Quote by Umberto Eco
The postmodern reply to the modern consists of recognizing that the past, since it cannot really be destroyed, because its destruction leads to silence, must be revisited: but with irony, not innocently. I think of the postmodern attitude as that of a man who loves a very cultivated woman and knows he cannot say to her, I love you madly, because he knows that she knows (and that she knows that he knows) that these words have already been written by Barbara Cartland. Still, there is a solution. He can say, As Barbara Cartland would put it, I love you madly.
Summary
This quote by Umberto Eco aims to explain the postmodern attitude towards revisiting the past. It suggests that the past cannot be completely destroyed and forgotten; rather, it must be acknowledged and examined with irony. Eco uses a metaphor of a man in love with a sophisticated woman to illustrate this point. The man wants to express his affection, but realizes that expressing it directly would lack originality. Instead, he cleverly references a well-known romance novelist, Barbara Cartland, to express his love indirectly and with a touch of irony. This highlights the postmodern approach of embracing and reinterpreting the past in a self-conscious manner.
By Umberto Eco
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