Image Analysis of Female Protagonists and Imagery Appearing in a Fiction Series of Sri Ayutthaya Lady Detectives by Pongsakorn

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The objective of this research was to analyze the portrayal of female protagonists and imagery appearance in a fiction series of Sri Ayutthaya Lady Detectives by Pongsakorn, which includes the novels Lay Kinnaree, Lay Ratchasri, and Lay Hemmarach. This research is a documentary study that presents the findings through descriptive analysis. The analysis focused on four female protagonists: Pudson, Luk Chan, Sae, and Chao Jom Sarapee. The results indicate that all four characters are predominantly portrayed with qualities of intelligence and capability. The image of beauty is the next most common, found in three characters - Pudson, Luk Chan, and Sae-while moral virtue is the least emphasized, appearing in just two characters, Pudson and Luk Chan.

The research also revealed that the author most frequently employs visual imagery, followed by auditory imagery, olfactory imagery, imagery of sensations, tactile imagery, and imagery of movement, respectively. Taste imagery is the least found. The study concludes that Pongsakorn is a skillful writer who defy the female protagonists’ traditional norms of women in the Ayutthaya period and employs language to vividly convey the imagery in the narratives.