Key Symbols in “La Casa de Bernarda Alba”- Lorca
El Color (Colour)
● The contrast between black and white shows the strict roles which
women are allowed to have without men- either as a virgin or as a
widow.
○ Colour (eg. Adela’s green dress) symbolises a desire to live
outside of these rules.
● White symbolises virginity (“la virginidad”), purity (“la pureza”), and an
obsession with cleanliness (“la obsesión con la limpieza”)
● María Josefa associates white with sex and sea foam.
● The colour of the walls represents the declining morality of the house-
with white symbolising the purity that Bernarda tries to preserve.
○ Act One: the walls are “blanquísima” (very white).
○ Act Two: “habitación blanca” (white room).
○ Act Three: “cuatro paredes blancas ligeramente azuladas” (four
slightly bluish white walls). This shows the degradation of the
house, both because of Adela’s affair and Bernarda’s cruelty.
■ This can represent the loss (“la pérdida”) of innocence
● The sisters embroider their “ajuar” (trousseau) for marriage,
representing virginity and purity. This contrasts the black mourning
clothes that Bernarda insists upon, foreshadowing that none of the
daughters will marry.
○ Bernarda only finds two colours socially acceptable- black
(mourning) and white (virginity). Adela defies this with her
“abanico redondo con flores rojas y verdes” (fan decorated with
red and green flowers) and her “vestido verde” (green dress).
These are symbols of her rebellion and disobedience
(“desobediencia”), foreshadowing her ultimate break from
Bernarda’s rules.
, ● Black symbolises repression, death, and mourning.
● Green symbolises freedom
○ Rebellion against mourning (“rebelión contra el luto”), such as
with Adela’s dress and fan (which is less a conscious rebellion
than foreshadowing).
○ On the fan, the red flowers represent passion.
El Bordado (Embroidery)
● Embroidery symbolises womanhood, homemaking, and the repression
that this entails.
○ “Hilo y aguja para las hembras. Látigo y mula para el varón. Eso
tiene la gente que nace con posibles” (Bernarda)
○ Needle and thread for women. Whip and mule for the man. That
is how it is for people born with means.
○ Interestingly, “mula” is feminine, showing the extent of female
submission.
● The women’s job of embroidering shows that they are locked inside
Bernarda’s house. The daughters’ class means they don’t need to clean
or cook, so they are confined to pointless tasks, kept from real
productivity.
○ The daughters know that they will never use the wedding
materials that they embroider. Their embroidery shows the
pointlessness of tradition and the imposition of gender roles.
Los Caballos (Horses)
● Horses represent traditional masculinity within the context of rural
agricultural Spain.
○ In particular, Bernarda’s horse is a symbol of Pepe el Romano
El Color (Colour)
● The contrast between black and white shows the strict roles which
women are allowed to have without men- either as a virgin or as a
widow.
○ Colour (eg. Adela’s green dress) symbolises a desire to live
outside of these rules.
● White symbolises virginity (“la virginidad”), purity (“la pureza”), and an
obsession with cleanliness (“la obsesión con la limpieza”)
● María Josefa associates white with sex and sea foam.
● The colour of the walls represents the declining morality of the house-
with white symbolising the purity that Bernarda tries to preserve.
○ Act One: the walls are “blanquísima” (very white).
○ Act Two: “habitación blanca” (white room).
○ Act Three: “cuatro paredes blancas ligeramente azuladas” (four
slightly bluish white walls). This shows the degradation of the
house, both because of Adela’s affair and Bernarda’s cruelty.
■ This can represent the loss (“la pérdida”) of innocence
● The sisters embroider their “ajuar” (trousseau) for marriage,
representing virginity and purity. This contrasts the black mourning
clothes that Bernarda insists upon, foreshadowing that none of the
daughters will marry.
○ Bernarda only finds two colours socially acceptable- black
(mourning) and white (virginity). Adela defies this with her
“abanico redondo con flores rojas y verdes” (fan decorated with
red and green flowers) and her “vestido verde” (green dress).
These are symbols of her rebellion and disobedience
(“desobediencia”), foreshadowing her ultimate break from
Bernarda’s rules.
, ● Black symbolises repression, death, and mourning.
● Green symbolises freedom
○ Rebellion against mourning (“rebelión contra el luto”), such as
with Adela’s dress and fan (which is less a conscious rebellion
than foreshadowing).
○ On the fan, the red flowers represent passion.
El Bordado (Embroidery)
● Embroidery symbolises womanhood, homemaking, and the repression
that this entails.
○ “Hilo y aguja para las hembras. Látigo y mula para el varón. Eso
tiene la gente que nace con posibles” (Bernarda)
○ Needle and thread for women. Whip and mule for the man. That
is how it is for people born with means.
○ Interestingly, “mula” is feminine, showing the extent of female
submission.
● The women’s job of embroidering shows that they are locked inside
Bernarda’s house. The daughters’ class means they don’t need to clean
or cook, so they are confined to pointless tasks, kept from real
productivity.
○ The daughters know that they will never use the wedding
materials that they embroider. Their embroidery shows the
pointlessness of tradition and the imposition of gender roles.
Los Caballos (Horses)
● Horses represent traditional masculinity within the context of rural
agricultural Spain.
○ In particular, Bernarda’s horse is a symbol of Pepe el Romano
