Marriage as Escape and Transaction

The House of Bernarda Alba

Marriage appears both as a possible exit from confinement and as a property-based arrangement governed by gendered obedience.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Future in Embroidery A Future in Embroidery from "The House of Bernarda Alba". A Future in Embroidery Domestic Preparation Bernarda assigns her daughters the making of trousseaus and wedding linen.

A Future in Embroidery from "The House of Bernarda Alba". A Future in Embroidery Domestic Preparation Bernarda assigns her daughters the making of trousseaus and wedding linen.

A Future in Embroidery Domestic Preparation Bernarda assigns her daughters the making of trousseaus and wedding linen. Their future is imagined through sewing before any of them can choose a partner freely. A Gendered Horizon Magdalena understands that she may never marry and rejects the work. The domestic assignment exposes how narrow the accepted future is for unmarried women.

A Match for Wealth A Match for Wealth from "The House of Bernarda Alba". A Match for Wealth Property Shapes Courtship The sisters assume Pepe seeks Angustias because of the money she inherited.

A Match for Wealth from "The House of Bernarda Alba". A Match for Wealth Property Shapes Courtship The sisters assume Pepe seeks Angustias because of the money she inherited.

A Match for Wealth Property Shapes Courtship The sisters assume Pepe seeks Angustias because of the money she inherited. Marriage is presented as a route to property and status. Unequal Chances Angustias gains a prospect denied to her sisters, but that prospect also attracts envy. The arrangement makes marriage both an opportunity and a source of conflict.

The Wife Defined The Wife Defined from "The House of Bernarda Alba". The Wife Defined An Unequal Domestic Bargain Poncia says that men often leave the bed for the table and then the tavern, while a woman who refuses to accept…

The Wife Defined from "The House of Bernarda Alba". The Wife Defined An Unequal Domestic Bargain Poncia says that men often leave the bed for the table and then the tavern, while a woman who refuses to accept…

The Wife Defined An Unequal Domestic Bargain Poncia says that men often leave the bed for the table and then the tavern, while a woman who refuses to accept this wastes away. Her practical account describes unequal married life. Resistance and Limits Poncia says she could handle her own husband, but her story offers no broad escape from the pattern. The daughters hear marriage as both possibility and warning.

Obedience Before Marriage Obedience Before Marriage from "The House of Bernarda Alba". Obedience Before Marriage Bernarda’s Instruction Bernarda tells Angustias to speak only when Pepe speaks and look at him when he looks at her.

Obedience Before Marriage from "The House of Bernarda Alba". Obedience Before Marriage Bernarda’s Instruction Bernarda tells Angustias to speak only when Pepe speaks and look at him when he looks at her.

Obedience Before Marriage Bernarda’s Instruction Bernarda tells Angustias to speak only when Pepe speaks and look at him when he looks at her. She treats obedience as the means to avoid marital trouble. The Bargain’s Cost Angustias’s feelings and suspicions are denied importance. Marriage promises a change of household status while preserving female submission.

A Wedding Overtaken A Wedding Overtaken from "The House of Bernarda Alba". A Wedding Overtaken The Formal Match Collapses Angustias’s pending wedding is overshadowed by the confrontation over Pepe and Adela.

A Wedding Overtaken from "The House of Bernarda Alba". A Wedding Overtaken The Formal Match Collapses Angustias’s pending wedding is overshadowed by the confrontation over Pepe and Adela.

A Wedding Overtaken The Formal Match Collapses Angustias’s pending wedding is overshadowed by the confrontation over Pepe and Adela. The marriage arrangement cannot contain the desires it was supposed to organize. No Open Alternative Adela’s relationship does not become a stable escape, while Angustias’s engagement offers no emotional security. The ending leaves the daughters within the same restrictive system.

Act One, after Bernarda decrees mourning

Act One, after Pepe’s intention is reported

Act Two, after Poncia describes her marriage

Act Three, after Angustias confides her doubts

Act Three, final crisis