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Concept
Foucault's Pendulum
Summary
Foucault's Pendulum (original title: Il pendolo di Foucault il ˈpɛndolo di fuˈko) is a novel by Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco. It was first published in 1988, and an English translation by William Weaver appeared a year later.
Foucault's Pendulum is divided into ten segments represented by the ten Sefiroth. The satirical novel is full of esoteric references to Kabbalah, alchemy, and conspiracy theory—so many that critic and novelist Anthony Burgess suggested that it needed an index. The pendulum of the title refers to an actual pendulum designed by French physicist Léon Foucault to demonstrate Earth's rotation, which has symbolic significance within the novel. Some believe that it refers to Michel Foucault, noting Eco's friendship with the French philosopher, but the author "specifically rejects any intentional reference to Michel Foucault"—this is regarded as one of his subtle literary jokes.
The book opens with a man named Casaubon hiding in the Musée des Arts et Métiers after closing. He believes that a secret society has kidnapped his friend Jacopo Belbo and is now after him, and will meet in the museum. As he waits, Casaubon reflects on his life that led him there, but it is implied that he is an unreliable narrator whose mind has been warped by conspiracy theories.
In the 1970s Milan, Casaubon, who as a student had participated in the 1968 uprisings, is studying the Knights Templar when he meets Belbo and his colleague Diotallevi. Belbo works as an editor in a publishing house and invites Casaubon to review a manuscript about the Templars. The manuscript, by Colonel Ardenti, claims he discovered a secret plan of the Templars to take over the world. Ardenti mysteriously vanishes after meeting with Belbo and Casaubon. Casaubon moves to Brazil to pursue a relationship with a woman named Amparo and meets Agliè, an elderly man who implies that he is the mystical Comte de Saint-Germain. Casaubon's relationship with Amparo falls apart after attending an Umbanda rite and he returns to Milan, where he is hired by Belbo's employer, Mr.
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