From Structural Semantics and Narrative Semiotics to the Semiotics of Passions : A Semiotic Study of the Projects of Greimas, The Paris School, and Fontanier

Abstract

This study provides a semiotic reading of narrative texts, focusing on the Paris School of the 1960s, particularly Greimas’ structural semantics and its evolution toward Fontanier’s semiotics of passions. It examines the philosophical, linguistic, and cognitive foundations of this approach, analyzing key concepts such as narrative programs, state utterances, and transformations. The research explores passions from basic sensations to narrative realization, highlighting their role in connecting self and world. Pathemic roles and human emotions, including jealousy, anger, and miserliness, are illustrated through literary examples. The methodology links textual structures to narrative embodiment, offering a coherent and conceptually sound interpretation. This study serves as a concise yet comprehensive reference in both narrative semiotics and the semiotics of passions.