The+House+of+Bernarda+Alba

=The House of Bernarda Alba:= toc

Overview:
//The House of Bernarda Alba: A Drama of Women in the Villages of Spain// is the final theatrical work of the Spanish playwright, Federico García Lorca. According to the Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature, it was first produced in Buenos Aires in 1945.

Characters
**Bernarda** is widow who attempts to exercise absolute dominance over her daughters. She is obsessed with gossip. She always wants to know what the neighbors are up to, but is relentless with keeping up appearances so that the neighbors can’t talk about her. This is evidenced in several spots including not allowing her mother near the well so the neighbors won’t see her to demanding that everyone say that Adela died a Virgin. She is wealthy and thinks that she is better than everyone else in the town. She cites this as her reason for not marrying off her daughters. Her cane is similar to a queen’s scepter and her absolute power over the household.

**Poncia** – Poncia is the housekeeper for Bernarda. She is wise and level headed. This allows her to see the problems and trouble that are brewing in the household. She attempts to smooth things over at certain points by talking with Adela about the affair and trying to make Bernarda see the trouble that is brewing within the house.

**Angustias** – She is the eldest daughter. She inherited a fortune from her father, Bernarda's first husband. Her stepfather also left a sizeable portion of his estate to her, making Angustias the richest. She is the only one who can marry out of the house because the mourning period does not apply to her because Antonio was not her father. Angustias becomes engaged to Pepe el Romano, who is interested only in her money. Although aware of this, she's desperate to marry and be free of her oppressive mother. Her sisters describe her as the ugliest, and Poncia doubts she'll survive childbirth. Her name, Angustias, is derived from the Spanish word for "anguished."

**Magdalena-**Magdalena is hit the hardest by her father’s death. This is stated by Poncia and is evident in the opening when Magdalena is the only visibly distraught daughter. Magdalena is the Spanish name for Mary Magdalene. The Spanish phrase, "Llorar como una Magdalena" (To cry like Mary Magdalene) is used for someone who is always crying over something. ( sigificadoyorigen.wordpress.com) She is the only one who cries about her father's death and seems to be the most depressed over it.

**Amelia** –Amelia loves to gossip, a trait she inherited from Bernarda. This is seen when she is discussing Pepe and Angustias in Act two. She is quick to obey Bernarda.

**Martirio –** She is the only one to have had a relationship with a man. This, however, was ruined by Bernarda when she deemed the boy unfit for her daughter. She is smitten with Pepe el Romano, which leads to problems later including stealing his picture from Angustias and eventually telling on Adela out of jealousy. She is a cripple. Her name, Martirio, means Martyr in Spanish.

**Adela –** She is the youngest daughter of Bernarda at 20 years old. She is the only child to openly defy Bernarda’s oppression. When she breaks Bernarda’s cane, she is showing that she will not bend to Bernarda’s will. She is in love with Pepe el Romano which ends up destroying her. It is eventually revealed that Pepe has been staying at the house after he is done talking with Angustias to be with Adela. Adela has a love affair with him in the stable. When Adela thinks that Pepe was shotalthough he wasn’t, Adela hangs herself. **María Josefa –** She is Bernarda’s old, senile mother. She is the vocalization of the daughter’s thoughts and wishes. She is always yelling at Bernarda to let her out of her room, symbolic of the girls’ entrapment within the house. She also goes on about how she wants to marry and have a man, just like the daughters.

**Maid –** Another hired servant of Bernarda’s. She is revealed in the opening to be poor and a single mother. She despises Bernarda but keeps working to feed her child. It is implied that she had nonconsensual relations with Antonio María Benevides.

**Prudencia –** She is a friend of Bernarda’s who comes over for dinner. She makes the comment about Angustias’ engagement ring stone. She says that Pearls are a sign of tears and sorrow; foreshadowing the unhappy end to Angustias’ relationship with Pepe el Romano.

**Pepe el Romano –** He is Angustias’ fiancé and Adela’s lover. He is the driving force behind much of the strife within the household. He is only after Angustias for her money and is really in love with Adela. He is never seen in the play at all, but is a key plot figure because all of the daughters are attracted to him. Most notably Adela and Martirio.

Setting


The play takes place in an unnamed town in the arid southern region of Spain called Andalucia. The opening stage instructions read:

The bright white interior of Bernarda’s house. Thick walls. Arched doorways with canvas curtains edged with tassels and ruffles. Rush chairs. Paintings of non-realistic landscapes with nymphs and legendary kings. It is summer. Gary Benson’s Set design for the Production of “The House of Bernarda Alba” The whole setting gives the set the feel of a castle, a place where someone is in absolute control, such as Bernarda. The décor implies that Bernarda is wealthy, something that she mentions as a reason for not marrying off her daughters.

