Narrative and Semiotic Analysis of Divorcee's Portrayal in Iranian Cinema

This article is an attempt to explore the subject of divorcee in narrative and visual content of Iranian cinema. Therefore, by applying constructionist approach in Representation theory of Stuart Hall as the main theoretical framework and using Roland Barthes’ structural analysis of narrative and John Fiske’s semiotic analysis in three levels of reality codes, representation and ideology, Esterahate Motlagh and Nahid movies have been analyzed and evaluated.
The result of the paper showed that: 1. Both films have the three- part narrative structure, 2. The story take places in the urban space, 3. Crises that divorced woman is faced, make up the most important themes in movies, 4. Tactful woman is the most important type in both, 5. Showing patriarchy, wise woman in the face of irrational man and the predominance of evil over goodness, are the most important ideological issues which have been mentioned and portrayed in the movies.