The Murderin' Monk (The Name of the Rose "Second Day")
TMBC Week 2
Melissa’s Comments:
This thing is starting to get really good.
I stopped painstakingly looking up every translation in the book (thanks
), which has made the whole thing a lot more enjoyable to read.The murder mystery itself is pretty juicy, as is the history contained within it. Franciscans being hated because of their vow of poverty (yet kept around for political reasons); Benedictines corrupted by money and wealth and power into practicing the opposite of what they preach; the whole irony that the Church keeps this air of piety (which many people within it no doubt believe) while simultaneously supporting things like Inquisitions.
It’s unclear how much of this is actually historically accurate (it takes some digging to find out—highly-curated, sugar-coated Google search results aren’t much help), but the whole thing works as a pretty fine expose into the shady political dealings of the Catholic Church.
There are so many moral questions brought up in this book, such as the gatekeeping of knowledge (I’m struck by Aristotle’s claim that revealing too much esoteric knowledge too fast breaks some type of celestial seal).
There was more, of course. There’s a philosophical question on practically every page of this thing. If anything stood out to you, feel free to leave it in the comments.
I’m a little scared, though, because this book is seriously calling my reading comprehension skills into question. John keeps mentioning stuff that went completely over my head (which may be why he has a clearer picture of the actual murder mystery than I do—check it out in his comments).
I want to think that I’m a whole lot more intelligent than Umberto Eco is making me feel right now, but I’d like to say in my defense that I know absolutely nothing about this time period, and have the tendency to ‘miss the forest for the trees’ when it comes to things like this where I’m bombarded by things that I don’t fully understand.
Nevertheless, the book has certainly been a learning experience. It’s made me think. And I can’t wait to find out what’s hidden in this damned library.
John’s Comments:
After finishing Second Day, I’m all in. This book has completely hooked me. As we said, the first hundred-ish pages were not an easy read. But now that we’re through them and nearing the 200-page mark, Eco has put the pedal to the metal and let this murder mystery completely take hold. Since the death of poor Venantius, I’ve been trying to analyze the characters’ words and actions to see who might be the murderer—or who is next to be killed.
I can’t tell who did it so far. I’m leaning towards Jorge, since a supposedly blind monk being the murderer would be a good twist. Right now all signs point to Berengar having something to do with it (besides porking Adelmo into the grave) but I think it’s too obvious. After the way this part ended I’m sure that we’ll find him dead somewhere in the Third Day.
It’s still early. There’s five more days to read through, so I’m sure Eco will pull the rug our from under us and show us all roads he was pointing to was distracting us from an entirely different plot going on. There’s some weird shit going down with the library and I just don’t know what it is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Abbot is a whole lot guiltier of something than we realize. Remember, William of Baskerville was sent to the abbey to inspect claims of heresy, so there’s definitely a lot to unwrap still.
For now, I’m going with Jorge as the murderin’ monk so far. Who are you pinning this on?
First things first, fiction is fiction. Even if it is wrapped up in what appears to be history, it may be slanted to a certain point of view. Which is a good thing, but just making sure you don't believe this to be historical truth. More often than not, authors take history and bend it to their purpose. This is their prerogative in this kind of work. If you are truly curious about the history of the Catholic Church, you will have to do your own homework. But this is not the purpose of this work. It is a murder mystery, which I also am very much enjoying.
Who's the killer and what is behind it all is certainly what makes me pick up the book every day and push on. But what I love of about the book is that it forces me to think. Not just about the story but in a metaphysical sense. It forces you not to think solely what is happening in the monastery, but what is happening in the celestial world. Are there consequences for what happens here, and why would someone accept or deny their faith? Why are some monks hypocrites and others live in earnest? It is so much food for thought that I am getting quite full and loving it.
I am in the same camp with John, I suspect Jorge, but I don't know why I feel a loathing of Berengar. He has disappeared, but he also seems nasty enough to be the culprit. However, we still lack why, even with the superstitious mumbo jumbo being thrown about. I love William's no-nonsense personality with great knowledge. He is always bringing us back to the here and now without forgetting that they are still men that have pledged their lives to God. The question lies in, what God have they truly pledged their lives to?
Dear friends,
I just nearly completed the Third day. I was subjected to a diatribe by William to poor Adso where he goes on and on in nonsensical circular fashion about how heresies come to be. In reading this, I immediately noted that he never makes recourse to Jesus Christ, the true Apostles or the early Church fathers and what they believed. This is how heresies are truly determined because this is the benchmark. That is when I realized that I had just been subjected to relativist godless Marxism in obscure fashion. His dark atheist views became quite apparent to me. Now it makes sense why it was embraced by the NY Times and Hollywood. This is the same sick evil that has enveloped this country and is destroying it from within. There is good and there is evil, and it doesn't matter what side of the fence you are on. A long time ago, I decided never to darken my mind with any book that makes me unhappy in any way. This has become one, and I will not continue to read it. Many good things come out of Italy, sadly this is not one of them.