The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
Umberto EcoRead
Dan Brown, is a character from Foucault's Pendulum! I invented him. He shares my characters' fascinations - the world conspiracy of Rosicrucians, Masons, and Jesuits. The role of the Knights Templar. The hermetic secret. The principle that everything is connected. I suspect Dan Brown might not even exist.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the blurred lines between fiction and reality, suggesting a deep connection among various secretive entities and ideas.
Umberto Eco's quote highlights the intricate relationships between historical and fictional elements, emphasizing the theme of interconnectedness among groups such as the Rosicrucians, Masons, and Jesuits. By questioning the very existence of his character Dan Brown, Eco prompts readers to consider the nature of authorship and the boundaries between reality and fiction, ultimately suggesting that the narratives we create are deeply influenced by the secret knowledge and conspiracies that shape our world.
Themes
ConspiracyFictionInterconnectednessCharactersAuthorship
In practice
Example use cases
During a book club discussion on fiction vs. reality, this quote can be used to highlight the author's creative process.
More from Umberto Eco
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But why do some people support [the heretics]?" "Because it serves their purposes, which concern the faith rarely, and more often the conquest of power." "Is that why the church of Rome accuses all its adversaries of heresy?" "That is why, and that is also why it recognizes as orthodoxy any heresy it can bring back under its own control or must accept because the heresy has become too strong.
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You die, but most of what you have accumulated will not be lost; you are leaving a message in a bottle.
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"Then we are living in a place abandoned by God," I said, disheartened. "Have you found any places where God would have felt at home?" William asked me, looking down from his great height.
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The lunatic is all idée fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.
Umberto EcoRead
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