UmbertoEco’s affinity to the art of detection encourages his reader to think that he is
going to present the new version of “Whodunit” within the spectrum called Historical
Novel. William of Baskerville, represents the figure of a detective but within
the ambit of time period when the discipline of science began to emerge, has to
work as per the social and religious situations give him freedom. We come
across his disciple Adso (Dr. John Watson of William of Baskerville) gives a
chronicle account of the events and debates he witnesses at the Monastery of Melk.
We need to give the credit to Adso for his intelligence that enable us to
deviate from the schematic plot detection to the to the broader and burning
issues of the medieval time period, including the struggle for Hegemony within
the Christianity, Heretics, Marginalized people and Inaccessible Knowledge. According
to Slobodanka Vladiv-Glover, “this double focus, one on the detective’s quest
for clues and the other on the medieval chronicler’s historical canvas, appears
to give the novel a split narrative perspective. This split is seemingly
reinforced by the fact that the chronicler is also configured as an artless or
inge´nu narrator, who records the events without properly understanding their
meaning.” [1] The
running of two narrative structures simultaneously exemplifies that Umberto Eco
undersigns the fact that apparent reality and the reality ascribed by signs criticize
the contradiction between the appearance and reality. The Monastery represents
the place of learning and knowledge open to everyone who falls within the normative
of it yet the contradiction displays the Truth far from reality, “ this means
that Eco’s narrative ends up with two inge´nu narrators, neither of whom can
explain the ‘‘meaning’’ of the textual plot to the Reader.”[2]
The
double narrative structure of work opens a new window of opportunity for the reader
to ascribe his own interpretation to the text. The work is open for a multiple interpretations,
depends upon the reader’s interest areas. I would broadly categorize the reader
into two groups – Active Readers and Passive Readers. Active Readers underscore
the theological and epistemological issues raised in the text, while the
Passive Readers look at it as the detective fiction with a formulaic. The
openness of the text takes the Active Reader to Medieval time period when the
Church was the Supreme – no space for other disciplines or views to challenge
it. This inflexible approach to the religions and firmness lead to the split of
the Christianity dividing the people into several sects. In fact, the firmness
and stringent guidelines emanate new concepts like Heretics defined on the
basis of the following of normative structure presented by the Church or
distract to create their own. The issue could be studied in a new framework of
open work or the Role of the Reader wherein Eco claims that the communication
and reception of information is a link between the presenter and receptionist. Respecting
the theory of Eco, I now leave you to read the text and open new windows of
opportunities for multiple readings of the texts.
[1] Slobodanka
Vladiv-Glover, “The Poetics of Pastiche in Eco's Postmodern Detective Novel” The European Legacy: Toward New Paradigms, Vol.
13, No. 1, pp. 59–81, 2008
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