Themes
**Tragedy** – Adela’s reckless pursuit of what she can’t have leads to her ultimate demise.

**Women’s Oppression**– “ The atmosphere is clearly one of oppression and conflict”, says John P. Gabrielle. Bernarda’s orders keep the women doing traditional gender specific jobs. Bernarda says, “A needle and thread for females, a whip and mule for males.” (Zapata 206) The women must stay quiet and accept their fate and have no hope of change. When Adela tries to force the change, she pays for it with her life.

**Tradition** – Bernarda holds dear to the funeral rights. The eight year mourning period comes from her “father’s house and his father’s house.”

**Class** – Bernarda is a land owner; making her wealthier than most in the area. Meghan Joyce says that Bernarda’s upper-class status, “…Explains much of … Bernarda's disdain for lower class people.” Bernarda uses her wealth as an excuse as to why she is better than everyone. She sees the other villagers as unworthy of her daughters. This is the main reason that they are not married yet. Bernarda even ended Martirio’s relationship because she deemed the boy unworthy for her family. Poncia states that the family is only rich in relation to their neighbors, hinting that they perceive themselves as wealthier than they actually are. (Joyce)

**Reputation** – Bernarda is preoccupied the ideas of scandal and gossip. She loves to hear the scandal and gossip of her neighbors, but takes swift action to prevent her neighbors from doing the same. She orders the maid to not allow María Josefa near the well so the neighbors won’t see. When Adela hangs herself, “Her biggest concern when dealing with Adela's body at the end of the play is that the neighbors have woken up.” (Joyce) This proves her obsession with reputation as she is more worried about what the neighbors will say, rather than the death of her child.

Plot
Bernarda’s second husband, Antonio María Benevides, has just died, leaving Bernarda as the omnipotent ruler of the household. Bernarda imposes a mourning period of eight years in which none of her children, except Angustias, because Antonio was not her father, may leave the household. This hits Adela, the youngest child, harder than the others because she is the youngest and most desirable but, once the eight years are up, she will be too old to be married off. Adela says, “…This period of mourning has caught me at the worst possible time… I don’t want my body to dry up… I don’t want to waste away and grow old in these rooms… I want to get out.” (Dewell et al 220) This longing to escape causes her to be the only child to rebel against her mother. John P. Gabrielle says, “ She is the sole exception to the [submission given by] her sisters.” Gabrielle then points out that “For every one of Bernarda's despotic actions, Adela provides us with its rebellious counterpart.”  Eventually, Pepe el Romano is revealed to be courting the eldest daughter, Angustias. She is the only child of Bernarda’s first h usband. She has inherited wealth from her father, as well as her step-father, Antonio. Poncia says, “What a lot of money was left to Angustias… and to the others, so much less.” The wealth of Angustias is revealed to be the reason Pepe el Romano is after her hand. When Adela is shocked at P epe el Romano’s choice, Magdalena says, “Money makes anything possible.”  In act two, the children, minus Adela, and Poncia are sewing clothes and sheets for themselves and Angustias’ wedding. According to Ellen Horn, a Spanish literature teacher at Minisink high school, the courtship custom of the time was that the man would come to the window and chat with his girlfriend after the family had gone to sleep. The women are discussing how they heard Angustias and Pepe el Romano talking when Amelia says, “He… left about half past one.” But Poncia states that, “…I heard him leave around four o’clock”. This discrepancy implies that he has been staying later with someone else.  Eventually, Angustias storms into the room very distraught because someone took her photo of Pepe from her room. Bernarda order Poncia to check all of the girls’ rooms for the photo. returns saying that she found it in Martirio’s room. Martirio claims it was a joke and Bernarda believes her. After the girls leave, Poncia tries to get Bernarda to see that it wasn’t a joke and that the other girls are jealous and want Pepe. She says that Bernarda must intervene before it explodes. Bernarda insists that there is nothing wrong and that Martirio is telling the truth. In act three, Bernarda’s friend Prudencia is over for dinner. She asks to see Angustias’ engagement ring. She is shocked to see that it is a pearl ring rather diamonds. She says, “In my day… pearls meant tears.” (Zapata 266)

