Blood Wedding Commentary on Symbolism

IB English A Literature HL: May 2015 Works in Translation Essay

Selected Text: Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Research Question: How does Lorca use symbolism to create sympathy for repressed groups in society?

Name: Stephanie Wong Candidate Number: 002634-0089 School: Victoria Shanghai Academy School Number: 2634 Teacher: Ms. Jane Barrowcliff Word Count: 1,498

Stephanie Wong (002634-0089)

English Lit HL Works In Translation

How does Lorca use symbolism to create sympathy for repressed groups in society? “Repression” can be defined as “to control what people do, especially by using force” (Cambridge). Being a gifted writer in a chaotic era, Lorca’s many works reflected his opinions about the civil disorder in Spain during the 1930s. Living in a patriarchal society, the characters of Blood Wedding struggles to break free from the bound of traditional beliefs. The symbolic characters of the Bride and Mother, the Woodcutters and the Moon are all deeply rooted in the images of repressed groups. Blood too symbolises the inhumane treatments of repressed groups. His sympathetic attitudes towards the repressed are rooted from his own identity as a social outcast. Lorca’s employment of the diverse range of symbols in Blood Wedding in order to portray his own sympathy evokes a sense of pathos from the audience for repressed groups in a conservative society. Lorca’s sympathy for the repression of women is evident in the characters of the Bride and Leonardo’s wife. Ironically, they are both romantically linked to Leonardo. The Bride and Leonardo are madly in love with each other, but Leonardo is married and the Bride is forced into an arranged marriage; she has no power to refuse or choose her fate1. Women were expected to know their place, to marry and live a stagnant life with her husband’s family. Marriage in Blood Wedding is portrayed as “a shining white bed. And a woman. And a man” (II.I). Where the white bed suggests sexual intercourse, it indicates that marriage is purely driven by sexual desires that bring “endless pleasure” (II.I) instead of true love. Leonardo’s wife is treated unjustly and as a sexual object. It

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The character of the Mother challenges the Bride by asking her, “Do you know what marriage is, little one?” (I.III). The Bride replies, “I know my duty.” (I.III), as if the ‘duty’ is out of her control.

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Stephanie Wong (002634-0089)

English Lit HL Works In Translation

could be argued that Leonardo and his wife’s marriage is purely driven by sex. Moreover, Leonardo suppresses the voice of his wife, often telling her to “shut up” and “leave [him] alone” (I.II.). She is not given a chance to express her feelings or her worries about their current situation as they “don’t have the money” (II.II). The Wife is also very distant from Leonardo. She doesn’t know “what’s wrong with [Leonardo,] what’s going in [Leonardo’s] head” (I.II), and despite her attempts to force Leonardo confess “look[ing] straight into [her] eyes” (I.II), Leonardo stops her and abruptly leaves the scene. Leonardo’s estrangement from his wife symbolizes women’s traditional role restricts them to household chores and nurturing children; husbands would not share their concerns with their wives. The restricted duties of women are a form of repression, as the Francoist government stressed to preserve the traditional Catholic beliefs. Red is a symbolic colour throughout the play, directly connected to blood and the title of the play. Blood is often associated with death, which is the ultimate fate of Leonardo and the Bridegroom. The inevitable deaths of Leonardo and the Bridegroom represent society’s expectations for individuals to obey traditional rules. Being a lover of the Greek chorus, Lorca embodies a chorus in the form of a group of young girls. “Red wool, red wool, what will you make? […] One thread of my wool will fetter your ankles. Will knot and choke the bitter wreath” (III.II). The presences of the red wool and thread to the Greek chorus suggest a link to the Greek mythology, Moirai, the personification of fate.2 The link to Moirai strengthens the red wool’s link to fate and death. A Chinese reading for red wool or red string would be the link between Lovers and commonly

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Moirai are usually depicted as three sisters: Clotho: In charged of measuring the thread of lifespan. She knows all of the past. Lachesis: In charged of spinning the thread of lifespan. She knows all of the present. Atropos: In charged of cutting the thread of lifespan. She can foresee the future.

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Stephanie Wong (002634-0089)

English Lit HL Works In Translation

known as the ‘red string of fate’3. This may suggest that the fate of the Bride, Bridegroom and Leonardo are bound together due to their love triangle and they are destined to die, as suggested by the link of the colour red to death. Another reading into the symbol of blood suggests sin and sinners. The Lovers are condemned as sinners by their society due to their affair. Lorca presents his sympathy for ‘sinners’ who desire freedom and true love, yet they are bound by society’s constrains. The character of the Mother also condemns Leonardo as a sinner due to the death of her husband and son caused by Leonardo’s family. She insists that “I have to spit – I have to spit – or I shall have to kill” (I.I) whenever she hears the last name ‘Felix’, and she strongly proclaims that she “don’t forgive it” (II.I). Lorca’s use of anaphora in the mother’s speech emphasises her blind hatred for Leonardo due to her past with the Felix clan. This shows Lorca’s own sympathies for people who are condemned for things they have not done, or the faults of their ancestors, like Leonardo. It could also represent Lorca’s sympathy for people who were condemned for something out of their hands. This might be reinforced by Lorca’s feeling towards his own homosexuality, which was not something he chose to be. Symbolically, through the Woodcutters, Lorca presents society’s lack of pity for individuals who go against society, and exposes the Bride and Leonardo as lovers. It is suggested that Lorca’s homosexuality translates into his sympathy for these repressed groups, who could not openly express their opinions and had no freedom of speech in the conservative society. The Woodcutters act as spectators who comment on the Lovers being on the run, allowing the audience to follow the lover’s elopement and their 3

It is based on a Chinese proverb: An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle but will never break.

