Symbolic Language Of The Constructions Of Fantasy Within The European Medieval Society In Lily Murray’s Novel Sleeping Beauty
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34050/els-jish.v9i2.52295Keywords:
Symbolic Language, Fantasy, Roland Barthes, Sleeping BeautyAbstract
This study aims to analyse symbolic language in the construction of fantasy in Lily Murray’s novel Sleeping Beauty using Roland Barthes’s theory of semiotics. The study focuses on the representation of magical elements and curses as literal signs, as well as the function of symbolic language in constructing fantasy. The method used is qualitative research with a semiotic approach. Data in the form of words, phrases, sentences, and descriptions containing fantasy symbols are analysed through two stages: the primary modelling system (denotation) and the secondary modelling system (connotation and myth). The results of the study indicate that symbols such as a green light, a spinning wheel, a spindle, a prick, a curse, a green flame, thorns, the dragon’s roar, transformation, a kiss, spun gold (golden hair), a bird, lightning, a shadow, and fire function as literal signs that construct the fantasy world. At the connotative level, these symbols extend beyond their literal meanings and function as cultural myths commonly found in fairy tales and fantasy narratives, such as representing fate, punishment, transformation, and danger. These findings indicate that the fantasy in Sleeping Beauty is constructed through a system of signs that reflects the cultural values and imagination of medieval European society.
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