On Bodas de Sangre

Bodas de Sangre by Frederico Garcia Lorca is a tale of love, death, and destiny, and these are manifested in various ways in the play. La novia is prepared to marry the bridegroom, who will be a very safe and stable husband who can provide her with a good life. But she is pulled by a powerful passion towards her ex-lover, Leonardo, who comes from the rival Felix family. Members of that family killed the bridegroom’s brother and father, and the bridegroom’s mother still holds a very strong grudge. The bride is eventually tempted enough to escape into the forest with Leonardo. The moon and an old woman, personifying death, help lead the bridegroom to them, and Leonardo and the bridegroom kill each other. This tragic ending leaves the mother and la novia with no one to love.

The symbols that Lorca uses in this play represent the various themes of the plot. Yet oftentimes, a symbol has more than one meaning and actually represents several themes at once. For example, blood symbolizes love, passion, kinship, and death. Also, more than one symbol may represent the same theme. For example, both the moon and la mendiga represent death.

Love is an important theme in Bodas de Sangre. But there is a tension between two types of love, and this is embodied in la novia. One is the love of the bridegroom. This is a safe, stable, and dependable love, that will bring a lifetime of material prosperity and a good family. The other is the fiery passion for Leonardo, which is forbidden by society, yet she ultimately cannot resist. This type of love, this passion, is what leaves her with no love in the end.

Destiny is another very important theme. According to society, the destiny of la novia is to marry el novio and have a good life. But her love and passion for Leonardo are so strong that this is not her true destiny. Her true destiny is a tragic one. Lorca uses the songs and poems that people say in the play to represent what will happen later, such as the lullaby that la suegra and la mujer sing in Act 2.

Finally, the theme of death is a very powerful one. La luna, la mendiga, la navaja, and blood all represent this theme. In fact, we can see how the two other themes are finally tied together in death. The love that la novia has for Leonardo is what defines the destiny of the characters. This is a destiny of death for the men, and an absence of love for the women. In death, Lorca ties everything in Bodas de Sangre together.