Concise analytical notes which analyse the major themes in the play - generational conflict, gender roles, physical and emotional isolation, blame, humanity in nature, greed and the exchange of information. Ideal for students planning to answer the exam question about the whole play. I'd recommend ...
Bodas de sangre model essay about women in the play
Bodas de sangre characters and key quotes notes
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Spanish - Literature
Unit 19 - Cultural life/heritage (9781)
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Bodas de sangre Major Themes
Generational conflict
Although the most prominent conflict in Blood Wedding is between the Bridegroom and
Leonardo Felix, generational conflict plays a subtler and more insidious role in the tragic
events. The Bride rebels openly against the social mores of her parents' generation; her
actions can be read as a response to feeling trapped by the limited prospects that a woman
had at this place and time. Although he is a man, the Bridegroom is similarly constrained,
constantly having to explain his life decisions to Mother, who cannot understand why he
would take the risk of associating with Leonardo Felix's former love. Although he tries to
incorporate Mother into his life, allowing her to live with himself and the Bride, she refuses,
clinging adamantly to the past, as represented by her house near the cemetery.
Gender roles
In Blood Wedding, García Lorca presents several opposing views of women's proper role in
society. Mother and the Mother-in-Law both advocate for women being cloistered behind
"thick walls" after marriage, for their personal safety as well as to preserve their fragile
psyches. The Bride feels constrained by the obligation to marry at all, let alone to be sealed
away from society for the rest of her days. Although she does not love the Bridegroom, she
appreciates that he will be a good husband and provider, but marrying for either wealth or
pure sexual passion seems unpleasant to her. The Bride's struggle to find a middle way
ultimately proves fruitless, and her excruciating dilemma is representative of the situations
of many rural women in similarly untenable situations.
Physical and emotional isolation
The characters in the play frequently discuss the isolation of the Bride's farmhouse from the
rest of the town. Similarly, the Neighbour mentions that Mother only rarely leaves her own
house to visit friends or do errands. The physical isolation of the play's female characters
reflects their emotional alienation--in Mother's case, due to the murders of her husband and
son, and in the Bride's case, due to the pressure to marry.
Blame
Leonardo and Mother both tend to fixate on blame as a way to cope with their bitterness
about how their lives have turned out. Neither, though, directs the blame in productive or
even accurate directions; Mother believes that knives are responsible for her loss of her
husband and son, and Leonardo rapidly shifts the blame for his bad marriage to various
people around him. Similarly, the Bride frequently lashes out at her Servant due to her
frustration about the impending marriage. The characters cannot correctly identify the
sources of their problems, and thus forgiveness is out of the question.
Humanity in nature
The repressive social norms of the rural town are often contrasted with the raw, emotional
state of nature in which the characters desire to live. However, this state of nature is
perhaps no better than the town, as evidenced in the woods, when the Moon itself is spiteful
of the characters and contributes to their demise. The shallow and restrictive town, then,
can be seen as a response and overreaction to the chaotic, bleak fate that man faces in
nature.
Greed
Even more important than the Bride and Bridegroom's virtue is the sensibility of their match
from an economic standpoint. Both are reasonably well off, which goes a long way towards
ensuring their parents' approval of the union. However, the constant talk of buying and
selling land points to a deeper rift between the two families. Although the Bride's Father has
done well for himself through hard work, he cannot compete with the old-money
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