The House Of Bernarda Alba And Like Water For Chocolate
World Literature Essay
English A1 SL Assignment 1: Comparative Study
How does the role of men shape the tension among family members in The House of Bernarda Alba and Like Water for Chocolate?
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Words: 1437
Federico Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, and Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate, both illustrate the effects of oppression on daughters under the tyranny of a controlling maternal figure. Throughout the play and novel dominated by women, there is a flagrant dearth of men; however, the men enact integral roles in the development of the female protagonists and the progression of the plot. While, the absence of the husbands drives the plot, causing the female figures …show more content…
Her powerful stature is first shown in the conversation between Poncia and a servant about Bernarda’s imperious personality, “She’s the cleanest, she’s the decentest, she’s the highest everything! A good rest her poor husband’s earned!” (Lorca 158) Bernarda’s personality is anomalous in the mid Twentieth Century and her husband’s death amplifies this even further. Her entrance to the play reveals her power in the house when she denies the voice of others with her own, only shouting, “Silence!” (Lorca 161) Moreover, she has total command over her daughters, telling Angustias, “Until I go out of this house feet first I’ll give the others for myself and for you!” (Lorca 175) Bernarda acts as an exception to the cultural norm in Spain that men take on the role of the house and to the cultural norm that women have a small voice of their own opinions.
Likewise, in Like Water for Chocolate, Mama Elena officially becomes the head of the house through the death of her husband. The death of her husband “shocks” (Esquivel 10) Mama Elena, “dries up her milk” (Esquivel 10), and drives Mama Elena to run her farm, manage her family and follow familial traditions. However, her authority strains the future of her daughter – Tita when she tells
English A1 SL Assignment 1: Comparative Study
How does the role of men shape the tension among family members in The House of Bernarda Alba and Like Water for Chocolate?
Name:
Candidate Number:
School Number:
Words: 1437
Federico Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, and Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate, both illustrate the effects of oppression on daughters under the tyranny of a controlling maternal figure. Throughout the play and novel dominated by women, there is a flagrant dearth of men; however, the men enact integral roles in the development of the female protagonists and the progression of the plot. While, the absence of the husbands drives the plot, causing the female figures …show more content…
Her powerful stature is first shown in the conversation between Poncia and a servant about Bernarda’s imperious personality, “She’s the cleanest, she’s the decentest, she’s the highest everything! A good rest her poor husband’s earned!” (Lorca 158) Bernarda’s personality is anomalous in the mid Twentieth Century and her husband’s death amplifies this even further. Her entrance to the play reveals her power in the house when she denies the voice of others with her own, only shouting, “Silence!” (Lorca 161) Moreover, she has total command over her daughters, telling Angustias, “Until I go out of this house feet first I’ll give the others for myself and for you!” (Lorca 175) Bernarda acts as an exception to the cultural norm in Spain that men take on the role of the house and to the cultural norm that women have a small voice of their own opinions.
Likewise, in Like Water for Chocolate, Mama Elena officially becomes the head of the house through the death of her husband. The death of her husband “shocks” (Esquivel 10) Mama Elena, “dries up her milk” (Esquivel 10), and drives Mama Elena to run her farm, manage her family and follow familial traditions. However, her authority strains the future of her daughter – Tita when she tells