Umberto Eco is a known
name who gives a new dimension to postmodern fiction through his famous book The Name of the Rose that has received
huge appreciation across the world. Eco is one of the first torch bearers that
sparked the discourse on the relationship between history and fiction. Apparent
from the preface of The Name of the Rose,
he writes the story is derived from a manuscript which encapsulates details
of a real incident from the fourteenth century. The incident revolves around a
much debated issue – “Whether the Church should give away its wealth?” on which
the two sects of Christianity divided. The Franciscans debated on the Poverty
of Christ whereas the Dominicans countered them vehemently with their arguments
for the punishment given to heretic and unbelievers.
Eco has not only
articulated these religious and philosophical issues but also tried to show
their sociological and economic impact on marginalized people. Weaving around
the themes of history and fiction, Eco’s Foucault’sPendulum, another of his masterpiece, raises the question of how fiction
inspired from the history is treated as truth by the reader who takes it
substitute of history. This kind of fiction does not challenge the discipline
of history rather it brings forth forgotten history.
Umberto Eco: Rethinking History and Fiction analyzes the common
ground between history and fiction. The book argues that the two disciplines
have their relevance and produce knowledge. The book is a an attempt to
understand the ways in which history and fiction intrude into each other
territories and open terrains for the reader to grapple with their
complexities.
I) Chapter
1– History and Fiction
II) Chapter
2 – The Name of the Rose: A Study of
History and Fiction
III) Chapter
3 – The Name of the Rose: Knowledge,
Detection, Threats, Institutionalization and Interpretation
IV)
Chapter 4 - Foucault’s Pendulum: The
Creation of Multiple Histories
V)
Chapter 5 - “Towards of New Middle Ages”: Resurrection of Past in Present
VI) Conclusion
– Eco’ Fictional History and Sensational Fiction
Bibliography
