Topic Sentence

The transition of the Bridegroom from a collected, level-minded young man, into an impulsive and vengeful monster can be attributed to his mother's subliminal influence on him.

Journal #9- Blood Wedding

Jealousy: Lorca shows through his characterization of the Bridegroom and Leonardo that jealousy and envy never have positive consequences. Leonardo who is jealous of the Bridegroom marrying the Bride, attempts to interfere with the wedding by stealing the bride to run away with him. Envious that the Bride has chosen Leonardo over him, the Bridegroom, equally envious, pursues Leonardo and the Bride into the forest. Both kill each other with malice in their hearts because of their jealousies.

Marriage:  Lorca defends his belief that marriage should not be negotiated between parents in his play Blood Wedding. Throughout the play, the Bridegroom is being led by his mother in regards to who he will marry and how and when it will be done. The mother of the Bridegroom and father of the Bride meet to discuss the marriage, almost comparing it to an exchange one might observe at a market. The recurring theme of the Bride's displeasure highlights Lorca's belief that marriage should not be spearheaded by ones parents in order to achieve economic stability, but rather, since the couple will be living together for years to come, it is important that the two have a passionate bond for one another and not just trying to please their parents.

Grief: The inability for mother to move on and quit grieving over her dead husband and son create a fundamental theme in Lorca's Blood Wedding. The mother constantly talks about how sorrowful she is and how unfair it is that she is a widow. No matter what the occasion is, no matter how joyous it may be, the mother can only focus on what happened years ago and as a result, becomes a real kill-joy that rubs others the wrong way. Many others in the play urge her to stop talking about it, telling her that she should not talk of such things during a time of celebration. Through the death of her only other son, Lorca portrays his belief that nothing good can come from dwelling on the past.

Journal #8- Blood Wedding

The setting in the first act is varying, but consistently welcoming. Although deceiving, the setting seems to invoke a sense of calm optimism as the families prepare to merge through the marriage. The rooms are a simple color, yellow, pink, with few ornaments or decorations to distract from the focal point of the act, the setting up of the internal conflict. In each scene in the first act we see how one of the key figures prepares for the wedding, be it the Bride, Bridegroom, or Leonardo. The simple layout of the setting proves to be misleading as so many issues  regarding the wedding surround it. In the second act, The setting shifts primarily between the Bride's house, and the church. The vast amount of celebration that takes place during this act creates a more jubilant tone rather than optimistic, the wedding is taking place, it's not just being anticipated anymore. However, once again the setting is misleading and masks the true sentiments, especially those of the bride, who is much more distraught than she lets on. Finally, the setting of the third act takes on the true feeling of the play. The dark woods produce an ominous mood when combined with the blue light of the moon and the cryptic predictions of the Old beggar Woman as well as the Moon. From the very beginning of the act, you can almost sense that something bad is going to happen merely because of the fact that it is taking place in a wooded area that can conceal looming figures and muffle screams of terror.

Journal #7- Blood Wedding

It seems to me that the youth in the second act serve to create tension and aggravate the internal conflict within the bride. Their naive acts, such as talking about the bride "awakening", or the young girls questioning about the pins only serve to remind the bride that she is being forced into something that she has no interest in. The emotions and thoughts of the bride specifically are brought up through dialogue with the young girls. When asked about the pins the bride claims she doesn't know which one she gave out first, following that up by saying, " (Interrupting) And I don't care! I have a lot to think about (68). This quote shows the Bride's frustration in having to deal with such trivial matters when the biggest decision of her life is at stake and she is struggling to put on a nice face and pretend that nothing is wrong. Once seeing Leonardo pass she exclaims that  "these are anxious moments", showing that she is uncomfortable being near him because of the internal conflict that he arouses. The growing tension culminates at the end of the scene when the Bride runs away with Leonardo, an act just as naive and juvenile as the ones that occur during the ceremony. Lorca uses the youth to illustrate his belief that the naive, innocent nature of the young reveal our impulsive thoughts and/or feelings that can lead to both internal as well as external conflict.

