by Federico García Lorca is one of the most fast-paced, thrilling and fascinating play. It is actually his most popular play. Motivated by a real story of a deadly dispute between two families in Almeria province, in countryside of Spain, Blood wedding is an inspiring play. It is about pleasure and the horror of the extremes of passion that is how lonely individuals are seeking passion that is long gone. Lorca was a talented writer who wrote many plays before his demise in 1936 with the most famous being blood wedding. This play centered on the code and honor in the Spanish society. The absence of freedom causes the characters to go against the norms of the society and pursue their own passions although it is forbidden.
The play starts with tragedies that beget Mother. Mother is a bitter widow who is still mourning the murder of her son and husband. The Bride is happy about marrying a rich suitor, however, she still has feelings for Leonardo who is not rich enough and is married to her cousin. She had been engaged to him for three years before. The bride approaches her wedding devotedly; however, Leonardo comes in resentful, the bride cannot hide from him. After the wedding, Leonardo and bride run away in a wild dash for freedom (Volk 47). Leonardo and the bridegroom later kill one another. In Lorca’s writing, the fatal wedding is a blood-stained trend seen in the village life.
Majority of the protagonists in this play like the mother, bride, and Leonardo never fulfill the roles they are assigned to as they evolve at the conclusion of the play. Initially, they portray their roles very well as they are required to but then as the narrative progresses, they are faced with problems and the solution to them is to reject the societal norms and pursue their desires. This is a society where there is a code which has to be strictly followed. There is the code of honor which has to be strictly adhered to (Gale 24). Traditions also do dominate the play which entails a tit-for-tat kind of vengeance, honor for the family as well as the code of honor that the general public has placed on these characters. The customs are so domineering in the lives of these characters that they suffer from it. One of the traditions is the conventional role of a woman in the society.
The roles of a typical mother in a Spanish society are to perform domestic duties, care for the children and family (Gale 25). They were are also required to grieve for the dead for 6 years which in turn denies them the chance to leave the house, therefore their lives are predetermined. Although it is natural to want little freedom, it can be inferred that they are in a safe zone. Nonetheless, it is the feminine characters who experience immense suffering emotionally due to their yearnings and encounter conflicts and calamities. For instance, Mother endures the demise of her son and husband and is always mourning them. This depicts the common circumstances women have had to encounter, showing signs of suppression. In general, female characters in this play reveal their true self when conversing with other female characters. The mother, playing a very womanly role, shows a human life which is impeded by the Spanish traditions and the society. Women do not have the freedom to do whatever they want and pursue a life they desire. As seen with the Mother here, her desires are long gone, in a way; she loses her real character since she is so used to the society that there is no other way of thinking or acting differently.
Looking at the initial meeting with the Bride, one wonders if she is committed to this suitor she is set to wed. She is quiet, cold and very solemn when meeting the Bridegroom and his mother. She does not act in a normal way after they left. She seems to not portray any feeling of happiness or enthusiasm for her upcoming nuptials. One here wonders if she was forced to marry the Bridegroom. There are a lot of suspicions that Leonardo and Bride have been meeting which she adamantly denies. The environs of the bride even show that she is barren. She resides in a middle of barren wasteland with extreme heat with shows her passion (Gale 30). Additionally, there is nobody who talks about her ability to procreate with the exception of the reference with her husband to be showing that she is sterile devoid of his procreative abilities.
In the second act, when she is preparing for her nuptials, she states that in this dry hot ambiance that she is withering, just like her mother. The Bride in this scene seen is still doubtful about marrying the bridegroom. She feels as if something evil is coming. Perhaps this was a premonition of what was to happen later on Leonardo coming in confuses the Bride even more, however she seems to be resigned to this marriage anyway. It is assumed that this was an arranged marriage since Bride's heart is not fully in it. In the conversation between Leonardo and the Bride, one can see passion and love between these two (Volk 36). Nonetheless, the bride tells Leonardo that she will go ahead with the marriage and that she ought to abide by the standards of the societal code and therefore get married for her own pride and respect. Again here two people lack the freedom to be true to themselves and therefore ought to adhere to the code of the society.
