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Act One, Scene Two
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Blood Wedding, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love, Passion, and Control
History and Fate
Violence and Revenge
Ownership and Unhappiness
Summary
Analysis
A servant welcomes the Bridegroom and his mother into the domesticated cave in which the Bride lives with her father. As they sit down and wait for their hosts, the Bridegroom and his mother discuss how far this property is from their vineyard, and the mother expresses her eagerness to return before dark. “But this land’s good,” the Bridegroom points out. “Yes, but too isolated,” his mother replies. “These are the dry lands,” the Bridegroom explains, and his mother talks about how her husband “would have covered [the land] with trees” despite the lack of water.
When the Bridegroom’s mother talks about her husband’s ability to turn infertile land into verdant pastures, the audience senses the pride she associates with land ownership and competent farming. Indeed, she clearly believes that a person gains respect by owning fertile land—yet another indication that she’s more interested in superficial notions of ownership than she is in matters of love, since she’s talking about property instead of romance even as she sits and waits to meet the Bride for the first time.
Themes
Finally, the Bride’s father enters and introduces himself. Within moments, he starts talking about his land, speaking proudly about his crops. “In my day this land didn’t even produce esparto [grass],” he says. “I’ve had to punish it, even make it suffer, so it gives us something useful.” Hearing how much he cares for his property, the Bridegroom’s mother assures him that they will not be asking for a dowry, which the Bride’s father appreciates, since he knows their family is quite well-off on account of their prosperous vineyards. “What I’m sorry about is that the estates are…you know…separate,” he says, wishing that he could transport the vineyards so that they could be right next to his own land.
Like the Bridegroom’s mother, the Bride’s father is interested in the importance of ownership, as evidenced by his immediate desire to discuss his land. As such, neither parent focuses on the emotional details of their children’s relationship, instead fixating on the superficial and pragmatic elements that come along with marriage.
Themes
When the Bridegroom’s mother asks why the Bride’s father would want their land to be conjoined, he says, “Mine is hers and yours his. That’s why. To see it all together. Together, that would be a thing of beauty!” Turning their attention to the union of their children, they then discuss the marriage, listing off the positive traits of their respective children. The mother, for her part, says that her son “has plenty” and “knows how to manage it,” adding that he’s good-looking and pure, since he’s “never known a woman.” The father, in turn, talks about his daughter’s positive traits, explaining that she wakes up early to work, doesn’t “talk too much,” and is good at embroidery.
Even when the mother and father turn their attention to their children and their upcoming marriage, they fail to focus on the Bride and Bridegroom’s actual relationship. Instead, the Bridegroom’s mother talks about her son as if he is a prized possession, and the Bride’s father brags about his daughter in the same manner. When he boasts that the Bride doesn’t “talk too much,” the audience sees how little he is concerned with the Bride’s interior or emotional life, instead fixating on whether or not she’ll make a stereotypically good wife—a notion that draws on a sense of patriarchal ownership, as the father implies that the Bridegroom will benefit from the Bride’s subservience and practical skills.
Themes
Having listed these traits, the parents approve of the marriage and set the date for the following Thursday, which is also the Bride’s twenty-second birthday. “That’s what my son would have been if he were still alive,” the Bridegroom’s mother says, but the Bride’s father tells her not to “dwell” on such matters, though she admits that she thinks about it “every minute.” At this point, the Bride enters with a bowed head. When the Bridegroom’s mother asks if she’s happy, she sullenly says yes, and the old woman tells her not to be so “serious.” The Bride then says that she wouldn’t have agreed to marry the Bridegroom if she didn’t want to.
When the Bridegroom’s mother says she’ll never stop thinking about her son’s death, she once again suggests that her personal history will always be with her and will continue to influence the way she lives in the present and future. On another note, the Bride’s solemnity suggests that she is less enthused about the idea of marrying the Bridegroom than one might expect. Indeed, the fact that she goes out of her way to point out that she wouldn’t agree to marry the Bridegroom if she didn’t want to ultimately suggests that the opposite might be true, as it carries undertones of defensiveness.
Themes
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Taking the Bride’s chin in hand, the Bridegroom’s mother says, “You know what getting married is, child?” When the girl says, “I do,” the mother says, “A man, children, and as for the rest a wall that’s two feet thick.” The Bridegroom then happily chimes in, asking, “Who needs anything else?” Agreeing that this is what marriage means, the Bride says, “I know my duty.”
In this moment, it becomes clear that the Bridegroom and his mother approach marriage as a transaction, one in which the Bride will gain a reliable husband, children, and a home. When the Bridegroom cheerfully agrees with this notion, the audience comes to understand that seemingly everyone surrounding the Bride has forgotten that marriage is also about love. Because of this, the Bride sees her and the Bridegroom’s wedding as nothing more than a “duty” she must fulfill, implying that she sees it as a somber, tedious, or even unsavory task that she must grit her teeth and go through with.
Themes
The mother gives the Bride the wedding gifts before departing with the Bridegroom, leaving the Bride with her servant, who’s eager to inspect the presents. “Stop it!” the Bride says, but the servant persists, wanting badly to see the stockings because she’s heard they’re quite “fancy.” Still, though, the Bride refuses to take any interest in the wedding gifts. “For God’s sake!” the servant exclaims, exasperated. “Alright. It’s as if you have no wish to get married.” In response, the Bride sharply tells her to “shut up” and asks that they change the subject, so the servant asks if she heard a horse the night before. At first, the Bride pretends she doesn’t know what the servant is talking about, but the servant tells her that she saw Leonardo ride up to her window, and the Bride admits this is true and tells her not to talk about it.
The servant is apparently the only person to pick up on the Bride’s unhappiness. Although she is—like everyone else—quite taken by material items, she manages to recognize the Bride’s discontent, which is why she points out that the young woman is acting like she doesn’t want to get married. By this point in the play, it’s clear that this is an accurate assessment, and this is further solidified by the revelation that Leonardo has been visiting the Bride late at night. This, it seems, is where he has been riding his horse, visiting his former lover even though he’s married to her cousin.
Themes
