Nov 16, 2009

The House of Bernarda Alba | Introduction

The House of Bemarda Alba is Federico Garcia Lorca's last play, written the year he was killed at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. The play, along with Blood Wedding and Yerma, forms a trilogy expressing what Lorca saw as the tragic life of Spanish women. These late works Dennis Klein in Blood Wedding, Yerma, and The House of Bernardo Alba called "the most accomplished and mature efforts of the finest Spanish playwright of the twentieth century." If Blood Wedding is a nuptial tragedy and Yerma the tragedy of barren women, The House of Bemarda Alba might be seen as the tragedy of virginity, of rural Spanish women who will never have the opportunity to choose a husband. It is also a play expressing the costs of repressing the freedom of others.

The House of Bemarda Alba finally had its stage premiere nearly a decade after Lorca's death. The play was produced in Buenos Aries in 1945, and was published the same year, in Argentina. The play later had important productions at the ANTA Theater, New York, in 1951 and the Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, England, in 1952. In 1960 it was adapted for American television and in 1963 produced at the Encore Theater in San Francisco. Given the repression of artistic expression in Spain during Franco's regime, it was not until 1964 that Lorca's last play was finally produced in his native country, at Madrid's Goya Theatre. The House of Bemarda Alba continues to be revived and read all over the world. Its setting is specific to the values and customs of a rural Spanish people, but the play's appeal is universal rather than national. In the United States, the play has been enjoyed in both English and Spanish productions.

The House of Bernarda Alba Summary

Act I
The action opens in a "very white room in Bernarda Alba's house.'' Bells toll for the funeral of Bernarda's second husband. The housekeeper, La Poncia, speaks with a maid about Bernarda and her family. La Poncia reports that one of the daughters, Magdalena, fainted during the funeral service. Magdalena is the only one who loved her father, La Poncia explains. Maria Josefa, Bernarda's mother, calls from within, where apparently she has been locked-up against her will. La Poncia laments Bernarda's treatment of the servants, cursing her with the "pain of the piercing nail." After La Poncia exits, a beggar woman and a little girl appear, but the maid drives them away. The servant hears the bells tolling and curses Bernarda's dead husband: "You'll never again lift my skirts behind the corral door!" The mourning women begin entering until the room is full. The servants now wail, putting on a show of grief for Antonio's passing. Bernarda and the five daughters enter, and Bernarda says a prayer for her dead husband.

The mourning women depart, and Bernarda curses what she sees as their hypocrisy: "Go back to your houses and criticize everything you've seen." Bernarda explains to her daughters that they will mourn for eight years, during which "not a breath of air will get in this house from the street." The grandmother calls again, and Bernarda orders a servant to let her out Bernarda strikes Angustias, the oldest daughter, upon learning that she has been looking out the cracks in the door at the men departing the funeral. La Poncia comforts Angustias as Bernarda orders everyone but her maid out of the room. Bernarda questions La Poncia about the men Angustias was watching. La Poncia then expresses concern about the daughters, who are growing older and not finding husbands. Bernarda feels she's being protective: "For a hundred miles around there's no one good enough to come near them." Bernarda leaves, ordering her servants to work.

Amelia and Martirio enter. They discuss Martirio's poor health, and the fact that their neighbor Adelaida did not attend the funeral (apparently because her boyfriend will not let her out in public). After speaking more about Adelaida's difficulties, Martirio concludes: "It's better never to look at a man." Magdalena enters, deep in mourning. The three sisters discuss the talk of the town, that Pepe el Romano intends to ask their sister Angustias to marry him. Martirio and Amelia are happy about this news, but Magdalena is more cynical, feeling that Pepe is only interested in Angustias for her money. Adela enters, and hearing the news of Angustias's suitor first grows depressed, then defiant and angry. "I'm thinking," she says, "that this mourning has... » Complete The House of Bernarda Alba Summary