Fridge / The Name of the Rose

• The novel contains numerous digressions from its central mystery plot for Adso, the author of the book within the book, to reflect on such apparently unrelated issues as the theological questions and schisms faced by the Catholic Church at the time and his own struggles as a young novice. But of course it does. The story is narrated by a fourteenth century monk nearing the end of his life; why would it conform strictly to the generic conventions of a modern mystery novel, a form of literature which would not exist for another four hundred years or so?
  • Eco stated in the preamble that he found a (fictional) historical report of Adso, and used it as a basis for his novel. He claims (in-universe) that he changed the conventions of the story to fit a modern audience.
• In the prologue to the first episode in the 2019 miniseries, Adso is tempted by a camp follower that looks very much like the girl in the 1986 movie. He seemingly begins to undress, but when the girl approaches he puts on his monk robe, doing the opposite of what his Christian Slater self did in the movie. Furthermore, said camp follower has just slept with Adso's father. The miniseries is basically telling viewers that it is well aware of how things were done in the previous generation, but that it is putting its own spin and making something different as a result.