| Blood Wedding | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Federico García Lorca |
| Characters | Bridegroom Bridegroom's Mother Bride Bride's Father Leonardo Leonardo's Wife Leonardo's Mother-in-law Maid Neighbour Moon Death Three Woodcutters Two Young Men Girl Three Girls Little Girl Three Guests Woman Neighbours |
| Date premiered | 1933 |
| Original language | Spanish |
| Genre | Rural tragedy |
Blood Wedding (Spanish: Bodas de Sangre) is a tragedy by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed in Madrid in March 1933 and later that year in Buenos Aires. Theatre critics have often grouped it with Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba as a "rural trilogy." Lorca's plan for a "trilogy of the Spanish earth" remained unfinished at the time of his death (he did not include The House of Bernarda Alba in it).[1]
Contents |
Reference the book for other more minor characters.
As the play opens, the Mother speaks with her son, the groom. It is revealed that the son's father had been killed a few years ago by a family named the Felixes. The Mother reacts violently when her son attempts to ask for a knife to cut grapes in the vineyard, going into a long rant before giving him the knife. The groom leaves, after hugging his mother goodbye.
The Neighbour arrives to chat with the Mother, and reveals to her that the Bride was previously involved with a man named Leonardo Felix, a relative of the men who killed the Mother's husband. The Mother, who still hates the Felix family with all her soul, is furious, but decides to visit the girl before bringing the matter up with her son.
Leonardo, who is now married, returns to his home after work, where his Mother-In-Law and Wife have been singing a lullaby to Leonardo's son. (The lullaby's lyrics foreshadow the tragedies that will occur later in the play.) It is clear that Leonardo's marriage is not a joyous one. A Little Girl enters the house and tells the family that the Groom is preparing to marry the Bride. Leonardo flies into a rage, scaring his Wife, Mother-In-Law, and child, and storms out of the house.
The Mother goes to the Bride's house, along with the Groom, where she meets the Bride's Servant and the Father of the Bride. The Father, an old, tired man, tells the Mother about his dead wife and his desire to see his daughter marry and bear children. The Bride enters, and speaks with the Mother and the Groom. The Father then shows them out, leaving the Servant with the Bride. The Servant teases the Bride about the gifts that the Groom brought, then reveals to her that Leonardo has been coming to the house at night to watch the Bride's window.
That night, Leonardo comes to see the Bride again. He speaks of his burning desire for her, and the pride that kept him from marrying her before. The Bride, clearly disturbed by his presence, attempts to silence him, but cannot deny that she still has feelings for him. The Servant sends Leonardo away, and the guests begin arriving for the wedding. The Father, Mother, and Groom arrive, and the wedding party moves to the church. Before the party leaves, however, the Bride begs the Groom to keep her safe. Leonardo and his Wife go as well, after a short and furious argument.
After the wedding, the guests, the families, and the newlywed couple return to the Bride's house. The party progresses, with music and dancing, but the Bride retires to her rooms, claiming to feel tired. Leonardo's Wife tells the Groom that her husband left on horseback, but the Groom brushes her off, saying that Leonardo simply went for a quick ride. The Groom returns to the main room and speaks with his Mother. The guests then begin searching for the Bride and Groom, hoping to begin a traditional wedding dance. But the Bride is nowhere to be found. The Father orders the house searched, but Leonardo's Wife bursts into the room and announces that her husband and the Bride have run off together. The Father refuses to believe it, but the Groom flies into a rage and rides off with a friend to kill Leonardo. The Mother, frenzied and furious, orders the entire wedding party out into the night to search for the runaways, as the Father collapses in grief.
Out in the forest (to which Leonardo and the Bride have fled), three Woodcutters emerge to discuss the events (in a manner somewhat similar to that of a Greek chorus, except that they speak to each other, not to the audience). They reveal that the searchers have infiltrated the entire forest, and that Leonardo, who is, after all, carrying a woman, will be caught soon if the moon comes out. As the moon emerges from behind the clouds, they flee the stage.
The Moon (a feminine symbol, The Moon is preferably played by a woman), who is very powerful and godlike, talks to the forest and tells the trees of her desire to let blood be shed in order to punish mankind for shutting her out of their homes, and confesses her loneliness, but is still furious. She shines her mystic light on the forest, illuminating the paths for the searchers. She is joined by her priestess, personified as an old beggar woman. They plot to kill the two men and let blood be shed. The bloodthirsty, conniving moon then departs in a very sinister way.
The Groom, still caught up in fury, enters along with a Youth from the wedding party. The Youth is disturbed by the dark forest and urges the Groom to turn back, but the Groom refuses, vowing to kill Leonardo and reclaim his Bride. Death, disguised as an old beggar, enters, telling the Groom that she has seen Leonardo and can lead the Groom to him. The Groom and Youth exit with her.