Although the bride and Leonardo admit their passion for each other, they are fully aware that they ought to be motivated to their vows. The bride convinces the bridegroom to go to the church immediately so that they can marry, thinking that once she is married, she shall perhaps be protected against her unnatural desires for Leonardo. When Leonardo meet with his wife, he shows that he has difficulties hiding his feelings for the bride and therefore he decides to resign himself to living without her. The presence of Leonardo after the wedding confuses the bride, even more, distracting her from committing to her new husband (Volk 38). When the bride excuses herself and goes against the traditions and runs away with Leonardo. The bride did make her choice fully knowing the implications of her actions. She dared to rebel against the ideals of the Spanish society and therefore has to face the implications. The female protagonist who is set to tie the knot with a suitor of her choice against her parents’ wishes, ought to, therefore, employ creativity as courageous as a prisoner who breaks out of jail.
The bride has done this exactly; she dared to pursue her love instead of being restricted by the ideals of the society. Although the audience is not told of the reasons why Leonardo and the bride broke off their engagement, it is assumed that it was because of perhaps family expectations son the side f the bride. Leonardo was not wealthy whereas the bridegroom was very wealthy and would be in a position to support her family. Again here bride’s desires are overlooked at the expense of family welfare. She lacks the freedom to decide what to do with her life or who to marry. In the third scene, after escaping to the woods, the two express their love for one another although they do not consummate their relationship, it does not matter anymore. Bride’s true character is seen here as she shows devotion to Leonardo by trying to protect him from the imminent death that is inevitable. Here a society is seen that is based on rigid regulations. The law dictates that Leonardo ought to die for his indiscretion. This extreme vengeance done against Leonardo depicts extremism and intolerance. Such acts of inflexibility got leveled against the people who rebel against social and cultural ideals.
The main protagonists in this play are forced to conform to the oppressing customs of the society. The bride and Leonardo, therefore, are compelled to rebel against these oppressing society and follow their heart desires. They must seek to be free from the societal ties even if there shall be consequences. From the title itself, blood wedding, it shows that there shall be a celebration and a tragedy. In a way, it implies that blood shall be shed and yes indeed, it was done so as a result of a search for freedom for Leonardo (Gale 29). In fact, it is assumed that the Bride is later killed to restore the family honor. The term blood and wedding, therefore, generates a conflict from the start of the story and forecasts the catastrophic ending, the celebration of wedding shall be substituted by its involvement with blood and the consequence of cruelty and death. The phrase blood is mentioned severally in the play. When Leonardo and bride escape, the three woodcutters are looking for them in the forest. One of the woodcutters starts that “…The blood couldn’t be denied. When the blood chooses a path it has to be followed” (III.i.49).
The woodcutters recognize that the end result of that a search is not fruitful as they shall not be bringing anyone alive. At the start of the play, Mother Is introduced as being apprehensive of the wedding between her son and the bride because the bride has some links to Leonardo from the Felix clan. She remembers that the Felixes are responsible for the death of her other son and husband and she fears that her only living son would also die. Her mixed feelings foretell the spilling of blood however she is compelled to go along with the plan for the wedding because of her desire for grandchildren.
After the bride and Leonardo had escaped, a mother tells his son “Go! After them!… No, Don’t go. Those people kill quickly and well… but yes, run, and I’ll follow!… The hour of blood has come again” (Wedding, pp. 77-78). She casts aside her fears of losing her son and under compulsion, she feels that revenge has to be carried out. She had no much freedom as such since Leonardo transgression had to be punished.
Conclusion
The bride and Leonardo know that they have placed themselves outside the society when they did flee; they predict their fate but defy its daunting inevitability. They know the bridegroom shall be seeking vengeance. It is the societal imperative of honor as well as family status that shall decide the end result. Again here there is compulsion by the society to seek revenge so as to defend family honor even though it can be fatal. The play does underscore this social necessity. There is a mysterious force which shapes their circumstances. Leonardo knows that his destiny is beyond his capability to control it. He does not have the freedom to control what awaits him. Honor in the Spanish society shapes social behavior and actions. Honor in a manner can be associated with lack of freedom as well as any actions that brings dishonor ought to be avenged. In Blood, wedding depicts the requisites of honor code as an impetus for aggression and tragedy. Groom suffers a brutal death in an attempt to bring honor to the family while Leonardo, on the other hand, has to face death due to his transgressions while searching for freedom.
Works Cited
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Federico Garcia Lorca's" Blood Wedding". Gale, Cengage Learning, 2016.
García Lorca, Federico. "Blood wedding." Yerma. The House of Bernarda Alba (2001).
Volk, Don Lyle. "Sterility| A study of theme in three plays by Federico Garcia Lorca." (1968).