After dinner, Prudencia leaves and the girls go to bed. The maid and Poncia stay up later and clean up. Soon after, while they are cleaning, Adela comes back downstairs. She is surprised that the maid and Poncia are still up. She gets some water and goes back to bed. She later sne aks down and out of the house to the corral. When she comes back in, she runs into Martirio. Adela and Martirio begin to have a fight because both are smitten over Pepe el Romano. Their fight wakes up the whole house. When everyone comes downstairs, Martirio reveals that Adela has b een having an affair with Pepe in the Corral. The straw on Adela’s skirt confirms this rumor. In a final act of defiance, Adela snaps Bernarda’s cane. Out of rage, Bernarda goes back upstairs with Martirio and takes out a gun to shoot Pepe. When Martirio and Bernarda return, Martirio says, “There is no more Pepe el Romano.”, Adela runs into another room and hangs herself. Bernarda then demands that everyone say that her daughter died a virgin. =Works Cited= Benson, Gary C. "The House of Bernarda Alba - Scene Design." 22 April 2012. //The Theatrical Designs of Gary C. Benson.// Photo. 2u April 2013.

Encyclopedia Brittanica. "The House of Bernarda Alba." 2013. //Literary Reference Center.// Website. 29 March 2013.

Gabriele, John P. "Lierary Reference Center - Powered by EBSCOhost: Of Mothers and freedom: Adela." n.d. //Literary Reference Center.// Website. 27 March 2013.

Hirschman, Bill. "The House of Bernarda Alba is Flawed but Intriguing and Thought-Provoking Rendition." 13 October 2011. //Florida Theatre on Stage.// Photo. 28 April 2013.

Horn, Ellen. //Spanish Literature Instructor// Thomas Kellett. March 2008. Class.

Joyce, Meghan. //The House of Bernarda Alba Themes//. 12 October 2012. 19 April 2013.

King, Peter. "Fixed Wing Fisheries Surveillence." n.d. //Fixed Wing Fisheries website.// 9 December 2012.

Reid, Jacqueline. "Adela's Dream." 12 July 2012. //Jacqueline Reid: Creative Lighting for the Stage.// Photo. 28 April 2013.

Wordpress.com. "Significado y Origen de Expresiones de Hoy." 03 May 2010. //Wordpress.com.// 1 May 2013.

Zapata, Federico García Lorca. Trans. Michael Dewell and Carmen. //Three Plays//. London: Penguin, 1992. Book.

