Stories of labyrinths: Umberto Eco’s semiotics in The Name of the Rose

Abstract This paper interrogates Umberto Eco’s conceptualization of labyrinths in The Name of the Rose by deploying his distinctions among the classic labyrinth, the maze (or Irrweg), and the rhizome. It demonstrates that the novel operates on three intertwined narrative levels: the plot, the reader’s experience, and the intertextual construction of the text. By mapping the archetypes of the naïve and critical readers onto the structural ambiguities of the library labyrinth, the analysis contends that Eco constructs a multifaceted semiotic network that foregrounds the inherent undecidability of meaning. Through close readings of key passages and a critical engagement with secondary literature, the study reveals how the labyrinthine model disrupts conventional narrative closure and opens up infinite possibilities for signification. Ultimately, this multilayered interpretation positions The Name of the Rose as a metatext that both embodies and critiques the processes of reading and interpretation, thereby advancing Eco scholarship and contributing to broader debates in semiotics.