The tragic play 'Blood Wedding' by Spanish playwright Frederico Garcia Lorca. It was composed in 1932 and initially performed in Madrid in 1933, then later that year in Buenos Aires, where it is being played today. It belongs to the country tragedy genre.
Feminism can be approached in 'Blood Wedding.' Feminism is the view that men and women should have equal rights since males have oppressed women. According to feminism, women are unfairly considered as sex objects, tools, and as bad people. The play by Lorca shows women as meek in a society that uplifts dominant men and submissive women. The beauty of the women is recognized in the piece, but largely for decorating the men. The women do not get free will. They are not given any names nor status (Kousar and Sarfaz 4404).
The oppression of women is depicted in a biological sense, linguistic, psychoanalytic, and socioeconomic levels. They are rarely treated individually, but rather as extensions of their men. It is the norm in many societies where the males rule. The man defines what being female is, and he controls the politics, economics, social, literary aspects, and just most parts of the society (Bonalodd 5).
Biologically, a feminist approach criticizes how a woman's body parts are used in the play. An instance is a female neighbor who praises the face of a woman for being beautiful and glowing. The woman is displayed as a goddess of physical beauty. The submissiveness of the woman is shown when the bride enters as her hands are placed modestly, with a bowing head. Women are symbols of decoration and for physical attraction to the male. The man likes them for their physical attraction. Leonardo tells the bride that it is only natural he is attracted to her and credits that to her attractive physical form. The womb and the breasts and hips are mentioned. The bride's father describes her as having wider hips. The snake is used to depict a woman in a way that implies a woman, treachery and fertility. The woman can be viewed to be referred to as a snake indirectly.
On a linguistic level language has been shown as the subject of the authoritative man. The man orders the woman, such as the bridegroom asking his mother to be quiet and asking her to quit the conversation. A woman is unable to share her opinions, thoughts, or feelings to the male equivalent. There is no opportunity for the woman to get an audience. Leonardo is curt and rude to his wife. He continually overpowers her in their conversations. The father of the bride lectures her when she meets the mother officially and asks her to quit being solemn for she is going to be her mother in future. In the setting of the play, the women are oppressed with a little or no say in the issues affecting their societies. That is not just the case with Spain back then, but also in other parts of the world, and even to the present day.
The mother states that women are limited to being wives and mothers. Once married her life stops as it supposedly cannot go beyond the two roles. Society also does not allow a woman to have the option of choosing who to marry, as shown in the setting of the drama. The woman in Lorca's society is regarded as decent if she follows that norm, the bride's father had hoped that she would not elope with a man, and so refuses to believe when she runs with Leonardo. The society is shown to value sons more than daughters for their masculine strength to harvest in the land, as heard between the father and the mother in their dialogue. The father expresses his wish for their children to have a lot of descendants especially sons to till the land. The Spanish society has secured land for boys only. The male is the heir of land, as land is purchased for them. Women, on the other end, are in a miserable life of dependency. They rely on men who do not respect them. They are treated unfairly. Leonardo's wife lives a terrible life, where she gives love but receives none. Her only role is to fulfill his sexual desires. Women are seen to promote the man's authority, as seen in the way the mother tells the son on how to control his bride. She stresses on how to make the bride feel the son is the man and the one who throws orders in the house. The authority of women is entirely cancelled out in the society of the play. The characters of women that are held in high regard are docile, not bossy. The father praises his own about how she prepares bread early in the morning, is soft-spoken, is good at decorating things, and is good at chores. The mother restates the same referring to her ability to do regular home activities as a housewife. Feminists have viewed marriage as an oppressive ground which enforces sexual inequality between a man and a woman and causes women to be domesticated. It denies them the opportunities to be educated or to be in leadership as some of the disadvantages to the woman. The play shows how the sex part of it is emphasized in the Spanish culture in which it is set. The servant focuses on how the wedding is going to be a bouquet of flowers. She states that the bride is going to be lucky to kiss a man and to feel his weight
Feminism in a psychological level asserts that the understanding of women on themselves and society is a function of society. The perception of a pure woman and the one of a housewife are established in the Spanish culture of the Lorca's piece. The mother states that she has girls who can make lace, a role reserved for women. The bride refers to herself as a bitch in the nude looking at the meadows. Women wish that they were on occasion, due to the oppression of women by their communities. The bride states she wishes she were male. From physical appearances in how women are painted in the play, the language, and the attitude of society to women, a conclusion arises. A view of feminism and objective truth shows that women have suffered at the hands of men and society in ‘Blood Wedding.'
