Character Analysis: The Daughters of Bernarda Alba and Their Conflict

The Daughters of Bernarda Alba: Conflict and Character

The five sisters exhibit adopted attitudes ranging from submission to outright rebellion. The palpable tension among the five sisters is evident from the beginning of the play, especially among Angustias, Martirio, and Adela, the three women who love the same man. Among them, there is virtually no love. The absence of friendship is particularly noted between Martirio and Amelia.

Economic Inequality and Dramatic Conflict

Economic inequality between the rich heiress Angustias (who inherited from her father) and her sisters is key to the dramatic conflict.

Angustias

Bernarda's eldest daughter is 39 years old. She is not very graceful, but enjoys very good health. Due to her enviable fortune, inherited from her father, a suitor has emerged: Pepe el Romano. She knows what marriage means in her situation: an escape from her mother's house. Angustias is aware that it is better to be rich than beautiful.

Magdalena

Magdalena was the favorite daughter of her father and is therefore the one who has most deeply felt his death. She is the only one of the sisters who rejects the traditional role of a woman. She seems the smartest of the sisters, at least in understanding their difficult situation. More sincere than her sisters, or at least less hypocritical, she is the first who dares to say that Pepe el Romano is marrying Angustias for money.

Amelia

Amelia is the middle daughter and is 27 years old. Perhaps for this reason, her character is more blurred. She maintains a close relationship with Martirio and worries about her health. She appears sad and insecure.

Martirio

Sickly and tormented Martirio is the only one who once had a suitor, Enrique Humanes, whom her mother refused. Her attitude towards men is contradictory; she confesses to fear them. However, since the first time she saw Pepe el Romano, she was attracted to him. It is precisely this passion that unleashes her jealousy against Adela. It is Martirio who informs her mother when Adela meets with Pepe el Romano, and she also steals the picture of Angustias.

Adela

Adela is the only daughter of Bernarda who will not resign herself to the all-embracing will of the mother, and who will revolt against her tyranny. Arguably, Adela embodies life—at age 20, she is the youngest—while Bernarda represents death. In her first speech in the play, she gives her mother a fan with red and green flowers, a symbol of vitality. The second detail the viewer learns is that she wears a vibrant green dress. Adela's rebellion, which breaks out in the end, is manifested in her reaction when she learns that Pepe el Romano is marrying Angustias; she breaks down, mourning with anger. The sexual impulse is the motor for her rebellion.