The genre of telenovelas is recognizable and popular, and remains a well-established practice of commercial television channels. With its characteristic conventions that shape the narrative, it is recognizable to a wider audience. Characteristic love stories, characters, and storytelling styles shape values and moral judgments about the world. In my dissertation I present how the binary structure of a female character is reflected through the genre of Mexican telenovelas. The representation of women in telenovelas stems from the ideology of marianismo, which refers to the social roles of women in Latin American culture. The binary division is represented by the dichotomy of the female virgin on the one hand and the adulteress on the other. The female character is thus divided into extremely good or bad, and the dichotomy is linked to Christian values and principles, reflected in telenovelas with elements of faith, the presence of the church in everyday life, the statue of Mary Guadalupe and the meaning of destiny in the context of divine commandments and teachings. The female character is presented as extremely good or evil, which affects the fate and final unfolding of the telenovela.
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