S/Z: An Essay Book by Roland Barthes (Farsi)

Description

"S/Z: An Essay" by Roland Barthes is a seminal work in literary theory. In this book, Barthes meticulously dissects the short story "Sarrasine" by Honoré de Balzac, using it as a case study to explore the mechanics of narrative and the process of textual interpretation. Barthes breaks down "Sarrasine" into 561 lexias, or units of meaning, each of which he analyzes in detail. He applies five codes—the hermeneutic, proairetic, semic, symbolic, and cultural codes—to these lexias to uncover the layers of meaning within the text. The hermeneutic code relates to the mystery and questions raised in the narrative, the proairetic code to the actions and sequences of events, the semic code to the connotations and themes, the symbolic code to the deeper symbolic meanings, and the cultural code to the references and knowledge the text assumes the reader possesses.