Overseas Family School Singapore World Literature Essay 2

How does imagery, in Federico Garcia Lorcas play, Yerma, define the storys protagonist, Yerma?

Subject: English HL A2 Name: Abhineet Kumar Candidate Number: 060 Center Number: 000763 Word Count:

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the International Baccalaureate Diploma 2008 -2010

How Does Imagery Define Yerma?

Sometimes, a person can be defined by his or her name. In Federico Garcia Lorcas play, Yerma, the protagonists name originates from the Spanish word yermo. Barren, deserted, and unproductive are all definitions of yermo, and are all precise characteristics of the plays protagonist: Yerma. She is a woman trapped in an infertile relationship with her husband, Juan, in a society that relies on motherhood. As a result, instead of a child, she carries within herself tragedy. Yerma struggles to fight this tragedy, but does so in vain as her efforts to become a mother, ultimately fail. So, she finds her womb to be dry and isolated, much like meaning of her name and much like the cursed fig tree which bore no fruit. Lorca uses various literary techniques to accentuate the remote characteristics of Yerma. However, it is the use of imagery that most vividly and accurately defines who Yerma is. Considering this, Lorca emphasizes the use of imagery to create Yermas character. All of the longing, pain and entrapment Yerma feels not only herself, but within the demanding society she lives in, is illustrated vividly through imagery. As a result, her character is defined through imagery of nature, birth, fertility and infertility. Yerma is deeply entrapped not only within herself as she is hopeless in her endeavors, but also within the orthodox Spanish society that she lives in and everything within it. In the very village she lives in, she is surrounded by images of loneliness and entrapment everyday. The rural landscape of vast fields of wheat and grain all enclosed by tall mountains of ice illustrate the fact that wherever she goes, she will feel like she hasnt moved at all for in each direction she looks is the same thing (69). The only way for her to leave or to break through her isolation is past the mountains that would virtually be impossible to get across. In addition, she is trapped within fields of and fields of fertile land that in a sense, give birth to the crops that grow within it. With this, she is reminded everyday of the creation of life. The town Yerma lives in and the people within it can be considered a form of entrapment on her behalf. To be childless in the society she lives in amount to a kind of isolation which has no cure. This is evident by the remarks of the laundresses, who consider childless Yerma a most unfortunate woman. The structure of Spanish society, with its strong implementation of tradition, creates a duty for its women which obligates them to be mothers. Her position in this kind of society is therefore almost stagnant: "The sheep in the fold and women at home," as Yerma's husband describes. In this way, she has to try and keep herself happy everyday when she goes out and sees her neighbors carrying their babies about. In addition to the setting she is surrounded by, the very house she lives in is a metaphor for her entrapment. In a discussion with Juan, Yerma states how she never goes out. She simply spends her days sitting at home working on her sewing machine, making diapers. Where home could possibly be the one place she escapes her issues, is in reality quite the opposite. Through her own will, she decides to surround herself even in her home with things that remind of her children.

Yermas husband can be seen as a symbol of entrapment in her life. It is useless for her to argue with Juan as he wants no children, only peace, money, and a good reputation among the people of his town. Juan can be described as a wall at which all of Yermas efforts are cast to hopelessly. What further reinforces the fact that she is entrapped is that illicit love is unthinkable. The society she lives in, is made in such a way that once she is fixed with a man, it would be a matter of loosing all honor and dignity if she were to cheat on him. Towards the end of the play, Yerma says to the old woman: I am like a dry field where a thousand pairs of oxen plow, and you offer me a tiny glass of spring water. Mine is a sorrow already be-yond the flesh. The usage of imagery here perfectly sums up Yermas feelings of entrapment as the wounds she suffers from not being able to be a mother are almost incurable. Throughout the entire play, Yerma suffers from deeply enrooted feelings of longing, pain, and desire. These feelings are further developed inside her as almost everywhere she goes, she is confronted with the concept of maternity. The opening dream sequence is a perfect example of this, as even in her dreams she cant escape her desire to have children. It begins with a dreamlike light in which a shepherd leaves her with a child. At this very moment, the lighting changes to the cheerfulness of a spring morning. What this imagery introduces to the audience is the fact that simply having a child for Yerma would illuminate and make her life happy. She longs for a son from her own womb, one that she will be able to take care of and sing tender lullabies to. After Yermas heated conversation with her husband, she is well aware of the fact that he de has no desire to have children, and simply wants a peaceful life. She then questions, When, my child, are you going to come? She describes herself as broken and torn and with an empty cradle and a womb that aches for a child. Unlike most of the imagery in the play, this directly conveys her pain and longing to have a child. It is evident with this that she desires to give birth and to nurture one almost as if it were her destiny. She sees a cradle, but it is empty and wishes for it to one day hold a child. In a conversation with one of her friends Maria, she discusses how having children does indeed cause suffering and pain, but it is a good pain thats worth seeing a child grow up healthily. She continues to describe how every woman has enough blood for for our five children and if she doesnt have them, it turns to poison, as it will with (her). This further emphasizes her pain and almost an acceptance of the fact that she will never have what she needs. The fact that she says the blood within a woman will turn into poison, explains that if she doesnt have a child, she will in a way decay and gradually die. Much of Yermas emotions and characteristics can be defined through sexual imagery and dialogue. In second act of the first scene, Yerma converses with a Pegan Old Woman. At this point, it is quite evident that Yerma is an extraordinarily beautiful woman and this is reinforced with the fact that the old woman describes her as a flower in bloom and a creature of such beauty (77). The softness and smoothness of a flower is feminine; and maternity, possibly the highest form of femininity can be described as a basket of flowers and sweet scents. The flower imagery can be seen as a symbolization of the process of birth

as it relates to how it was believed that God came down from heaven to Earth and left a seed to blossom. It is important to consider that Yerma describes her breasts as two teeming springs I have of warm milk... in the closeness of my flesh.... as it portrays her sense of knowing that she will be a great mother. However, the fact is that her situation is quite hopeless and in terms of imagery, she will never blossom. As a last hope, Yerma goes to a mountain shrine popular with childless women. Juan, who has followed her, is suspicious of her motives and outraged by her presence there. The fact that he is infertile is suggested by the gossip of an old woman, who tells Yerma of a history of barrenness in Juans family. At the end of the play, Yerma can be considered a victim of her own misfortune. All of her efforts to imply be who she needed to be in society go in vain. The pain she suffers is more powerful than any conviction she has in herself and this way it can be considered that her womb will always stay dry. Yerma, realizing her marriage has lost the only meaning it ever had for her, strangles her husband in desperation. This can be see as an act of abandoning her suffering but leaves her with a different kind of pain: Yerma: Barren, barren, but sure. Now I really know it for sure. And alone... My body dry forever! ... Don't come near me, be-cause I have killed my son. I have killed my son myself. In murdering Juan she has killed her only hope or a son. And what this ultimately suggests about Yermas character is that really she didnt have the opportunity to define herself, her fate was predetermined through the oppressive society she lived in. A society that avoided finding a place for her, but instead turned her into someone she was not meant to be.