QuoteProject
The most interesting letters I received about 'The Name of the Rose' were from people in the Midwest that maybe didn't understand exactly, but wanted to understand more and who were excited by this picture of a world which was not their own.
Umberto Eco
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote highlights the excitement of discovering new ideas and perspectives through literature.

Umberto Eco reflects on the reactions of readers from the Midwest to his novel 'The Name of the Rose.' It illustrates how literature can bridge cultural gaps, sparking curiosity and a desire for understanding in those who are exposed to unfamiliar worlds and concepts through reading.

Themes

LiteratureCuriosityCultural UnderstandingEngagementReading

In practice

Example use cases

During a book club discussion about 'The Name of the Rose', highlighting Eco's exploration of unfamiliar worlds can inspire members to seek out diverse literature.

More from Umberto Eco

The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
Umberto EcoRead
I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early poetry, and bad poets publish it. Thankfully I gave up rather quickly.
Umberto EcoRead
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.
Umberto EcoRead
You die, but most of what you have accumulated will not be lost; you are leaving a message in a bottle.
Umberto EcoRead
"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.
Umberto EcoRead
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

Similar quotes

I try to learn as much as I can because I know nothing compared to what I need to know.
Muhammad AliRead
My poetry is me trying to reconcile my own life and opportunities I've had with opportunities my students aren't given and how profoundly unfair that is.
Clint SmithRead
Here, let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true: Teachers? Teachers make a difference! Now what about you?
Taylor MaliRead
Working with children is the easiest part of educating for democracy, because children are still undefeated and have no stake in being prejudiced.
Margaret HalseyRead
It looks like it’s wasting time, but literature is actually the ultimate time-saver - because it gives us access to a range of emotions and events that it would take you years, decades, millennia to try to experience directly. Literature is the greatest reality simulator - a machine that puts you through infinitely more situations than you can ever directly witness.
Alain De BottonRead
You see, no one can teach anybody. The teacher spoils everything by thinking that he is teaching. Thus Vedanta says that within man is all knowledge-even in a boy it is so-and it requires only an awakening, and that much is the work of a teacher.
Swami VivekanandaRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Umberto Eco | QuoteProject