Some the themes explored in ‘Blood Wedding’ include violence. The idea of violence is outstanding. The bridegroom is seething with anger on hearing that Leonardo escaped with his bride. He swears to kill Leonardo for escaping with his bride and goes baying for his blood, in the company of the other men. Leonardo and the bridegroom end up violently killing each other.
Language, as reflected in the above section, has been used to despise women. Men talk with an authoritarian language to women. For instance the bridegroom to his mother and Leonardo who always rudely addresses his wife and refuses to grant her audience.
Motherhood is one of the themes in the play, being one of the implied gender roles in the play. The mother and the mother-in-law all agree that women belong to the house after marriage, for their safety and their weak spirits. The bride feels limited for being forced to marry and to be forced into that institution that seals her for all her life. The bride’s role shall be being a wife and then a mother of children, as her society has recommended.
Masculinities and femininities are a common aspect of the play. ‘Blood Wedding' is set in a society that sharply puts a distinction between men and women. From their roles to their treatment that is not the same for each gender. Men are seen as leaders and are given the universal role of largely being the top decision-makers. They choose who to marry, and not the women. The bridegroom addresses his mother as her leader, from the standpoint that he is male. Men are given land. The bride's father shows special preference to male descendants for he could have bought the land, something he did not do for the daughter. He wishes her daughter got male children more. The women, on the other hand, are regarded as the servants who heed to the say of the man. They bride resents the fact that she had no choice in her marriage, for she would have chosen to wed Leonardo.
Social class is accorded more to males. They are given more respect and are the preferred leaders. They use women as a symbol of status in the society. A beautiful woman elevates a man's status. On the other hand, the society of the play grants a woman more social standing once she is married. Unmarried women are shown to lack an identity (Allen 201).
The institution of marriage is addressed lengthily in ‘Blood Wedding,' giving a picture of it in the setting of the play. It is painted as a happy affair from how outsiders describe it, such as the servant who likens it to a bouquet of flowers. The mother also praises the institution and praises the way it allows the bride to be a mother and a wife. The bride is however worried it is going to limit her life. The mother-in-law and the father are happy that the bride is hardworking and is, therefore, going to be a good model of a wife, as her society dictates. Some people are conflicted in their marriages, as displayed by the bride and Leonardo who have both married the wrong persons but decide to overcome that and get together (Lorca).
Here is the reception of the play in the UK. The play has a robust and realistic plot. It is set in a small-town community that has stuck to old ways for a long time. Most characters in the play are named as per their role, which reflects the nature if a traditional society. The rigidity of the old mentalities in the drama is criticized (Fisher).
Works Cited
Allen, Rupert C. Psyche and Symbol in the Theater of Federico Garcia Lorca. USA: The University of Texas Printing Division, Austin, 1974. e-book.
Bonalodd, Federico. A companion to Frederico Garcia Lorca. Wood bridge: Boydell & Brewer Ltd., 2007.
Fisher, Mark. "Blood Wedding review." The Guardian 10 March 2015. .
Kousar, Rehana and Nida Sarfaz. "Feminist Analysis of Lorca's "Blood Wedding"." European Academic Research (2014): 4404-4411.
Lorca, Federico Garcia. Blood Wedding. Trans. Simon Scardifield. London: NHB, 2005.
