Rethinking Characters with Semiotics

On the basis of a recognition semiotic theories on character, this paper aims to identify some cornerstones useful for developing theory transmedia characters. Firstly, we will reconstruct troubled fortune notion character in French structural semiotics which reduced it combinatorial conception, according identity relies first all fact being lexical unit that can be analyzed and decomposed, like phoneme, into series "distinctive features" (Lévi-Strauss) or "semes" (Barthes; Greimas). Greimas even rejects as useless idea splits concept dichotomy actant/actors, distinction between doing refers Aristotle privilege he conferred upon action. Hereafter focus two broader visions go beyond textual immanence: semio-pragmatic conception Philip Hamon—where effect produced by text is linked reader's memory synthesis—and socio-semiotic proposed Marrone, construction characters result combination intertextual relations. these developments, last part re-read observations nature developed Ferdinand de Saussure his still little known studies Germanic legends. Ultimately, Saussure's cultural construct may offer significant contribution transtextual study character.