THE INTERVIEW

The lesson begins with the introduction to interview as a commonplace of journalism since its invention, which
was a little over 130 years ago. According to the author, it is not very surprising that people have very distinct
opinions about the usage of interview. Some think of it in its highest form whereas some people can’t stand being
interviewed.
An interview leaves a lasting impression and according to an old saying, when perceptions are made about a
certain person, the original identity of his soul gets stolen. Famous celebrities, writers and artists have been heard
criticising interviews. Rudyard Kipling’s wife wrote in her diary how their day in Boston was ruined by two
reporters. Kipling considers interviewing an assault, a crime that should attract punishment. He believes that a
respectable man would never ask or give an interview.
The second part is an excerpt from the interview between Mukund (from The Hindu newspaper) and Umberto
Eco, a professor at the University of Bologna in Italy who had already acquired a formidable reputation as a
scholar for his ideas on semiotics (the study of signs), literary interpretation, and medieval aesthetics before he
turned to writing fiction.
Umberto identifies himself as an academic scholar who attends academic conferences during the week and writes
novels on Sundays. It doesn’t bother him that he is identified by others as a novelist and not a scholar, because he
knows that it is difficult to reach millions of people with scholarly work. He believes there are empty spaces in
one’s life, just like there are empty spaces in atoms and the Universe. He calls them interstices and most of his
productive work is done during that time.
Talking about his novel, he mentions that it is not an easy-read. It has a detective aspect to it along with
metaphysics, theology and medieval history. Also, he believes that had the novel been written ten years earlier or
later, it would have not seen such a huge success. Thus, the reason for its success still remains a mystery.
The interview- two parts.
▸ In the first part, the narrator tells us about the reaction and views of celebrities towards an interview. Most
of the famous personalities find them to intrude on their personal lives and some have never given an
interview all their life.
▸ The theme of how the freedom of the press can curtail an individual’s privacy.
▸ The second part is an interview of the famous writer and academician Umberto Eco. Here we get to know
the various qualities of time management used by the famous writer. These help him gather so many
feathers in his hat.
▸ He gives the details of the various aspects which contribute to a person’s success.
▸ Respect people and their privacy.
▸ Treat others the way that you would want to be treated by others.
Concept checklist
1. Significance of interview as a means of communication.
2. Views of the chosen celebrated writers about interviews, with reference to their personal experiences.
3. Interview of Umberto Eco by Mukund Padmanabhan
4. Work ethics of an interviewer (Mukund Padmanabhan)
5. Courteous behavior of an interviewee – Umberto Eco
6. Eco as an Academician and a novelist
Question bank
1. Umberto Eco, made a deliberate attempt, to make complex ideas accessible to a wider audience, through
his writing style. Justify, your stance.
Eco’s writing style is strikingly different from that of the standard academic model. The academicians
first make thorough research, then move on to prove their hypotheses, and finally, give their conclusion
on that subject. The final outcome, therefore, comes out as tedious. Eco, on the other hand, tells the story
of his research, including his trials and errors, which is a lesson/learning for many, who read them. While
scholars usually use a very depersonalized tone in their writings, Eco’s style is playful and in the form of
a narrative, which gives a personal connect, to the readers.

2. Why did Umberto take to writing novels?

Umberto took to writing novels to satisfy his taste for narration. He did not have even a single novel to
his credit, till the age of 50. One day having nothing to do, he started writing a novel. Moreover, he
thought that novels have more readership and he could reach a larger audience.

3. What is the cause for the success of Eco’s novel, ‘The Name of the Rose’?
The reason for the huge success of the novel, according to Eco, is a mystery. Nobody can predict it. He
states that if he had written the novel ten years earlier or ten years later, it wouldn’t have been the same.
So, the time component, its narrative technique, its aspects of metaphysics, theology and medieval
history, made it a grand success.
4. Attempt a character sketch of Mukund Padmanabhan, the interviewer, from ‘The Hindu’.
Mukund was a very disciplined and dedicated interviewer.; prepared himself well about the personality he
was to interview – in other words, did his homework well! Kept up the ethics of an interviewer and did
not pose any embarrassing questions to the interviewee.
5. Does Eco want people to recognise him as an Academician or as a Novelist? Justify. Umberto Eco
considered himself an academic scholar, a university professor who wrote novels on Sundays. If
somebody said that he was a novelist, that bothered him. He participated in academic conferences and not
the meetings of Pen Clubs and writers. He identified himself with academic community.
6. Why does Christopher Silvester incorporate the perspectives of various writers and authors when
exploring the concept of an interview?
Christopher Silvester describes the viewpoints of other writers and authors to illustrate the diverse and
sometimes conflicting perspectives on interviews.
7. Provide evidence from one of the cited writers to justify your viewpoint.
For instance, by referencing writers like V. S. Naipaul, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, H. G. Wells, and
Saul Bellow, he highlights the range of opinions on interviews, from being seen as a source of truth and
art to being condemned as intrusive and damaging. This adds depth and context to the discussion of
interviews in his prose.
8. What are some of the positive views on interviews?
The positive views on interviews are that it is a medium of communication and a source of truth and
information. Some even look at it as an art. These days we know about the celebrities and others through
their interviews.

9. Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?

Most celebrity writers despise being interviewed because they look at interviews as an unwarranted
intrusion into their lives. They feel that it diminishes them. They feel that they are wounded by interviews
and lose a part of themselves. They consider interviews immoral and a crime, and an unwanted and
unwelcome interruption in their personal life.
10. What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?
Some primitive cultures consider taking a photographic portrait is like stealing the person’s soul and
diminishing him.

11. What do you understand by the expression ‘thumbprints on his windpipe’?

Saul Bellow once described interviews as being like ‘thumbprints on his windpipe’. It means he treated
interviews as a painful experience, as something that caught him by his windpipe, squeezed him and left
indelible thumbprints on that. It also means that when the interviewer forces personal details from his
interviewee, it becomes undesirable and cruel.

12. Who, in today’s world, is our chief source of information about personalities?
The interviewer is the chief source of information in today’s world. Our most vivid impressions of our
contemporaries are based on communication that comes from them. Thus, interviewers hold a position of
power and influence.

13. How does Eco find the time to write so much?

Eco humorously states that there are a lot of empty spaces in his life. He calls them ‘interstices’. There
are moments when one is waiting for the other. In that empty space, Eco laughingly states that he writes
an article. Then he states that he is a professor who writes novels on Sundays.

14. What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?

Umberto’s writings have an ethical and philosophical element underlying them. His non-fictional writing
work has a certain playful and personal quality about it. Even his writings for children deal with non-
violence and peace. This style of writing makes reading his novels and essays interesting and being like
the reading of most academic writings. His works are marked by an informal and narrative aspect.

15. Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar?
Umberto identified himself with the academic community, a professor who attended academic
conferences rather than meetings of Pen Clubs. In fact, he was quite unhappy that the people referred to
him as a novelist.

16. What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose?
The success of The Name of the Rose, though a mystery to the author himself, could possibly be because
it offered a difficult reading experience to the kind of readers who do not want easy reading experiences
and those who look at novels as a machine for generating interpretations. For the same reason, the sale of
his novel was underestimated by his American publishers, while the readers actually enjoyed the difficult
reading experience that was offered by Umberto Eco by raising questions about truth and the order of the
world.

17. What did Umberto Eco learn at the age of 22 that he pursued in his novels?
At the age of 22, Umberto Eco understood that scholarly books should be written the way he had done,
that is, they should be written by telling the story of the research. He means to say that they should have
the narrative technique. That’s why he started writing novels so late—at the age of 50.

18. How did Eco start writing novels?

Eco states that he started writing novels by accident. One day, he had nothing to do, so he started writing.
He felt that novels probably satisfied his taste for narration and he produced five novels, including the
famous The Name of the Rose.
19. Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar? Discuss briefly.
Umberto Eco considered himself an academic scholar, a university professor who wrote novels on
Sundays. If somebody said that he was a novelist, that bothered him. He participated in academic
conferences and not the meetings of Pen Clubs and writers. He identified himself with academic
community.

20. What makes Eco’s The Name of the Rose a very serious novel?
The Name of the Rose is a very serious novel. It is a detective story at one level but it also delves into
metaphysics, theology and medieval history. Due to these reasons, it was greatly received by the public.

21. Is Umberto’s informal style consciously adopted or natural?

Umberto’s doctoral thesis was a story of his research and a sum of his experience, his trials and errors.
The thesis was appreciated and published as a book. Umberto then developed on his taste for narration
and this narrative aspect lends an informal touch to all his essays and novels. It makes his style alive and
reading his works is not dry and boring like the reading of other academic works.

Worksheet

1. Explain Eco’s ‘interstice’.

2. Umberto Eco, with reference to "The Name of the Rose" says, “I think if I had written The Name of the
Rose ten years earlier or ten years later, it wouldn’t have been the same.” What could he have meant?
3. What makes an interview 'a source of truth'? State any one feature.
4. What is common between how celebrities feel about interviews and how primitive cultures viewed
photographic portraits?
5. Despite the drawbacks of the interview, it is a supremely serviceable medium of communication. Justify.

6. What, according to Umberto Eco, is one thing that he does through his various pieces of writing?