 Tom Kellett Wiki Spaces Article: The House of Bernarda Alba. //The House of Bernarda Alba: A Drama of Women in the Villages of Spain// is the final theatrical work of the Spanish playwright, Federico García Lorca. According to the Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature, it was first produced in Buenos Aires in 1945. The bright white interior of Bernarda’s house. Thick walls. Arched doorways with canvas curtains edged with tassels and ruffles. Rush chairs. Paintings of non-realistic landscapes with nymphs and legendary kings. It is summer. The whole setting gives the set the feel of a castle, a place where someone is in absolute control, such as Bernarda. The décor implies that Bernarda is wealthy, something that she mentions as a reason for not marrying off her daughters. **THEMES:** **Tragedy** – Adela’s reckless pursuit of what she can’t have leads to her ultimate demise. **PLOT:** Bernarda’s second husband, Antonio María Benevides, has just died, leaving Bernarda as the omnipotent ruler of the household. She wields total control over her children, Angustias, Magdalena, Amelia, Martirio and Adela; as well as the housekeeper Poncia and an unnamed maid. Bernarda imposes a mourning period of eight years in which none of her children, except Angustias, because Antonio was not her father, may leave the household. This hits Adela, the youngest child, harder than the others because she is the youngest and most desirable but, once the eight years are up, she will be too old to be married off. Adela says, “…This period of mourning has caught me at the worst possible time… I don’t want my body to dry up… I don’t want to waste away and grow old in these rooms… I want to get out.” (Dewell et al 220) This longing to escape causes her to be the only child to rebel against her mother. John P. Gabrielle says, “ She is the sole exception to the [submission given by] her sisters.” Gabrielle then points out that “For every one of ** Bernarda's ** despotic actions, Adela provides us with its rebellious counterpart.” Eventually, Pepe el Romano is revealed to be courting the eldest daughter, Angustias. She is the only child of Bernarda’s first husband. She has inherited wealth from her father, as well as her step-father, Antonio. Poncia says, “What a lot of money was left to Angustias… and to the others, so much less.” The wealth of Angustias is revealed to be the reason Pepe el Romano is after her hand. When Adela is shocked at Pepe el Romano’s choice, Magdalena says, “Money makes anything possible.” In act two, the children, minus Adela, and Poncia are sewing clothes and sheets for themselves and Angustias’ wedding. According to Ellen Horn, a Spanish literature teacher at Minisink high school, the courtship custom of the time was that the man would come to the window and chat with his girlfriend after the family had gone to sleep. The women are discussing how they heard Angustias and Pepe el Romano talking when Amelia says, “He… left about half past one.” But Poncia states that, “…I heard him leave around four o’clock”. This discrepancy implies that he has been staying later with someone else. Eventually, Angustias storms into the room very distraught because someone took her photo of Pepe from her room. Bernarda order Poncia to check all of the girls’ rooms for the photo. Poncia returns saying that she found it in Martirio’s room. Martirio claims it was a joke and Bernarda believes her. After the girls leave, Poncia tries to get Bernarda to see that it wasn’t a joke and that the other girls are jealous and want Pepe. She says that Bernarda must intervene before it explodes. Bernarda insists that there is nothing wrong and that Martirio is telling the truth. In act three, Bernarda’s friend Prudencia is over for dinner. She asks to see Angustias’ engagement ring. She is shocked to see that it is a pearl ring rather diamonds. She says, “In my day… pearls were for tears.” After dinner, Prudencia leaves and the girls go to bed. The maid and Poncia stay up later and clean up. Soon after, while they are cleaning, Adela comes back downstairs. She is surprised that the maid and Poncia are still up. She gets some water and goes back to bed. She later sneaks down and out of the house to the corral. When she comes back in, she runs into Martirio. Adela and Martirio begin to have a fight because both are smitten over Pepe el Romano. Their fight wakes up the whole house. When everyone comes downstairs, Martirio reveals that Adela has been having an affair with Pepe in the Corral. The straw on Adela’s skirt confirms this rumor. In a final act of defiance, Adela snaps Bernarda’s cane. Out of rage, Bernarda goes back upstairs with Martirio and takes out a gun to shoot Pepe. When Martirio and Bernarda return, Martirio says, “There is no more Pepe el Romano.”, Adela runs into another room and hangs herself. Bernarda then demands that everyone say that her daughter died a virgin.
 * CHARACTERS: Bernarda** is widow who attempts to exercise absolute dominance over her daughters. She is obsessed with gossip. She always wants to know what the neighbors are up to, but is relentless with keeping up appearances so that the neighbors can’t talk about her. This is evidenced in several spots including not allowing her mother near the well so the neighbors won’t see her to demanding that everyone say that Adela died a Virgin. She is wealthy and thinks that she is better than everyone else in the town. She cites this as her reason for not marrying off her daughters. Her cane is similar to a queen’s scepter and her absolute power over the household.
 * Poncia** – Poncia is the housekeeper for Bernarda. She is wise and level headed. This allows her to see the problems and trouble that are brewing in the household. She attempts to smooth things over at certain points by talking with Adela about the affair and trying to make Bernarda see the trouble that is brewing within the house.
 * Angustias** – She is the eldest daughter. She inherited a fortune from her father, Bernarda's first husband. Her stepfather also left a sizeable portion of his estate to her, making Angustias the richest. She is the only one who can marry out of the house because the mourning period does not apply to her because Antonio was not her father. Angustias becomes engaged to Pepe el Romano, who is interested only in her money. Although aware of this, she's desperate to marry and be free of her oppressive mother. Her sisters describe her as the ugliest, and Poncia doubts she'll survive childbirth. Her name is derived from the Spanish word for "anguished."
 * Magdalena-** Magdalena is hit the hardest by her father’s death. This is stated by Poncia and is evident in the opening when Magdalena is the only visibly distraught daughter.
 * Amelia** –Amelia loves to gossip, a trait she inherited from Bernarda. This is seen when she is discussing Pepe and Angustias in Act two. She is quick to obey Bernarda.
 * Martirio –** She is the only one to have had a relationship with a man. This, however, was ruined by Bernarda when she deemed the boy unfit for her daughter. She is smitten with Pepe el Romano, which leads to problems later including stealing his picture from Angustias and eventually telling on Adela out of jealousy. She is a cripple. Her name means Martyr in Spanish.
 * Adela –** She is the youngest daughter of Bernarda at 20 years old. She is the only child to openly defy Bernarda’s oppression. When she breaks Bernarda’s cane, she is showing that she will not bend to Bernarda’s will. She is in love with Pepe el Romano which ends up destroying her. It is eventually revealed that Pepe has been staying at the house after he is done talking with Angustias to be with Adela. Adela has a love affair with him in the stable. When Adela thinks that Pepe was shot, although he wasn’t, Adela hangs herself.
 * María Josefa –** She is Bernarda’s old, senile mother. She is the vocalization of the daughter’s thoughts and wishes. She is always yelling at Bernarda to let her out of her room, symbolic of the girls’ entrapment within the house. She also goes on about how she wants to marry and have a man, just like the daughters.
 * Maid –** Another hired servant of Bernarda’s. She is revealed in the opening to be poor and a single mother. She despises Bernarda but keeps working to feed her child. It is implied that she had nonconsensual relations with Antonio María Benevides.
 * Prudencia –** She is a friend of Bernarda’s who comes over for dinner. She makes the comment about Angustias’ engagement ring stone. She says that Pearls are a sign of tears and sorrow; foreshadowing the unhappy end to Angustias’ relationship with Pepe el Romano.
 * Pepe el Romano –** He is Angustias’ fiancé and Adela’s lover. He is the driving force behind much of the strife within the household. He is only after Angustias for her money and is really in love with Adela. He is never seen in the play at all, but is a key plot figure because all of the daughters are attracted to him. Most notably Adela and Martirio.
 * SETTING:** The play takes place in an unnamed town in the arid southern region of Spain called Andalucia. The opening stage instructions read:
 * Women’s Oppression**– “ The atmosphere is clearly one of oppression and conflict”, says John P. Gabrielle. Bernarda’s orders keep the women doing traditional gender specific jobs. Bernarda says, “A needle and thread for women, a whip and mule for men.” The women must stay quiet and accept their fate and have no hope of change. When Adela tries to force the change, she pays for it with her life.
 * Tradition** – Bernarda holds dear to the funeral rights. The eight year mourning period comes from her “father’s house and his father’s house.”
 * Class** – Bernarda is a land owner; making her wealthier than most in the area. Meghan Joyce says that Bernarda’s upper-class status, “…Explains much of … Bernarda's disdain for lower class people.” Bernarda uses her wealth as an excuse as to why she is better than everyone. She sees the other villagers as unworthy of her daughters. This is the main reason that they are not married yet. Bernarda even ended Martirio’s relationship because she deemed the boy unworthy for her family. Poncia states that the family is only rich in relation to their neighbors, hinting that they perceive themselves as wealthier than they actually are. (Joyce)
 * Reputation** – Bernarda is preoccupied the ideas of scandal and gossip. She loves to hear the scandal and gossip of her neighbors, but takes swift action to prevent her neighbors from doing the same. She orders the maid to not allow María Josefa near the well so the neighbors won’t see. When Adela hangs herself, “Her biggest concern when dealing with Adela's body at the end of the play is that the neighbors have woken up.” (Joyce) This proves her obsession with reputation as she is more worried about what the neighbors will say, rather than the death of her child.

