The Good, the Bad and the Ugly! A Paradigmatic Analysis of Adultery Trope Variances in Movies

Abstract

To investigate sexist variances in narrative devices (or tropes) embedded in Malayalam movies, concerning portrayal of adultery, a semiotic analysis employing the Paradigmatic tradition is used. The analysis identifies and characterises three typical adultery tropes: the good adultery (between a married man and an unmarried woman who is in a long-term relationship with the adultering partner), the bad adultery (between a married man and a woman with unclear marital status, one who is engaged in flesh trade or an unmarried woman who is in a short-term relationship with the adultering partner); and the ugly adultery (between a [married or unmarried] man and a married woman in a short-term relationship). Gender discrimination is identified in these variations, about the roles the man and woman assume in the adultery, characterisation of them and their affairs, fabrication of narratives and the responses of the spouses (from acceptance and accommodation to rejection and revenge).