house bernarda alba essay questions

Would it be accurate to call The House of Bernarda Alba a feminist work?Lorca's play confines itself to only female characters. It explores their suffering under a world that allows men to follow their whims and expect forgiveness, while women are held to impossible standards. The play implicitly condemns attitudes that preclude female sexuality and force women to subscribe to unrealistic moral codes. Through Bernada, it provides its most damning commentary - so harsh are the expectations placed on women that a powerful matriarch herself reinforces those skewed values and acts like a man, as though the only way to have power is to ignore and betray her own femininity. And yet to call Lorca's play feminist is perhaps to subscribe too political a vision to it. His interest is in universal humanist themes - sex, death, repression - and to understand it only as a tract for women's rights would be to risk missing its more poetic exploration of larger themes. Regardless of how one answers the question, a feminist lens does provide some insight into the play. Identify the tragic force of the play and the way it brings doom to Adela.In a tragedy, the tragic force is that immutable force that a character attempts to battle, causing suffering and eventual defeat. In The House of Bernarda Alba, one could make an argument for a any of several of tragic forces. Perhaps the tragic force is sexuality. Adela is, like all her sisters, at the mercy of her sexual passions, consumed by them. However, where her sisters internalize their lust and it turns to bitterness, Adela forces it outwards and risks the shame and potential harm of a public affair with Pepe. One could argue that by trying to master her sexuality, Adela is defeated, as though her sexuality were too strong. One could also argue that the shackles placed on women provides the tragic force. By attempting to combat her.
Act I 1. Why might García Lorca, in his stage direction, have indicated that there should be, “Pictures of nymphs or legendary kings in improbable landscapes” on the walls? How do these images contrast with the rest of the scene and the action in Act I? 2. There are no men in the play. Yet, they are never far from the action. How does García Lorca contrast women and men in Act One? 3. The play begins at the conclusion of a funeral mass. Do Adela and Angustias behave appropriately considering the occasion? Is Bernarda correct in scolding them? Act II 1. Why might García Lorca have included the story of the field hands hiring prostitutes? What does this story indicate about the way the different socio-economic classes approach sex? 2. Do you think the theft Pepe el Romano’s picture was a joke? Why not? 3. What does Bernarda’s response to the infanticide (murder of a child) indicate about her personality? Does Bernarda ever evoke any sympathy in the audience? Is she purely a malevolent character? Act III 1. Do you believe that Maria Josefa is mad or insane? Much of what she says and does is a logical response to the situation in which she finds herself. 2. Maria Josefa is carrying a baby ewe. What might it symbolize? Why? 3. Do you think that Bernarda actually believed that her daughter died a virgin? Would she be able to convince herself of this over time?.
New Characters Poncia: The personal servant of Bernarda Alba. Maid: The underling of Poncia. Maria Josefa: Bernarda’s mother. She is kept in captivity and appears mad. Angustias: Bernarda’s oldest daughter (from a previous marriage). She stands to inherit a good deal and will be courted by Pepe el Romano. Magdalena: The second oldest daughter. Amelia: The middle daughter. Martirio: The second youngest daughter. Adela: The youngest daughter. She does not wish to mourn, and feigns disinterest at news of Pepe el Romano. Beggar Woman: Minor character who asks for and is refused leftovers. Women Mourners: Give the audience an idea of what the other villagers think of Bernarda Alba. Summary Scene: The act opens in, “A very white inner room in Bernarda’s house.” Although the action takes place in the summer, it occurs deep in the house. García Lorca stresses that the room contains “pictures of nymphs or legendary kings in improbable landscapes.” This is, perhaps, to contrast the austere, bleak and simple decor with a fantasy world that is out of the reach of the sisters. The scenery is white, as if to emphasize death. Church bells are tolling; The funeral mass for Bernarda’s husband, who has died, is ending. Action: Poncia, Bernarda’s main servant and the lower maid are discussing the funeral of Bernarda’s husband, Antonia María Benavides. Poncia is eating bread and a sausage, which is seemingly disrespectful of the dead. The two exchange gossip. During their conversation the following becomes clear: -The deceased only loved his oldest natural daughter, Magdalena. -Bernarda would not approve of Poncia eating sausages. -Poncia considers Bernarda a “tyrant.” The two are interrupted by a voice. The two servants are keeping an “old lady,” Bernarda’s mother, locked up at the orders of Bernarda. The two then continue their chatter: -The maid complains that she is scouring too.
This set of Lesson Plans consists of approximately 124 pages of tests, essay questions, lessons, and other teaching materials. Discuss the author's setting up the exposition and background of the characters in the first act of the play. What is significant about using the servants to convey information about the play's characters? What reason does the author have for giving so much information about the characters so quickly?The character Bernarda is perhaps one of the most complex and intriguing presences in the play. Part 1.) What is the nature of Bernarda? Part 2.) What seems to be Bernarda's motivations for enacting such control over the people in her life? Part 3.) What trials might Bernarda be dealing with to account for her being so tyrannical over those living in her household. (read more Essay Topics) This section contains 1,988 words (approx. 7 pages at 300 words per page) Copyrights The House of Bernarda Alba from BookRags. (c)2016 BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved.