The House of Bernarda Alba is the representation of Lorca's powerful theatrical sense, this means that the play focuses less on the plot and more on the created atmostphere around it. The entire play is set in Bernarda's house, with her five daughters and help. The Alba family lives in a small village in Andalusia, a region of Spain. The major theme that surrounds the play is Patriarchy, which is ironic since the described house is a matriarch ran by Bernarda.
Within the play we witness the gossiping of women, they are the only character that are given lines. We feel the presence of males, they are mentioned, a major character was Pepe, however he never speaks. This is plausibly in an attempt to illustrate how vocal women are, and to emphasize the power they maintain. The roles of males are emphasized upon, essentially we see that it is a Man that provides the woman
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An institution that the play consistently emphasizes, it is again impressed upon at the end of the play. “BERNADA: No. I will not! Pepe, you may run free through the dark tress, but on another day you will fall. Cut her down! My daughter has died a virgin! Take her to her room and dress her like a pure maiden. No one will say anything! She has died a virgin! Tell them the bells should ring twice at dawn…. And I don’t want any tears. You have to look death in the face. Silence! Be quiet, I said! You can shed tears when you’re alone. We will drown in a sea of mourning.”(Act 3) Here again the importance of purity and appearance is illustrated. Bernada is so concerned with up keeping her image that she fails to feel the emotions that she should. She doesn’t want her daughters to show their grief, in fear that society would see their weakness. Bernada’s fixation with her