Semiotics and the Memory of Objects: An Evaluation of Serdar Somuncu’s Getrennte Rechnungen in the Context of connotative Signifier

Objects, as signs, are included in the set of signifiers and carry meaning. Signs can convey their own meaning, but sometimes they also have a deeper meaning waiting to be interpreted. The meaning that the subject attributes to the object that surrounds him/her creates a social and cultural memory of the object, and the society and cultural level to which the subject belongs plays an important role in understanding and interpreting the sign. However the ground of experience and memory of the subject towards objects can also constitute an indicator of the deep meaning it gives to objects. At this point, the French semiotician Roland Barthes underlines that one should endeavor to find out what the semiotic signifiers of objects might be, otherwise the object will not be meaningful by definition. Interested in objects in the context of memory, Jan Assmann argues that the subject coexists with the things that surround it, from everyday utensils to towns, roads to vehicles, and emphasizes that the world of objects in which the subject lives has a time signifier that points not only to the present but also to its past. Considering that the signifiers of literary texts in particular can contain multiple meanings, it shouldn’t be ignored that every text needs a second process and that this process is interpretation. In this context, the aim of the study is to analyze the memory of objects in Getrennte Rechnungen in the context of the connotation with reference to Roland Barthes.