Talk:The House of Bernarda Alba

Plot
I just put in a little piece about the plot of the play. If anyone has any additional historical information, please feel free to add it.

Symbols
The symbols section is out of control. It's way too big, and not very relevant anyway. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.71.240.108 (talk) 19:55, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

help
I'm trying to find the very best translation of this play, without reading a hundred translations. Any ideas?

helppp people who speak spanish pleasee
la mujer tiene que luchar contra la tradición si quiere llevar una vida independiente.¿ves esto en el libro?

yes, in adela, but in the end her independent life isn't enough to save her from sadness and destruction

Name
Why should it be known by its English children's title? I see no reason for having the page name in English but then highlighting the Spanish name in the article. Kakashi-sensei 19:29, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

The English wikipedia standard convention for the naming of articles is that titles of non-English plays, books, films, etc. are translated for the title of the separate article on the work, in accordance with the most-common English translation. The original-language title is then to be given in the first sentence of the article. DionysosProteus 20:14, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Inaccuracy
Bernarda does NOT mean bear, The play was written originally in Spanish, and the Spanish word for bear is "oso" which sounds nothing like Bernarda. Instead, her last name "Alba" means dawn -- ironic?

Adela doesn't mean to overtake either. That's just ignorant. It's the same name as Adele. Baby names websites say it's Old German for Queen or Noble Woman. The root is not Spanish, anyway. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.109.5.221 (talk) 09:56, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

Inaccuracy Of The Previous Innacuracy
Actually Bernarda DOES mean bear; the suggestion comes not from the sound of the name but rather it is derived from Bernard, a name of French origin which means "Bold as a Bear" therefore Bernard-a would also suggest bear, whether in Spanish or in any other language.

Magdalena and Amelia
They're submissive, but I see Angustias as more so, contrary to the article. Don't wanna edit it unless someone else agrees.

Real story
Wasn't it based on some real news report? --Error 22:32, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Different father
I don't remember well. Isn't one of the sisters from another mother or another father? --Error 22:42, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm about to take a test over the book tomorrow - I'm studying in Spain and we've been looking at this piece for awhile now. Yes, I'm quite sure that one of the daughters is from another father, and points it out to Bernarda at one point (I believe she wanted to go outside for some reason, but I'll have to check). I've got a couple worksheets on the work; I'll try and post some recommendations for additional/different information when/if I have time. I've noticed that the symbolisms of the names are quite different here than what the study guide (Region de Murcia, 2a B) points out, for one thing. Milgex 23:42, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

yes Angustias has a different father from the other girls. she is the child of Bernarda and her first husband, where as the other four girls are children of Bernarda and Antonio Maria Benavides. althought Angustias inherits her money from Antonio and the other girls do not inherit as much. - Glasgow Drama Girl x —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.10.17.202 (talk) 19:01, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

No,Angustias inherits her father while the others inherit theirs i.e Antonio Maria Benavides who've just died when the play starts. There is constantly talk about Angustias having a different father and therefore money, she talks about it, Bernarda talks about it etc, so I don't understand how you can have missed that??? 190.17.237.206 (talk) 22:40, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Same father
Where in the book does it say that one of the sisters is from another mother or father and there is only one mother!..who is Bernarda!


 * Angustias is from a different father. That's why she inherited so much money while the others didn't.

Racism
Magdalena uses the word "negro" in the play. Does anybody know if it is like in english (a racist word) or it means only black (like the color)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.178.220.56 (talk) 20:56, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

i believe that the word "negro" is not used as a racist comment but i am also leasd ot believe that "negro" is not an offensive word (my sincere apologises if this is not the case) - Glasgow Drama Girl x —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.12.121.214 (talk) 19:15, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

negro is for color,they were in a mourning period due to the death of the father  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.95.17.18 (talk) 06:37, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

"Negro" is a neutral word in spanish, only refering to the colour. It can even be used about people without being disparaging, only refering to how the person looks i.g blond, tall, old etc. However, in the play, it refers to the colour, as being in mourning they wear black clothes. 190.17.237.206 (talk) 22:49, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

NOT TRILOGY
It,s the fourth or fifth time I find that Lorca wrote a trilogy of rural plays and that,s not true. La casa de Bernarda Alba it,s an independant play. Bodas de Sangre and Yerma are part of a not-finished "trilogy of Spanish earth", wich third play "La destruccion de Sodoma" (The fell of Sodoma) was not written because of Lorca,s death. I,d like someone to correct this. Paitxa —Preceding unsigned comment added by 164.2.255.244 (talk) 11:52, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

FRANCOIST
"Oppression of women - Bernarda represents the Francoist view that 'a woman's place is home'.??" This is not correct. The play was written in 1936 whe Franco was just a general of the spanish army and he was not ruling Spain, so there is not way that Federico had this meaning in mind when he wrote the play. Bernarda means the oppression yes, but is the social oppression that arises from the andalusi culture of honor and hipocracy so mithified by the poet in many of their books.

PEPE EL ROMANO!
why isn't pepe el romano in the characters? i know he never actually says anything, but he is a HUGE factor in the other characters' actions and decisions!!!

He doesn't feature at all in the characters as he never appears in the play. One of the features of the play is that although many men are mentioned in the play, none actually appear on stage; this was intentional by Lorca. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.223.204.117 (talk) 23:33, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

Poncia?
The bolded statement in the middle of the plot summary seems out of place to me. The idea might be valid, but it seems like an opinion and should at least be integrated into the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.9.121.145 (talk) 19:04, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

Etymologies?
Is there reliable evidence that García Lorca researched the etymologies of the names he gave his characters? Or did he just pick names which suited the personalities and fitted the place and time?

Take Pepe for example. Instead of the village wide boy, one of thousands of Pepes browsing on female flesh where they can, are we meant to see him as his namesake Joseph, the elderly, scrupulous, devout and unfruitful husband of the Virgin Mary? Or are we meant to go further back to the first Joseph, Rachel’s son, whose name in Hebrew meant “added”? Just as God added Joseph to Rachel’s family, will divine decree add Pepe to Bernarda’s family?

While in some cases the etymologies may add a slight resonance, and the names Angustias and Martirio are particularly poignant for two of the frustrated spinsters, aren’t all the names perfectly normal ones for Spanish people of the period? If so, are the etymologies any serious help to understanding the play? Do we need them in the article?

--Hors-la-loi (talk) 11:00, 29 December 2013 (UTC)


 * The names are indeed perfectly common Spanish names even today. Unless there is some secundary literature which points out a possible intention by the poet to choose these names over others, I would suggest eliminating the whole block, for being theory-finding. And besides, it's not true that the name Adela comes "from the Spanish verb "adelantar" meaning "to go forward" or "to overtake". It might sound a little bit like that, and possibly Lorca even had this in mind, but that's speculation. The name is not related to this Spanish verb. Ilyacadiz (talk) 23:39, 17 August 2016 (UTC)

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