La Casa de Bernarda Alba

• Genre: Fiction; realistic drama
• Originally Published: 1945
• Reading Level/Interest: College/adult
• Structure/Length: 3 acts; approx. 112 pages; approx. 1 hour, 19 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Bernarda decides to follow the family tradition of an eight-year mourning period after her husband’s death, insisting her five adult daughters participate as well. When a man enters the picture, ostensibly wanting to marry the oldest daughter while secretly having an affair with the youngest daughter, events unfold that lead to tragedy for all.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Death by suicide

Federico García Lorca, Author

• Bio: Born 1898 in a small town in Fuente Vaqueros, Spain; died 1936; studied at Columbia University and University of Granada; traveled internationally; joined artists’ group Generación del 27, becoming friends with Salvador Dalí; influenced by surrealism; appointed as director of Teatro Universitario La Barraca; was executed by firing squad in the Spanish Civil War; La Casa de Bernarda Alba adapted for opera, ballet, and film
• Other Works: Libro de Poemas (1921); Odes (1928); Blood Wedding (1932); Yerma (1934)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Sexual Repression
• Cycles of Oppression
• Cycles of Violence

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the historical and social contexts regarding the oppression of women through traditional social norms and institutions that incite the frustration of the Alba women.