Hacia un Signo Compuesto: Aplicado a la Novela La ciudad de Cristal de Paul Auster

Abstract

This article presents a dialogue between two major theories of the sign: the linguistic sign proposed by Ferdinand de Saussure and the semiotic sign formulated by Charles Sanders Peirce. It argues that Saussure’s concept is somewhat hermetic, as it focuses exclusively on communication and the abstract system of language, whereas Peirce views the sign as a tool or medium for accessing knowledge, relying on reality to represent and understand it. Additionally, both theories operate within different theoretical frameworks, which hinders a comprehensive understanding of complex contemporary phenomena such as the simultaneous interaction of knowledge and communication. To address this limitation, the article proposes the new category of the composite sign, understood as a unit that simultaneously articulates the communicative (linguistic) and the cognitive (semiotic) dimensions of the sign, thereby overcoming the theoretical fragmentation between both approaches. The aim of the article is to propose this notion of the composite sign as an integrative category between the models of Saussure and Peirce, in order to apply it as an interpretative key to City of Glass by Paul Auster, thus demonstrating its hermeneutic potential and practical capacity for understanding reality.