The last happy marriage: a peculiar representation of women in soap operas

Abstract

In the last few years, despite major breakthroughs in the access to information and education,
the representation of women in the media seems to have remained in a stereotyped image of
old. A particular example of this appears in telenovelas, which constitute a crucial element in the
formation of women’s identity, but tend to suggest images ranging in an easily identifiable “good/
evil” binomial, without regard for a person’s complex nuances. However, there are examples
showing an attempt to move beyond such frames. One of them is the Colombian telenovela
El último matrimonio feliz (The last happy marriage), starting from a social fact (the increasing
number of failing marriages) to portray, in a more realistic way, women who have to overcome
such a situation.