Blood Wedding/Literary Topics

Themes and Ideas--

While reading the first act in Blood Wedding, I noticed that the roles in society that the character in the novel played seemed very significant. It seemed like the society the characters lived in had strict rules on what they were allowed and expected to do, who they could marry etc...

For example, in the first scene when mother and Bridegroom are talking, the mother talks about how if he were a girl they would be embroidering and stitching and doing girly things instead of going out to the field. (page 7)

On page 36, the maid of the wife desperatly wants to see the gifts that the wife has received for her engagement. Instead of being friendly, the wife shoes her away. This makes it seem like there should be a distinct line between both the wife and the maid. As this scene continues, the maid is surprised with the wife's strength. She says 'You're stronger than a man!" on page 37. This was interesting for me because it seemed like it was an insult to the wife. This shows the roles they believed the men and women should have in the society.

I also noticed that whenever the wife and the mother-in-law talk to eachother, the structure of the play changes. Their dialogue is centered in the page instead of written in the middle. As of right now I do not know the significance of this but I will keep on thinking!