The House of Bernarda Alba: Lorca’s Exploration of Repression
Federico García Lorca: Life, Context, and Literary Contributions
Historical and Literary Context
Born in Fuente Vaqueros, Spain, into a wealthy family, Lorca studied Bachillerato and law in his city. Between 1919 and 1928, he resided in the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid, a hub of cultural exchange. There, he formed friendships with Salvador Dalí, Rafael Alberti, and other prominent figures. He traveled to New York from 1929 to 1930 and later to Cuba. As director of the university theater group La Barraca, he introduced innovative theatrical elements like puppets and folk dances.
Lorca’s artistic peak coincided with a turbulent period in Spain, marked by the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the Second Republic, and the Spanish Civil War. Despite the political turmoil, this era was culturally vibrant, witnessing an explosion of avant-garde artistic movements, including Surrealism, with which Lorca experimented in some of his works.
Lorca’s poetics aligned with the Generation of ’27, a group of influential Spanish poets. His theatrical work culminated in the “Rural Trilogy”: Blood Wedding, Yerma, and The House of Bernarda Alba. The latter, subtitled “Drama of Women in the Villages of Spain,” depicts the oppressive atmosphere in rural Spain before the Civil War. Lorca completed the play in June 1936, amidst the escalating tensions that led to the war. Notably, he did not align himself with any specific political faction of the time.
Lorca and Theater
Lorca’s theater aimed to reform social consciousness, challenging societal norms and political inaction. His plays explored social issues, showcasing human emotions, passions, mistakes, triumphs, and critiques. He emphasized a dramatic language infused with lyricism.
Lorca envisioned theater as a total spectacle, integrating text, poetry, acting, music, dance, and scenery. These elements played a crucial role in his innovative approach to theater.
Puppet Shows and Tragic Farces
In his early career, Lorca wrote puppet plays and children’s theater, exploring themes like the conflict between authority and freedom. He also penned tragic farces like The Shoemaker’s Prodigious Wife and The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden. The Shoemaker’s Prodigious Wife (1930) satirizes the forced marriage of a young woman to an old man. The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden (1931) tackles the issue of age disparity in marriage.
Avant-Garde Comedy and Impossible Theater
Lorca’s avant-garde plays, influenced by Surrealism, delve into the hidden instincts of humanity. The Public champions love as an uncontrollable instinct and critiques a society that condemns nonconformity.
Rural Dramas
In the 1930s, Lorca wrote plays that achieved commercial success, including The House of Bernarda Alba. These plays share a common theme: the marginalization of women in society. Blood Wedding and Yerma are tragedies that blend prose and verse, employing a chorus reminiscent of Greek tragedy. Blood Wedding explores themes of love, violence, and fate. Yerma addresses infertility and the oppression of women. Doña Rosita the Spinster is an urban drama about a single woman condemned to a life of unfulfilled love in a stifling bourgeois environment. The House of Bernarda Alba is often considered Lorca’s theatrical masterpiece.
Study of The House of Bernarda Alba
Thematic Analysis
Lorca’s theater consistently reflects tensions between authority and freedom, reality and desire, natural instincts and social norms, and repression and rebellion. These clashes lead to the characters’ frustration and their inability to achieve freedom.
The themes explored in The House of Bernarda Alba make it a universal drama, as it deals with fundamental human emotions and experiences. The play examines honor and social prejudices, particularly affecting women in a repressive era. It highlights the role of women in a patriarchal society, the constraints of traditional morality, social pressure, and classism. The play also conveys a sense of existential pessimism, suffocation, and anguish.
Dramatic Structure
The play follows the classical three-act structure: introduction, rising action, and resolution.
Space
The action unfolds in two primary locations: the interior and exterior of Bernarda Alba’s house. The house, a confined and enclosed space, carries negative connotations of hell and prison. Time seems to stand still within its walls. The house represents concealment, silence, and imprisonment. The outside world, initially perceived as a space of freedom, is revealed as equally cruel, a source of sexism and rumors conveyed by neighbors and servants.
Time
The play’s action likely spans several hot summer days, but Lorca avoids specific time references, creating a sense of timelessness within the house. The lack of temporal markers reinforces the feeling of stagnation and punishment for Bernarda’s daughters.
Parallel Stories
The play features parallel stories, with events outside the house mirroring those within. This reinforces the play’s circular structure, beginning and ending with death (the death of Bernarda’s husband and the suicide of Adela).
Movement and Rhythm
The play alternates between slow and explosive rhythms, creating a dynamic contrast. The dialogue flows naturally and spontaneously, enhancing the movement of characters and the development of scenes. Each act concludes with a moment of heightened dramatic intensity: Josefa’s confinement, the near-lynching of the maid’s daughter, and Adela’s suicide.
Sound and Lighting
Sound effects and lighting play a significant role in creating atmosphere. Lorca skillfully utilizes these elements to enhance the impact of the scenes on the audience.
Symbolism
The play is rich in symbolism. The house and the outside world become almost characters themselves. Other symbols include water, the cane fields, Bernarda’s cane, the stallion, and colors. Adela’s green dress represents freedom, while the contrast between white (false appearances of purity) and black (death) underscores the play’s themes. The stark contrast between black and white has led some to describe the play as a photographic documentary.
Character Analysis
The characters in The House of Bernarda Alba are realistic and psychologically complex. They embody authentic human emotions and struggles. Lorca extends the play’s symbolism to the characters’ names, which often reflect their personalities or roles in the drama. The women in the house represent various attitudes: repression, resignation, envy, and rebellion.
Bernarda Alba
Bernarda embodies a rigid social and moral code based on land ownership, marriage, family unity, and tradition. She represents authority and the oppressive force of social norms. Her language is prescriptive and controlling, reflecting her dominance over her daughters.
The Daughters
Lorca emphasizes the daughters’ ages to highlight how their perspectives are shaped by their individual experiences. They represent a spectrum of responses to Bernarda’s authority, ranging from submission to rebellion. Angustias, the eldest, desires marriage for financial security. Magdalena embodies resignation and despair. Amelia is timid and fearful. Martirio is consumed by envy and resentment. Adela, the youngest, yearns for love and freedom.
María Josefa
Bernarda’s mother, María Josefa, appears to be senile but her seemingly nonsensical words often reveal the hidden anxieties and desires of the other characters. She represents a tragic figure trapped by societal expectations.
La Poncia
La Poncia, the housekeeper, serves as a link between Bernarda and her daughters. She embodies both submission and resentment towards Bernarda’s authority. She offers a critical perspective on the events unfolding in the house.
Pepe el Romano
Pepe el Romano, the unseen suitor, represents a symbol of love, freedom, and sexuality that remains unattainable for Bernarda’s daughters.
Servants and Neighbors
The servants and neighbors act as a chorus, commenting on the action and providing insights into the social environment.
Style
Lorca employs a realistic and direct language, interspersed with moments of heightened lyricism. The dialogue is often concise, with short and rapid exchanges that intensify the dramatic tension.
The House of Bernarda Alba remains a powerful and enduring work of theater, exploring themes of repression, rebellion, and the struggle for freedom in a patriarchal society. Lorca’s masterful use of language, symbolism, and character development creates a compelling and tragic portrayal of human experience.