Elsewhere in the forest, Leonardo and the Bride discuss their future together. Both are filled with romantic angst, and consumed by their burning, unsustainable love for each other as passion like no other is shed between the two of them. The Bride begs Leonardo to flee, but he refuses. The couple hears footsteps; the Groom and Death are coming near. Leonardo exits, and two screams ring out in the darkness. The Moon and Beggar woman reappear at the end of the scene. Leonardo and the Groom have killed each other.
In the town, the women (including Leonardo's Wife and Mother-in-Law) have gathered near the church to whisper of the events. Death arrives in the disguise of the beggar woman and, before departing, announces that doom has visited the forest. The Mother enters the church, full of anger and black bitterness, only to see the Bride returning—her dress covered in the blood of her lovers who killed each other in the forest. Presumably, (although this is never explicitly stated, and it happens after the play's end) the bride is afterwards killed as a sacrifice to restore the family's honor. Still, in some incarnations of the play, it is suggested that the Mother allows the Bride to live based on the idea that living with the pain of her lovers' deaths is a more severe punishment than death.
The lullaby in the second scene foreshadows events to come.
La Nana
Suegra: This is the lullaby, my child, of the great horse who didn’t want the water. The water was dark through the tangled branches. When the horse arrived at the bridge, he stopped and sang. What will he say, my child, that which has the water, with his long tail in the green pen?
Mujer: Sleep carnation, the horse does not want to drink.
Suegra: Sleep rosebush. The horse begins to cry. His hooves are injured, his mane is frozen, and in his eyes are silver daggers. His eyes lower to the river. Oh, how they lower to the river. Blood flows much stronger than water.
Mujer: Sleep carnation, the horse does not want to drink.
Suegra: Sleep rosebush, the horse begins to cry.
Mujer: He does not want to touch the wet edge of his hot lip with silver flies. Despite the hard mounts he only whinnies at the dead river. Oh the big horse did not want the water. Oh the pain of the snow, the horse of dawn.
Suegra: Don’t come further! Stop. Close the window with the branches of dreams, and dream of branches.
Mujer: My son sleeps.
Suegra: My son is quiet.
Mujer: The horse, my son, has no pillow.
Suegra: His cradle is of steel.
Mujer: His bedspread is of holanda (very fine cloth).
Suegra: Lullaby my child, lullaby.
Mujer: Oh, the big horse didn’t want the water!
Suegra: Don’t come further, don’t enter! Look to the mountains, to the grey valleys of the ponies.
Mujer: My son sleeps.
Suegra: My son has fallen asleep.
Mujer: Sleep carnation, the horse does not want to drink.
Suegra: Sleep rosebush, the horse begins to cry.
Some themes present in Blood Wedding are the cycle of life, the progression of time, choice, deception, fate, and nature. The cycle of life and progression of time are illustrated by the simple fact that the entire play is devoted to a wedding. The process of marriage in every culture marks the concrete and tangible evidence of a passage from childhood to adulthood, and a progression through life and time.
The theme of choice is evident through the characters of Leonardo the bride, and the bridegroom. The bride is very conflicted because she forces herself to marry the bridegroom, when in reality she is still in love with Leonardo. Leonardo, despite being married, is also still madly in love with the bride. Their combined choice to run away with each other after the marriage is one that manifests their latent and pent up desires left over from their previous relationship. The bridegroom is in love with his bride-to-be, however. Despite the fact that she lives in a cave located hours away, the bridegroom still loves the bride and takes her as the woman he wants to remain with for the remainder of his life.
The theme of deception ties into the theme of choice. The bride is deceitful and deceptive by masking her residual yearnings for Leonardo with a marriage to another man. This choice is dishonest because deep down the bride knows how she feels, and the only reason she even attempts to marry the bridegroom is because she is manipulating him in order to distract herself from her ‘troubling’ desires for Leonardo.
The theme of fate also ties into the themes of choice and deception. The choice on the bride’s part to marry the bridegroom, despite the fact that she still retains feelings for her ex, causes the outcome of the deaths of both men in the end of the play. There is a certain degree of irony in action because what are the chances that a woman would try to choose both men and yet lose both instead of winning one? Fate plays a very important role in the drama of Blood Wedding with its surprising twists and turns in the plot, and the final result as well.
Finally, the theme of nature is present in Blood Wedding. Nature is pertinent to understanding Lorca’s play. Blood Wedding is full of references to nature, such as the moon, the trees, the river (“arroyo”), death in the form of the beggar woman, the vineyard, orange blossoms, and many others. These references to nature reinforce the fact that the play is based on a true story. Also, including nature in the play help to stress the other literary devices such as plot, conflict, climax, etc. Therefore, Blood Wedding is a warped, original work that holds the attention of the audience in a death grip, as is the style of Federico Garcia Lorca.
The play, retitled Bitter Oleander, had a brief run in an English translation on Broadway in 1935.
The play was performed in 2007, in Aula Maxima, Maynooth, Ireland, directed by Shane Ward.
The play was performed at Nottingham Lace Market Theatre 15–18 September 2010
|
|||||||