The House of Bernarda Alba

For the film adaptations, see The House of Bernarda Alba (disambiguation).
The House of Bernarda Alba
Written byFederico García Lorca
CharactersBernarda Alba (60)
María Josefa (80s)
Angustias (39)
Magdalena (30)
Amelia (27)
Martirio (24)
Adela (20)
Maid (50)
Poncia (60)
Criada (50)
Prudencia (50)
Beggar woman
Little girl
Women mourners
First woman
Second woman
Third woman
Fourth woman
Girl
Date premiered8 March 1945
Place premieredAvenida Theatre
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Original languageSpanish
GenreDrama

The House of Bernarda Alba (Spanish: La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with Blood Wedding and Yerma as the Rural Trilogy. Garcia Lorca did not include it in his plan for a "trilogy of the Spanish land" (which remained unfinished at the time of his murder).[1]

Garcia Lorca described the play in its subtitle as a drama of women in the villages of Spain. The House of Bernarda Alba was Garcia Lorca's last play, completed on 19 June 1936, two months before his assassination during the Spanish Civil War. The play was first performed on 8 March 1945 at the Avenida Theatre in Buenos Aires.[2][3] The play centers on the events of a house in Andalusia during a period of mourning, in which Bernarda Alba (aged 60) wields total control over her five daughters Angustias (39 years old), Magdalena (30), Amelia (27), Martirio (24), and Adela (20). The housekeeper (Poncia) and Bernarda's elderly mother (María Josefa) also live there.

The deliberate exclusion of any male character from the action helps build up the high level of sexual tension that is present throughout the play. Pepe "el Romano", the love interest of Bernarda's daughters and suitor of Angustias, never appears on stage. The play explores themes of repression, passion, and conformity, and inspects the effects of men upon women.

  1. ^ Maurer, Christopher. (1992). Introduction. Three Plays. By Federico García Lorca. Trans. Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata. London: Penguin. p. ix ISBN 0-14-018383-3.
  2. ^ Styan, J. L. (1981). Modern Drama in Theory and Practice: Volume 2, Symbolism, Surrealism and the Absurd. Cambridge University Press. p. 90. ISBN 052123-0683.
  3. ^ Londré, Felicia Hardison (1984). Federico García Lorca. Frederick Ungar Publishing Company. pp. 33. ISBN 080442540X.