Journal #6- Blood Wedding

Three of the characters in  Blood Wedding show definite signs of misery throughout the play. The mother expresses her sorrow over the loss of her husband and eldest son, constantly bringing the subject up in conversation, as well as mentioning how terrible knives and the Felixes are. She can never just feel joyous about the occasion of her son's wedding because she cannot let go of her sorrowful past. The Bride appears to be miserable,  terribly upset that she is going to marry someone that she does not love.  She shows disinterest in any and every aspect regarding her upcoming wedding. In fact she even acts defensively, telling people to leave her alone when they question her about her evident displeasure. Leonardo also shows misery, pained at the prospect of the Bride getting married to another man even though Leonardo still has feelings for her.  Through his interactions with his family, this pain and sorrow is highlighted. He is short and condescending towards his wife and mother-in-law, especially when questioned about his horse, and his past relationship with the bride. The mother longs to have her husband and son back, but probably more so, she wants the Felix family to pay for what they have done to hers in blood. Close friends and family keep her from following through with this terrible deed, by talking some sense into her, telling her not to dwell on the past. The Bride desires are complicated but understandable to some measure. She wants Leonardo to leave her alone, not because she does not have feelings for him, but rather she knows that she becomes vulnerable to his charm and that it is not right for him, a married man, or her, a soon-to-be wife, to be partaking in such behavior. She cannot follow through with her urge to shun Leonardo because of the trance-like affect he has on her, leaving her obedient to a fault with no logical justification as to why she is acting that way. She also does not want to get married to the Bridegroom because she does not have intimate feelings for him. She doesn't follow through with this desire because she knows that it is too late to back out now without causing a scene. She also feels pressure from those around her, that she is expected to marry this well-to-do man with a good reputation and clean slate. Leonardo wants to be with the Bride because he still has passionate feelings towards her. He feels a restriction in pursing his desire because of the fact that he is married, however he does finally steal her away and attempt to run away with her. In the end the one thing that stops Leonardo cold, is when he and the Bridegroom stab each other, ending their lives.

Journal #5- Blood Wedding

One of the key archetypes in the play is the bride, who is depicted quite differently than one would imagine for the time period. While most assume brides have been looking forward to this day for years and filled with joy, the bride in Blood Wedding exhibits neither of these cliche characteristics. In fact others in the play, such as the maid, take notice of this strange behavior and call her out on it. "For heaven's sake! All right. Your're acting like you don't want to get married" (36). As it is shown, women are expected to be excited about getting married, however the bride's actions clearly prove that this is not always the case. It seems that Lorca is expressing his opinion that marriage is corrupt and often influenced by others to be what they want rather than the desires of the two being joined together. Marriage was much more impacting then than it is now, as divorces were seldom, meaning that marriage almost always meant forever. Through this characterization of the bride, we can can see that Lorca turns the wedding into a day of joyous celebration, into a dreaded day of forced agreement where both sides are not mutually content.

Journal #4- Blood Wedding

One of the symbols that I noticed throughout the first scene of the play was eyes. Although, never directly mentioned, there are several instances that refer to "seeing" someone or looking at them. The symbol is described as being what keeps women loyal to their husbands and binds them to one man. The mother describes the aspect of a woman's role in the society she lives in, "I looked at your father, and when they killed him, I looked at eh wall in front of me. One woman with one man, and that's it" (10). This quote clearly depicts the characterization of Mother as someone who is very traditional to the customs of her culture. This helps build up the conflict that ensues due to the brides inability to "look" at just one man. I also saw this quote as pointing towards the culture's tendencies for isolation. The mother is constantly mentioning how lonely she will be once the bridegroom is married, showing the limits and confinements that are placed upon her because of what society expects her to do now that her husband is gone as well as her sons. 

Also, I noticed the symbol of the word "Felix". Almost instantly we can see that the word Felix fills Mother up with contempt and anguish towards her lost husband and eldest son who were both murdered by members of the Felix family. She says, "hearing 'Felix' is like having my mouth fill up with slime! And I have to spit ! I have to spit , so I won't kill!" (16). From this quote we can see just how serious this contempt for the Felixs' really is. The Mother is so full of pent-up rage that she must continually spit to keep herself from killing! It is pretty apparent that this symbol was used to characterize Mother, however it also serves to establish a setting where long-standing family feuds are present and divide the community. This division establishes a hostile environment that exaggerates certain actions and/or reactions that take place in the play, especially the those of Leonardo who is almost exclusively targeted by Mother, since he in fact is a Felix.