Analiza el personaje de Bernarda y su comportamiento con las hijas.
¿Cómo se explica el control que les impone?
Analyse Bernarda’s character and her behaviour with the daughters.
How is the control that she imposes on them explained?
Plan/Summary
● Use of mourning (“el luto”) as a way to control her daughters
○ The daughters can’t leave the house.
○ Adela gives her mother a fan decorated with red and green
flowers, but Bernarda says that it isn’t appropriate for a widow.
○ Colours represent life and freedom, so the black of mourning is
seen as repression and control. The daughters can’t control their
own clothing, so they can’t control their own lives.
○ With mourning, it’s as though the house were a prison.
○ Part of this mourning is enforced because of Bernarda’s severity,
but it’s important to note that her rules also reflect what was
expected more generally of women during the time. This makes it
easier to understand why Bernarda treats her daughters in the
way in which she does.
● Bernarda’s sense of social superiority- how her elitism inhibits the
freedom of her daughters.
○ The daughters aren’t allowed to marry the men in the town
because Bernarda believes that they are unworthy. This
symbolises Bernarda’s control because marriage can be
interpreted as a symbol of freedom and escape. This is because it
was the only way for women to leave their oppressive homes.
○ Bernarda prevents the marriage between Martirio and Enrique
Humanes because his father was a farmhand, proving that she
cares more about her reputation than her daughter’s happiness or
, success (given that marriage was often the ultimate goal for
women of this time and class).
○ Lorca uses Bernarda to criticise this intense control- the audience
is meant to oppose her severity.
● Bernarda controls her daughters through physical force and abuse
○ Bernarda’s cane is used as the symbol of her power and physical
strength over her family.
○ Bernarda hits the cane on the floor to emphasise her strength and
force.
○ Bernarda hits Martirio with the cane when Martirio steals Pepe’s
picture from Angustias.
○ Bernarda hits Angustias for wearing makeup after her stepfather’s
funeral.
○ The daughters fear their mother. Bernarda uses this fear to
control them. The daughters (except, perhaps, Adela) are too
scared to rebel).
● Understanding Bernarda
○ It could be argued that Bernarda is so strict because she knows
how cruel society can be, and does not want her daughters to
invoke the wrath of their neighbours.
○ This severity from society is seen when they attack La Hija de La
Librada for having a child out of wedlock and killing it to hide her
shame. Lorca implies that Adela is pregnant at this stage, and the
audience can assume that she might have suffered the same
consequences. This makes it easier to understand Bernarda’s
need for control.
Essay Below
Mark: 71/75 (Grade: A*)
¿Cómo se explica el control que les impone?
Analyse Bernarda’s character and her behaviour with the daughters.
How is the control that she imposes on them explained?
Plan/Summary
● Use of mourning (“el luto”) as a way to control her daughters
○ The daughters can’t leave the house.
○ Adela gives her mother a fan decorated with red and green
flowers, but Bernarda says that it isn’t appropriate for a widow.
○ Colours represent life and freedom, so the black of mourning is
seen as repression and control. The daughters can’t control their
own clothing, so they can’t control their own lives.
○ With mourning, it’s as though the house were a prison.
○ Part of this mourning is enforced because of Bernarda’s severity,
but it’s important to note that her rules also reflect what was
expected more generally of women during the time. This makes it
easier to understand why Bernarda treats her daughters in the
way in which she does.
● Bernarda’s sense of social superiority- how her elitism inhibits the
freedom of her daughters.
○ The daughters aren’t allowed to marry the men in the town
because Bernarda believes that they are unworthy. This
symbolises Bernarda’s control because marriage can be
interpreted as a symbol of freedom and escape. This is because it
was the only way for women to leave their oppressive homes.
○ Bernarda prevents the marriage between Martirio and Enrique
Humanes because his father was a farmhand, proving that she
cares more about her reputation than her daughter’s happiness or
, success (given that marriage was often the ultimate goal for
women of this time and class).
○ Lorca uses Bernarda to criticise this intense control- the audience
is meant to oppose her severity.
● Bernarda controls her daughters through physical force and abuse
○ Bernarda’s cane is used as the symbol of her power and physical
strength over her family.
○ Bernarda hits the cane on the floor to emphasise her strength and
force.
○ Bernarda hits Martirio with the cane when Martirio steals Pepe’s
picture from Angustias.
○ Bernarda hits Angustias for wearing makeup after her stepfather’s
funeral.
○ The daughters fear their mother. Bernarda uses this fear to
control them. The daughters (except, perhaps, Adela) are too
scared to rebel).
● Understanding Bernarda
○ It could be argued that Bernarda is so strict because she knows
how cruel society can be, and does not want her daughters to
invoke the wrath of their neighbours.
○ This severity from society is seen when they attack La Hija de La
Librada for having a child out of wedlock and killing it to hide her
shame. Lorca implies that Adela is pregnant at this stage, and the
audience can assume that she might have suffered the same
consequences. This makes it easier to understand Bernarda’s
need for control.
Essay Below
Mark: 71/75 (Grade: A*)
