are: a belief in God, which is expressed in many ways ; rituals, including prayers and finally the role and importance of the priestly class. I see all these three traits depicted in the book. In Hinduism, sandhyavandanam is performed thrice a day according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhyavandanam. In TNotR, one learns of prayers performed at various times of the days (Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, Nonce, Vespers and Compline) for Christian priests. Here is another similarity among religions ! Similarly, in Islam also, a Muslim needs to perform prayers five times a day. Certain aspects of religions are common, with varying degrees of emphasis among religions.
The web page https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/20/umberto-eco-obituary has a biography of the author. It informs that Eco was a semioticist, a person who studies signs and sign processes. The influence of signs is visible in TNotR. Starting from the structure of the abbey to numerology in the abbey structure to the fantasies and dreams encountered by characters in the book, the role of signs and icons are symbolic. There is a library in the book, which is located in a labyrinth, a maze in which complete access is known only to the librarian. Thus, the labyrinth itself is a puzzle within the larger puzzle of the mysterious death in the abbey to William.
William and Adso team up to unravel the mystery behind the deaths. Simultaneously, the debate between the orders leads to an inquisition with tragic consequences. I feel that Adso, the narrator is a more active participant than Watson in the Sherlock Holmes stories. In the climax of TNotR, there is a confrontation between William and the perpetrator, a chase followed by an end that hurts me a little because of the loss depicted in the end. There is a memorable dialogue between the two, where William represents the voice of reason and courage and the villain symbolises blind belief and petty fear, at its root.
In today's world, on the Internet and on the smartphone, it is very easy to be distracted by falsehoods. Did Lord Macaulay really make a speech in Parliament where he came up with the idea of replacing India's traditional educational system? The answer: it is false, as reported in https://thewire.in/110263/macaulays-speech-never-delivered/. Did a worker in a major soft drink company inject HIV infected blood into the soft drink ? The answer: it is false, as explained at http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/pepsihiv.asp.
It is extremely easy to become a victim of "news" that may well be false in today's world. In such a scenario, William's attitude of skepticism seen during the investigation is a useful (even necessary) characteristic to cultivate. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-skepticism-reveals/ describes the importance of skepticism. It is curious to see how the quality of skepticism plays a key role in both science and spiritualism. The questioning attitude has certainly led to advances in science ; TNotR reveals how vital it is even in spiritual matters.
The word of the year in 2016 was "post-truth". https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/press/news/2016/12/11/WOTY-16 explains the word as "Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief." In recent times, there have been many instances of post-truth, visible particularly in election campaigns in the world's foremost democracies. TNofR is shows shades of post-truth, in my opinion.
In my opinion, this is the most important lesson imparted by The Name of the Rose. If I had to use two words to summarise TNotR, those words would be: "Be skeptical". While reading the book, I was mentally transported into the abbey and the environs of the abbey. That experience itself makes the book great. The greater lesson is to respect the truth, though it may actually be hurtful.
So are there any downsides to the book ? Yes, for me the enormous streams of quotes in Latin were too much. Secondly, there are so many contextual incidents related to Christianity. At times it can (again !) be too much.
However, I am glad that I have bought this book. Much like Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code", this book has become a favourite of mine in very short time. If you wish to pick up the book, it is available online at https://www.amazon.com/Name-Rose-Umberto-Eco/dp/0544176561. My recommendation would be to do so !
My introduction to the book was the movie of the same name, starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater. The movie was shown on a TV channel. The idea of a priest in the 14th century who thinks and acts logically like Sherlock Holmes was a novelty to me. The presence of Sean Connery and the monastic environs of the movie whetted my curiosity. I ended up watching it completely. When the credits rolled at the end of the movie, I saw that there was a book of the same name, on which the movie is based. I idly wondered what the book must be like.
Many years ago, I was flummoxed when I watched "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". Since I did not understand the movie completely, I read the book - and I am glad I did that ! My blog posts http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/2004/01/a-beautiful-book-fellowship-of-ring.html and http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/2006/01/my-comments-on-lord-of-rings-trilogy.html contain my impressions of J. R. R. Tolkien's trilogy. With TNotR, this process was repeated. I watched the movie and understood it better than my initial understanding of The Fellowship of the Ring. Subsequently, I felt that I could read the book which was the basis of the movie.
My workplace is closed from Christmas to New Year. During this period, when I saw this book in a book store, it was natural that I picked it up. Having read the book, I am utterly captivated by it. A summary of the book is available in Wikipedia but since it can serve as a spoiler I shall not specify the link here.
A brief summary of TNotR follows: Medieval Italy saw clashes among various factions or orders of Christianity. There were the Franciscans and the Dominicans. The narrator is a Benedictine novice. Adso, the narrator and a priest named William, a Franciscan friar come to a monastery in Italy. An important debate between orders is due to take place there. There has been an apparent suicide in the monastery. The abbot of the monastery named Abo looks to William to unravel the reason for the death. William pursues clues using reason and logic. At times, he notices that there are conflicts with the social norms of the time. Without questioning the "right or wrong" of the situation, he investigates the suicide, which is followed by more deaths.
To me, the character of William of Baskerville is a revelation. I like the passion William displays to uncover the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be. The narrator Adso is a novice, but his character is interesting too. The meaning of the word "novice" was always "inexperienced" to me. After reading TNotR, I realised that it also means a person in probation in a Christian order !
I am a Hindu . My knowledge of Hinduism is less than what I would like it to be. Within Hinduism, Vedanta is one philosophical system with differing beliefs like advaita (non-dualism, i.e. the self is the same as the absolute), dvaita (the self and the absolute are different) and vishishtadvaita (the self and the absolute are linked by a personal God). Vedanta is explained at https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vedanta in greater detail.
Compared to my knowledge of Hinduism, my knowledge of Christianity is certainly far, far less ! The diversity among Christian orders and people as described in TNotR amazed me. I knew that there are two types of Christians: Catholics and Protestants, but I had not bothered to understand the differences among them until now. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism has a long and detailed explanation of Catholicism through the ages, including the period in which TNotR is set. Reading TNotR, I understand that sects and groupism are present in all religions.
Yet, isn't it curious to see how similar religions are, despite the obvious differences ?! The common traits are: a belief in God, which is expressed in many ways ; rituals, including prayers and finally the role and importance of the priestly class. I see all these three traits depicted in the book. In Hinduism, sandhyavandanam is performed thrice a day according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhyavandanam. In TNotR, one learns of prayers performed at various times of the days (Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, Nonce, Vespers and Compline) for Christian priests. Here is another similarity among religions ! Similarly, in Islam also, a Muslim needs to perform prayers five times a day. Certain aspects of religions are common, with varying degrees of emphasis among religions.
The web page https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/20/umberto-eco-obituary has a biography of the author. It informs that Eco was a semioticist, a person who studies signs and sign processes. The influence of signs is visible in TNotR. Starting from the structure of the abbey to numerology in the abbey structure to the fantasies and dreams encountered by characters in the book, the role of signs and icons are symbolic. There is a library in the book, which is located in a labyrinth, a maze in which complete access is known only to the librarian. Thus, the labyrinth itself is a puzzle within the larger puzzle of the mysterious death in the abbey to William.
William and Adso team up to unravel the mystery behind the deaths. Simultaneously, the debate between the orders leads to an inquisition with tragic consequences. I feel that Adso, the narrator is a more active participant than Watson in the Sherlock Holmes stories. In the climax of TNotR, there is a confrontation between William and the perpetrator, a chase followed by an end that hurts me a little because of the loss depicted in the end. There is a memorable dialogue between the two, where William represents the voice of reason and courage and the villain symbolises blind belief and petty fear, at its root.
In today's world, on the Internet and on the smartphone, it is very easy to be distracted by falsehoods. Did Lord Macaulay really make a speech in Parliament where he came up with the idea of replacing India's traditional educational system? The answer: it is false, as reported in https://thewire.in/110263/macaulays-speech-never-delivered/. Did a worker in a major soft drink company inject HIV infected blood into the soft drink ? The answer: it is false, as explained at http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/pepsihiv.asp.
It is extremely easy to become a victim of "news" that may well be false in today's world. In such a scenario, William's attitude of skepticism seen during the investigation is a useful (even necessary) characteristic to cultivate. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-skepticism-reveals/ describes the importance of skepticism. It is curious to see how the quality of skepticism plays a key role in both science and spiritualism. The questioning attitude has certainly led to advances in science ; TNotR reveals how vital it is even in spiritual matters.
The word of the year in 2016 was "post-truth". https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/press/news/2016/12/11/WOTY-16 explains the word as "Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief." In recent times, there have been many instances of post-truth, visible particularly in election campaigns in the world's foremost democracies. TNofR is shows shades of post-truth, in my opinion.
In my opinion, this is the most important lesson imparted by The Name of the Rose. If I had to use two words to summarise TNotR, those words would be: "Be skeptical". While reading the book, I was mentally transported into the abbey and the environs of the abbey. That experience itself makes the book great. The greater lesson is to respect the truth, though it may actually be hurtful.
So are there any downsides to the book ? Yes, for me the enormous streams of quotes in Latin were too much. Secondly, there are so many contextual incidents related to Christianity. At times it can (again !) be too much.
However, I am glad that I have bought this book. Much like Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code", this book has become a favourite of mine in very short time. If you wish to pick up the book, it is available online at https://www.amazon.com/Name-Rose-Umberto-Eco/dp/0544176561. My recommendation would be to do so !
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