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CONCLUSION

The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco thus demystifies spacetime and the various ideologies associated with it. The text is a typical postmodern one where the narrative is fragmented and labyrinthine. Beyond the purpose of dethroning spacetime, what might be Ecos objective behind the presentation of a character like Roberto in a world or setting which has no particular order or meaning? Roberto is a man who absorbed knowledge to which he was exposed as if he were a sponge, and was not distressed at believing in contradictory truths. Perhaps it was not that he lacked a taste for system; his was a choice (Umberto Eco 272). Observe how there is no questioning of knowing itself in Roberto, he never hesitates in taking in knowledge, he accepts everything without much doubts. Roberto does not consider the why? or what? while dealing with the process of knowing. Roberto conceded only half of his spirit to the things he believed (or believed he believed) keeping the other half open in case the contrary was true (Eco 272). We thus find in Roberto the typical postmodern man whose preoccupation is not with the problems of knowing but with that of being; as Brian McHale notes in his Postmodernist Fiction, a shift from an epistemological dominant to an ontological one. According to McHale, the dominant of postmodernist fiction is ontological. The questioning of entities still remains, but the objects which are questioned changes. It is a questioning of the very world itself, of being, of existence.

Of all the other characters in the novel, Roberto is different because unlike the others he is not self assured. Father Caspar has based himself on the teachings of the church and science, Saint-Savin stands firm on his atheistic attitude. But Roberto is always unsure; he is resigned and confused, in the end we see him finding consolation and faith in the illusionary idea of spacetime which he associates with the Island. He takes in anything and everything yet seems to accept nothing. He is controlled by no ideologies, yet he is always in one or the other state of crisis. The ship Daphne which is fully provisioned, which offers him safe abode, never gives him peace, he is seen always dissatisfied and mercurial. He seeks to escape from living in the present to a yesterday where he can rectify everything, future frightens him. To add to all this is his inability to swim. A swim to the Island of his yesterday is Robertos only obsession. This lack of ability to swim can be equated to the postmodern condition where an individual is seen lacking the skill to swim or to navigate expertly through the waters of his being or existence. His escapist attitude, state of confusion, lack of meaning in existence is typical of the postmodern man whose sole purpose is the questioning of his being. Eco thus presents such a character who has no base as such, who is continuously fluctuating; perfectly compatible in a world which lacks meaning or foundation, a world which is fragmented, where meaning is infinitely deferred. Ecos text can be seen as an attempt to construct his own identity in a meaningless world. Knowing is not the purpose here but being itself and the questioning of being. Observe how Roberto finds an answer to his present condition, This was why he had

been cast on the Daphne Roberto concluded. Because only in that restful hermitage would hereflect on the question(s) that free(s) us from every apprehension about not being and consigns us to the wonders of being (468). Only the radical questioning of our very being would enable us to construct an identity for ourselves. Roberto ruminates: What am I? If I say I in the sense of Roberto della Griva, I say so in as much as I am the memory of all my past moments, the sum of everything I remember. If I say I in the sense of that something that is here at the moment and is not the mainmast or the coral, then I am the sum of what I feel now. But what is what I feel now? It is the sum of those relations between presumed indivisibles that have been arranged in that system of relations in that special order that is my body (473). Spacetime and the questioning of being is inseparable. Spacetime always brings with it the idea of positions, of presence and absence, of dimensions, of spatiality and temporality. A reading of Ecos The Island of the Day Before based on the various ideologies of spacetime is hence very illuminating. It helps us to understand Ecos universe as it is presented in his novels better. Through his presentation of a character like Roberto, in a fragmented world with a non linear spacetime, Eco seems to be attempting to present the essential condition of the postmodern man, who starts to realize the impossibility of any attempt to procure meaning. The Island of the Day Before is an immensely rich reservoir of philosophical knowledge. Numerous topics are discussed with Ecos typical flair and skill. A book

unlike any other, it remains true to the postmodern tradition of being not a single Island in itself. Instead of posing as a fully self sufficient, ordered, and meaningful text, it challenges the very attempt of a reader who is forever on a quest for the holy grail of meaning in whichever text s/he reads. No text is an island, each and every text is a hypertext (Daniel Chandler 199). Observe how in a postmodern text the very questioning of knowing or deciphering the text becomes a ridiculous one. The notion of intertextuality problematizes the idea of a text having boundaries and questions the dichotomy of inside and outside: where does a text begin and end? (Chandler 201). Where there are no absolutes being offered there is no scope for absolute meaning as such. Where boundaries are blurred and where the reading of a text is the reading of multiple texts, the illusionary nature of procuring meaning or knowledge vanishes. The only option which remains is the very act of reading and the acquiring of pleasure from the multiple readings of the text. In a postmodern work of fiction the very need to express or cite the debt to other works or texts is ignored. The myth of the author and his/her originality can thus be maintained to some extent. The ideology of individualism (with its associated concepts of authorial originality, creativity and expressiveness) is a post-Renaissance legacywhich still dominates popular discourse (Chandler 195). Thus efforts made by Eco to fragment his text, to present it in a state of chaos can thus be regarded as an attempt to create his own originality and unique identity from a state of chaos and meaninglessness.

This thesis analyzed spacetime and its various aspects regarding its claims as an oppressive grand narrative. The study also focused on scientific, philosophical and cultural discourses related to spacetime. It was promptly deduced that scientific and philosophical debates on spacetime paved the way for its simultaneous reflection in literature and its subsequent domination over the fictional universe. Special emphasis was also laid on the scrutinizing of the dominating presence of spacetime in fiction as it evolved through the ages from early romances to postmodern fiction. Through a brief yet illuminating survey, the study found the gradual decline of spacetime dominance over the narrative structure, style and presentation of a novel. The analysis of Ecos The Island of the Day Before provided wonderful insights on the nature of spacetime. The study also found answers to how Eco used postmodern methodologies, combined with semiotics and personal flair to expertly demolish spacetime in his novel. The concluding chapter attempted to draw reasons behind the chaotic, meaningless, and fragmented world being presented in the novel by Eco. It was found that the main concern for a postmodern man is not knowing or the finding of meaning but being itself and the questioning of being. The idea behind this thesis was mainly to find the Hows?, with minimal emphasis on the Whys?. The one great insight from this study is that sometimes the quest for the Hows? can be infinitely satisfying and enriching. Acknowledgements are due to the wonderful novel The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco which provided one everlasting message on the reading of texts and of life itself Expect nothing, Enter, and Be Amazed!