Bernarda Alba's House: Poetic Symbolism and Social Commentary

The House of Bernarda Alba: Poetic Symbolism and Social Commentary

Symbolic Level

This book demonstrates the author's ability to combine traditional and avant-garde aesthetics through a very personal take on theater. The House of Bernarda Alba is full of symbolic elements:

• Proper names have symbolic meaning. For example, "Magdalena" suggests a tendency to mourn and suffer martyrdom; "Angustias" evokes anguish, hatred, and envy; "Adela" represents a noble character eager for liberty. Several characters have no proper name and are referred to by their social role or personal characteristics, such as "Mendiga" (beggar woman) and "Muchacha" (girl).
• Characters are accompanied by objects that represent their aspirations or function. For instance, Bernarda's cane symbolizes her authority, which is why Adela breaks it, proclaiming her rebellion. The portrait of Pepe el Romano signifies the sisters' frustration and desire. Adela's range of flowers and green dress signify death and rebellion.
• Symbolism of the setting: The play takes place inside Bernarda Alba's house, where white walls are highlighted by the black of mourning. The sparse furniture and white color represent ornamental simplicity. The thick walls prevent communication between the exterior and interior, emphasizing the importance of appearances.
• Color symbolism: White symbolizes light, life, and joy, while black represents the night of sadness, death, and forced repression. Both colors contrast, highlighting the dramatic conflict. Green represents rebellion but also Adela's death at the end.
• Opposition between the visible space (the house) and the alluded to (the exterior): The story takes place entirely inside the house, but the outside is very present. The outside influences the troubled women inside. Some of the places alluded to have connotations: water (freedom and nature), the sea (a place of relaxation for Poncia), the river and olive groves, the window (border with the outside world), and the poultry yard (a place of erotic encounters).

Poetic Level

All reality is treated poetically. There are songs (Song of the Reapers), poems (funeral litany), and popular expressions ("Saint Barbara, blessed," to ward off bad omens). Characters use colloquial expressions that are literary in nature. They employ literary comparisons ("fingers like five picks"), metaphors ("the house as a convent"), and hyperbole ("fire came out from the earth," "drink his blood"). The House of Bernarda Alba is a play that brings together tradition and the avant-garde through a personal take on theater.

Social Level

The play reflects rural life. As indicated in the subtitle, "Drama of Women in the Villages of Spain," the play aims to be a "documentary" response to a sociological reality, reflecting many aspects of rural society: family structure, customs such as mortuary rituals, agricultural work, the separation of men and women, gossip and collective lynchings in sexual scandals, discrimination between rich and poor, masters and servants, and social tensions.

Theater was seen as a means of acculturation and ideological propaganda. Lorca favored a theater of social action, supporting the country's culture and education. He believed that theater that does not address the social and historical life of its time should not be called theater. In Lorca's work, he defends freedom against authority and denounces social inequalities, rural backwardness, and their consequences for women.

Lorca was inspired by Greek tragedy, dramas of the Spanish Golden Age, and contemporary rural dramas. For example, the defense of freedom against authority and the cruel fate of some characters link it to Greek tragedy, while the theme of women's honor connects it to the Golden Age.