Private and Public Spaces – Semiotic Resources of Representing Women
Private and Public Spaces – Semiotic Resources of Representing Women

Summary/Abstract: A space is more than a paradigmatic choice of objects to be displayed within the geographical boundaries of a place. Thus, a space is the abode where a(n) (female) inhabiter projects her/his life into meaningful signs through a semiotic plunge into the past and/or the future. Having as theoretical background different semiotic theories (Greimas’s narrative semiotics, van Leeuwen’s social semiotics and Scollon & Scollon’s geosemiotics), various theories on space (E.T. Hall’s and A. Madanipour’s) and different models of semiotic analysis (Cmeciu’s textual semiotics and a semiotic approach to metaphor), the aim of our paper is to decode the semiotic journey performed by the main female character of the tale Stalker written by Patricia Duncker. Our analysis will focus on private spaces (a woman’s body seen as a space of horror and pleasure, the bed, the drawer, the kitchen) and public spaces (the office, the gym, the magazine cover, the TV screen).

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