Section VIII - Chapter 5 181 - 196 Summary and Analysis

The first essay of this section is titled "Two Families of Objects". Eco opens this essay discussing the Milan Trade Fair. He suggests that this fair is in a sense a "temple" at which the semiotic signs of consumerism may be studied. He continues with commentary from Karl Marx implying that these centers are the very places in which the goods that are being sold actually lose all value.

Eco states that all of the objects for sale represent a kind of "undifferentiated desire". He describes two types of objects. The first is the "beautiful" object, one that is coveted perhaps and at least moderate attainable. These objects are singular in the sense that the consumer only wants or needs one. The other kind of objects are those like machines or equipment that...