Themes (reputation, "el que diran", love & desire, authority & order, tradition, freedom) Flashcards
What problems did families living in rural Andalusia face?
Intense scrutiny from society and the Catholic church
What did Andalusian society place great value on?
Wealth, respectability, high social position
Why did Bernarda reject Martirio’s potential suitor?
Because his father was a farm labourer (“su padre fue gañán”); his lack of money and low social background was undesirable to Bernarda
How are respectability and social status demonstrated in the play?
The fact that the whole town went to the funeral and 200 women came to the house to pay their respects represents how the whole town respects Bernarda and her high social status
Bernarda finding faults with the house despite La Poncia and La Criada cleaning for hours represents her high social status and how everything must be perfect to upkeep her reputation
How is fake respect demonstrated in the play?
When La Poncia and La Criada insult Bernarda behind her back whilst everyone is at the funeral
What is the fear of “el qué dirán”?
The fear of what people might say about you (gossip and rumours); on the outside people appear respectable but behind closed doors they can be very critical (hypocrisy)
What is an example of “el qué dirán” in the play?
When La Poncia is gossiping about Paca la Roseta going away with a man on a horse
“Dicen que iba con los pechos fuera y Maximiliano la llevaba cogida como si tocara la guitarra. ¡Un horror!”
“They say she was going with her breasts out and Maximiliano was playing her like a guitar. A horror!”
How does Bernarda’s obsession with social acceptance affect her character?
She is so caught up with appearances that she ignores warning signs of happenings between Pepe and Adela
This is a major flaw in her character as this leads to the suicide of Adela
Even after Adela’s death, she is obsessed with her reputation and preserving her image, insisting that Adela died a virgin to prevent her from being considered an “easy woman”
What do the daughters and Maria Josefa desire most? (central theme of the play)
To be loved; having a loving and sexual partner without ulterior motives such as money or power
What purpose does Pepe el Romano serve in the play?
Although we never see him, he personalises the characters’ desire for love; since he is the only man around, they all obsess over him
Represents sexual desire and passionate love
What purpose does Maria Josefa serve in the play?
She represents how love is an emotion than can make us act irrationally; she seems to have dementia, she holds a sheep and pretends it is a baby, she wants to be free and get married by the sea shore
She represents how love is a natural feeling which makes us happy, and we shouldn’t repress it and lock it away in the way that Bernarda has locked Maria Josefa away
How is sisterly love (amor fraternal) represented in the play?
Through the scene of Amelia checking if Martirio has taken her medicine and the close relationship between the five sisters
What does the stallion kicking at the wall represent?
Represents gender inequality; the stallion is allowed to be freed to walk about and get fresh air, but the mares are strictly not to be let out
How does Bernarda impose authority and repression on her daughters?
She has a strict set of rules which prevent the daughters from true freedom (no lovers, no sexual relations, cannot leave the house for 8 years etc)
When they disobey her, she shouts at them or punishes them by hitting them with her walking stick (when Angustias was listening to the men on the patio and when Martirio stole the photo of Pepe)
How is Bernarda’s violent personality represented?
She easily becomes angry; the simple act of handing her a colourful fan infuriates her
She hits her daughters with her walking stick and bangs it on the ground to impose silence