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Stephanie Wong (002634-0089)

English Lit HL Works In Translation

current whereabouts in the forest. They have committed adultery, and now are in hiding in order to escape the punishments set by the society. The Lovers’ motives were purely out of their love for each other, yet the repression of this relationship suggests that a conservative society do not allow true love to exist. The Woodcutter attempts to shield the Lovers from the Bridegroom’s hunting crew, “cover their love, with a branch of shadow” (III.I.54-56), providing a glimmer of hope for the audience that the Lovers might be able to escape their punishments. Ironically, the profession of a Woodcutter is to “have [trees cut] down” (III.I). Lorca might have intended to show a failed attempt by the Woodcutters to shield the Lovers, as their professions requires destroying ‘lives’. This may translate into Lorca’s sympathy for the failed attempts of breaking free from the traditional societies by people desiring freedom, as they are ultimately captured and executed by the government. In Blood Wedding, Leonardo pays his price of violating society’s rules when he is shot dead as soon as his whereabouts is exposed by the moon. The moon works with the Woodcutters to symbolise fate in Blood Wedding as a channel for Lorca to show his sympathy for repressed individuals who succumb to fate. Personified as a young man, specially a woodcutter4, the moon is in contrast with the Three Woodcutters. Lorca had shaped Leonardo, as Gibson (1989) describes, the “victims of ineluctable fate”. Moon is symbolically the personification of fate. Its ability to shine down its moonlight, spilling the luminescent glow of “intense blue light” (III.I) throughout the forest, it exposes the lover’s locations. The colour of blue used in the stage directions may represent sorrow or death, as the paleness of a corpse is close to 4

III.I. Stage directions “Enter the Moon… white face”

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Stephanie Wong (002634-0089)

English Lit HL Works In Translation

a greyish blue tone. The use of a blue lighting may be Lorca’s way of hinting at the death of the love triangle, and in turn represents the exposure of people who violate society’s rules. Lorca’s stylisation of the Moon is different to the romantic, serene Moon common in literature. The fact that Lorca’s Moon works together with the Beggar Woman, who represents death, suggests that the Moon, and a patriarchal society, seeks to find and shun those who violate traditions and committed ‘sins’, like the Lovers’ and their elopement. The Moon’s ability to place judgements and verdict on the Lovers presents to the audience that it can manipulate their fate, in order to satisfy its own bloodlust “to warm [his] cheeks” (III.I). This is suggested by its symbolic representation of fate, and its identity as a young man, while the majority of the characters in Blood Wedding are women. As mentioned previously, Lorca has a tendency to create female characters with a higher status, yet they are unable to challenge the Moon’s status as someone who manipulates fate. This suggests that Lorca has sympathy for people who are freedom fighters and individuals, yet they are unable to challenge society’s traditions in the face of possible prosecutions. Being a part of the forces of change in society, Lorca expresses his sympathy for the repressed groups, due to his personal experiences and struggles in a patriarchal society. Lorca’s female characters, like Mother and Bride, are bounded by the patriarchal society despite his tendency in granting them power. Lorca’s own liberalist stance motivated him in presenting sympathy for individuals who seek freedom, like Leonardo, as they are bounded by the restrictions of a conservative society. Their inability to speak up evokes pathos in the audience and bystanders, as their passion to fight for what they desire proves to be the pavement to their downfall. Blood Wedding is

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English Lit HL Works In Translation

a controversial play that gives a platform for Lorca to express his sympathy for repressed groups. The social overtones in Blood Wedding are apparent through the use of symbolism; it dramatizes the harshness of societal norms in a patriarchal society. Such dramatization calls into question how severe the repression of groups were during Lorca’s era, which is a key feature that makes the play so controversial and enduring.

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English Lit HL Works In Translation

Bibliography Website "History of Spain - Changes, Anarchy, Then Civil War 1900 - 1939." History of Spain. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. . Estefania, Rafael. "Poet's Death Still Troubles Spain." BBC News. BBC, 18 Aug. 2006. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. . "Chinese (Red) String Theory | Inside Out & Backwards." Inside Out Backwards. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. "Red." Mobile Color Matters. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. . "Blood Wedding Education Pack." Cut to the Chase Productions. Cut to the Chase Productions, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. . Nevin, Julie. "Blood Wedding Study Guide." BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications. Brigham Young University, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. . "Arranged Marriages - Past and Present." HubPages. HubPages, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. . "Traditional Gender Roles | Girlfuture.com." Traditional Gender Roles | Girlfuture.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. . "Traditional Roles of Men and Women." StudyMode. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. . Jones, David Richard, and Jones, Susan. Federico Garcia Lorca Study Guide. N.p.: Repertorio.org, n.d. PDF. "Federico Garcia Lorca / Blood Wedding / Cortijo Del Fraile." Federico Garcia Lorca / Blood Wedding / Cortijo Del Fraile. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. . "Women in the Spanish Revolution - Solidarity." Libcom.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. .

Print

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English Lit HL Works In Translation

Gibson, I. Federico García Lorca: A Life. New York, NY: Pantheon, 1989. Print. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print. Garcia Lorca, Federico. Blood Wedding. Trans. Ted Hughes. N.p.: Faber & Faber, 1996. Print.

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