In the Parisian semiotic school of A.J. Greimas, the actant scheme ( Fr. schéma actantiel ) is the fundamental universal narrative structure underlying any text . The actant scheme is a modified and generalized version of the “circles of action” from the “ Morphology of a Fairy Tale ” by V. Ya. Propp .
According to Greimas, there are six actant roles , or functions, combined into three pairs of binary oppositions: subject / object, sender / receiver, assistant / opponent. which together take into account all possible relationships in the story and in fact in general in the field of human activity.
The role of an antisubject can also be included in this scheme - a variant of the role of an opponent. These narrative roles can be performed by people, places, objects, or abstract concepts.
The scheme illustrates, above all, the mandatory relationship between the sender and the recipient. It is based on the desire to receive an object or obligation: the sender sends this desire to the recipient, after which the latter goes in search. Thus, the function of the sender is to induce the recipient to do something (faire faire), thereby turning it from a recipient into a subject.
On the other hand, the relationship between subject and object, also based on desire or need, is associated with a change in the existential state (faire être): its function is to transform a situation of lack or desire into a situation of sufficiency through connection with the object or separation from it. Thus, the desire to get an object becomes a key element of the whole scheme.