VOICES WITH INTEGRITYA structural study on the portrayal of the female character in The Piano, The English Patient and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

The Piano

The analysis is broken down into models, where is one looking on denotative / connotative levels, while another is concerned with the dialectical dynamic in the story, eliciting the opposition on a culturally moral point of view. A third model is a simplistic, although effective, progression line examining the development of Ada and her status.

The first division is concerned with four visual signs that recur throughout the story, and therefore should be paid special attention to.

Denotation Connotation
Piano Voice
Wings Innocence
Axe Domination
Forest Corruption


The Piano can be seen as an indexical sign for Ada’s emotions. The way characters react to her way of playing suggests she communicates through the instrument. Aunt Morag makes the comment to Nessie (in the forest) that Ada’s playing is as a mood that creeps under one’s skin. Baines stops his advances on Ada when she breaks into a waltz by Chopin (at the fourth lesson)....