Plot Flashcards
How long is the mourning period of Bernarda’s second husband?
8 years
Act 1 summary
Funeral of Bernarda’s second husband (Antonio Maria Benavides)
La Poncia and La Criada gossip about Bernarda and her 5 daughters
Bernarda gets angry at Adela for giving her a colourful fan and disrespecting the mourning period
Bernarda declares 8 years of mourning, the daughters cannot leave the house and must focus on domestic chores
We hear the voice of Maria Josefa, Bernarda’s 80 year old mother, shouting “Bernarda!”
Adela wears a green dress to refuse the mourning period
Maria Josefa escapes from her room
Act 2 summary
La Poncia and the daughters (minus Adela) are sewing/embroidering and talking about Pepe el Romano
Angustias says Pepe left at 1:30am but La Poncia says she didn’t hear him leave until 4am (suspicious)
When Adela and La Poncia are alone on stage, La Poncia reveals that she knows Pepe and Adela met the previous night, telling Adela to be patient and wait for Angustias to die in childbirth for Pepe to be hers
Adela rejects her advice and La Poncia threatens to reveal the secret to Bernarda
Martirio is found guilty of stealing a photo of Pepe from Angustias’ room; she says it was just a joke
Bernarda hits her with the stick
La Poncia tells Bernarda about Pepe and Adela
Adela clutches her stomach (suspicious; is she pregnant?) after finding out that the daughter of La Librada killed her illegitimate baby
Act 3 summary
The family is eating with Prudencia, one of Bernarda’s friends, and discussing the wedding
Angustias reports that Pepe seemed distracted at the window (reja) as if he was holding something back
Angustias says Pepe told her he will not be coming to the window tonight
Maria Josefa appears holding a lamb, singing about childbearing and freedom
Martirio and Adela fight over Pepe
A whistle is heard outside; Pepe is at the window to see Adela, he lied to Angustias
Adela tries to run to the door, Martirio stops her, they fight again
Bernarda vents her anger on Adela, but Adela breaks her stick in half as an act of rebellion, saying “Pepe is my only master”
Bernarda grabs her shotgun, runs outside and a shot is heard offstage, Pepe is supposedly dead
Adela runs off stage distraught
We find out that Pepe did not in fact die, he instead fled on his horse
However, it is too late, Adela has already hung herself and died
Bernarda insists Adela died a virgin, demands the daughters to stop crying and that they should keep silent about what happened
When and where is the play set?
In a rural Andalucian village (Andalucia lorquiana) in 1936
