The device that gives the novel its title is a prominent motif for The Human Need for Meaning. From the moment it first appears, the characters look to the pendulum for answers to the mysteries that surround them. In Part 1, Chapter 1, for instance, Casaubon marvels at the mechanics of the pendulum as a sign of the universe’s existence around a fixed point or origin, such as a divine being or a cosmic force. He knows that coming to the pendulum will also help him to resolve the mystery of his friend Belbo’s journey to Paris, which is why he chooses to hide in the Musée des Arts et Métiers and return to the pendulum after closing time.

In Part 5, Chapter 37, Belbo describes the pendulum as a sign of hope for his generation, which became disillusioned with the world after living through Italian Fascism in World War II. He draws meaning from the pendulum because it gives him something to believe in, even if that thing is the existence of God: “The idea that everything else is in motion and up above is the only fixed point in the universe [...] For those who have no faith, it’s a way of finding God again, and without challenging their unbelief, because it is a null pole” (235-36). Belbo is not necessarily seeking religion, but based on the context of his childhood experience with divine truth, he is seeking the simplicity of a world that is beautiful for its own sake.

The pendulum becomes the device of Belbo’s death, which also underscores its function as a motif. The occultists hang Belbo from the middle of the string, then push the bell to force it to reveal the location of the Templars’ final secret. The physics of the pendulum transform Belbo into a new fixed point of suspension, symbolically reflecting his invention of the Plan into the fixed point around which the occultists search for meaning.