Connie Pantazis as Adela snaps the can of Isabel Moreno as Bernarda Alba / Photos by Justin Namon for WorldRedEye.com / Courtesy of the Adrienne Arsht Center

 Gary Benson’s Set design for the Production of “The House of Bernarda Alba” for theSnow Black Box Theatre at Brigham Young University in Idaho.

 Adela shows off her uniqueness and non-conformity by wearing her green dress after Bernarda has mandated that only black may be worn.

=Works Cited= Benson, Gary C. "The House of Bernarda Alba - Scene Design." 22 April 2012. //The Theatrical Designs of Gary C. Benson.// Photo. 2u April 2013. Encyclopedia Brittanica. "The House of Bernarda Alba." 2013. //Literary Reference Center.// Website. 29 March 2013. Gabriele, John P. "Lierary Reference Center - Powered by EBSCOhost: Of Mothers and freedom: Adela." n.d. //Literary Reference Center.// Website. 27 March 2013. Hirschman, Bill. "The House of Bernarda Alba is Flawed but Intriguing and Thought-Provoking Rendition." 13 October 2011. //Florida Theatre on Stage.// Photo. 28 April 2013. Horn, Ellen. //Spanish Literature Instructor// Thomas Kellett. March 2008. Class. Joyce, Meghan. //The House of Bernarda Alba Themes//. 12 October 2012. 19 April 2013. Reid, Jacqueline. "Adela's Dream." 12 July 2012. //Jacqueline Reid: Creative Lighting for the Stage.// Photo. 28 April 2013. Zapata, Federico García Lorca. Trans. Michael Dewell and Carmen. //Three Plays//. London: Penguin, 1992. Book.