On the Edge of Narrative Rupture Le Pendule de Foucault by Umberto Eco

Abstract

The omnipresence and “obviousness” of narrative make it a mode of expression that becomes invisible and fades into the background behind what it recounts. But sometimes – when a semiotician takes hold of it – narrative recounts that it is in the process of recounting.

And this mode of narration takes centre stage and partially or almost completely obscures the facts being recounted. This atypical case is admirably portrayed in Foucault’s Pendulum. Indeed, after working as a theorist, critic and semiotician, Umberto Eco turned to writing and achieved phenomenal success with Le nom de la rose. He repeated this success with Le Pendule de Foucault. In it, he reveals his full talent as a semiotician. By stretching the narrative to its limits. Extending it beyond all measure. Taking it to the brink of collapse. But preserving its integrity thanks to an ingenious narrative technique. That of memory. However, he does so with a specific twist: cultivating erudite digression in every nook and cranny of the story. The result is a fabulous narrative, labyrinthine to perfection, and a true introduction to semiotics.