Saturday, February 20, 2010
The setting
I think one of the strengths of "The Name of the Rose" is that the tone and style vividly evoke a Medieval setting. I've tried to read other historical novels by contemporary authors, and for the most part I'm rarely convinced, perhaps because modern sensibilities creep in here and there and threaten the feel of authenticity. But, with this, I felt totally immersed in the 14th century, complete with sometimes tedious religious/philosophical asides. (There was that one part where William says "elementary" to Adso, and that made me think of the Sherlock Holmes era). What was your experience?
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6 comments:
I'm lacking in examples of anything I've read recently (or even not so recently) that would compare, but I agree it seemed authentic. The author is also rigorous in his portrayal of history, so I assumed his storytelling was accurate.
I don't know whether I would describe this as setting, but among the genuine notes Umberto Eco hit, there was the fate of Adso's lover (to be burned at the stake as a witch). I assumed a modern storyteller would feel compelled to make Adso or William devise a way to rescue her, but William was pretty matter-of-fact that, yeah, she was a woman, her fate was sealed. And there was no apology for that. And I think that was an authentic, if unsatisfactory, part of the story. Oh, and Adso too modest to take off his clothes to beat out the fire. I mean, that's ridiculous, but it wouldn't have been ridiculous then, even surrounded by men. Is that kind of what you're asking?
Two more thoughts: I would be sorely tempted to commit a sin to enter that library! My pulse raced every time they went back. And I think the setting is part of what made that so exciting -- you know, to enter sort of the holy grail of learning. I figure the library, though, is worthy of a separate discussion.
Also: I'm afraid I couldn't get cheese in batter out of my mind after I read of William's tempting dinner. I'd sleep on a bed of straw for a night to get in on that action.
It did seem authentic. There was only one thing that made me wonder: William's speech before the papal legation espousing particularly democratic ideals for Church governance seemed pretty modern, but I don't know enough about that history to know.
Good point about the peasant girl, cl. I was also struck by William's matter-of-fact response to that.
Yes, cl, I think his history is accurate. Many of the characters were real people, like Ubertino and Fra Dolcino and Michael of Cesena. Fascinating.
I thought the way they talked about women felt mostly true to the time period. William picked his battles very carefully and understood just how dangerous a man Bernard Gui could be. He wasn't going to challenge him over a peasant girl.
cl, you mention Adso's modesty. I'd have to go back and look, but I think it was the girl who took off his robe when they hooked up. I think she initiated the whole encounter, no doubt out of fear and self-survival.
I found Adso's feelings for the girl very tender and moving, and the way the author described the sex scene was pretty spectacular. Adso experienced it as a kind of sacred event, and even though he clung to the conviction that he had sinned, he could never, even in old age, shake the feeling that there was something holy and extraordinary about it! He never genuinely regretted it, did he? And he could never wholly buy into the common church teaching that women were cesspools of vice in league with the devil.
The battered cheese also struck me as holy and extraordinary! And the truffle hunt. But not the blood pudding. (Could a dead body floating in the blood REALLY ruin a blood pudding? I mean, how could it be grosser?)
Erin, William sometimes seemed improbably modern to me, but I guess I just accepted it as part of his genius. I also thought he and Adso seemed way less judgmental about people's moral failings than the other characters did.
KC, I had to go back and read that scene about the habit, and I was mistaken. For some reason I thought Adso hesitated to cover the fire with his robe, which he didn't, and the monks were generally confused about being summoned in the middle of the night about a fire and not just that Adso was yelling at them and naked. (Although that had to add to the mayhem.)
As for the scene with the girl, I think ol' Pomegranate Temples was too alluring for Adso's modesty to hold sway.
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