Lorca’s ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ and Moratín’s ‘The Maidens’ Consent’: A Literary Analysis
Lorca’s *The House of Bernarda Alba*: A Premonition of Tragedy
The House of Bernarda Alba is another of the dramatic peaks of Federico García Lorca. As seen in many poets of other movements, it has a premonitory meaning, printed a month before the Spanish Civil War broke out and two months before Lorca was killed. The reason for his death is the same that leads Bernarda Alba to Adela’s suicide: the abuse of authority.
Genre
Although the work is subtitled “Drama of Women in the Villages of Spain,” the question arises whether it is a tragedy in line with *Blood Wedding* and *Yerma*. Features common to the three works are not lacking:
- a) They are carried out by women.
- b) The sexual element is the engine of the action.
- c) They have a tragic ending (death).
- d) They are set in the Andalusian countryside.
However, in *The House of Bernarda Alba*, there is no mixing of prose and verse (there are only two small prose and songs), there is no choir or symbolic characters. It is therefore a “drama” (tragedy and comedy) near the supposed realism that Lorca wanted to give the work. It is a good work, brief but full of content that can be used to draw moral conclusions, reaching the target set by the author of a photographic document. It shows an inland Spain, from which few things should be but memories, and a family like I imagine the north of Andalusia or Extremadura by the strong character of its inhabitants. This book shows us perfectly as were the families then and how much influence the opinion of the society had in the decisions of a family.
Moratín’s *The Maidens’ Consent*: A Neoclassical Comedy
The Maidens’ Consent by Leandro Fernández de Moratín is a neoclassical comedy of the 18th century. It was published in 1805, premiered in 1806, and banned by the Inquisition in 1815. It is considered Moratín’s most important work.
Abstract
The play is structured in three acts that correspond to the exposition, climax, and resolution, respecting the law of the three unities.
Theme
The play deals with the theme of unequal marriages, also treated by Cervantes in *Don Quixote*, but with a new approach.
Style
There are few characters: four men and three women. The topic is of interest, criticizing the custom of parents deciding their daughters’ marriages and the wrong education they were given. The language is uncomplicated, reflecting the style of the era, full of colloquialisms, *laísmo*, and *leísmo*. The story is realistic.
Personal Opinion
I have to say I struggled a bit to finish. The language of the time, somewhat smooth, was hard to get the hang of, so I got stuck a lot. Otherwise, it was very good. I found the story very interesting, realistic, and understandable. I was entertained for a while with the first part of my edition, which is a little biography of the author, Leandro Fernández de Moratín, and the problems he went through (censorship of the Inquisition) to represent this play. It took me a while to finish, and it was somewhat heavy, but it was not bad. Just over half the book (150 pages) tells the story of the car, well-marked with annotations. The publisher’s explanations of some references that may become a bit complicated to understand should be noted. Francisca’s refusal, the young protagonist, is clear and sharp. Although such marriages are the order of the day, she rebels against society (especially against her mother) to decide her own future.