Plays 52 - Yerma by Federico García Lorca

12. Yerma - Federico García Lorca

Yerma is a short play set in the Spanish countryside and concerns itself with the titular character and her yearning for a child. Yerma is married to a shepherd named Juan, however she has been unable to conceive after almost two years of trying. Juan seems to not appreciate Yerma's caring attitude to him, and is confused by her thinking there is something missing from their lives. Yerma likens herself to a weed in amongst the flowers, doing nothing whilst the other women bloom.

Juan leaves to tend to his sheep and Yerma sings to herself. A friend of hers, Maria, then passes by with news that she is pregnant after five months of trying. Yerma is clearly very pleased for her and begins quizzing her on what it feels like and if she could tell the moment it happened. Yerma's joy then turns to melancholy as she tells Maria of her own frustration. Maria reassures her that others have taken longer to conceive and Yerma responds well to this, her determination returning. She resolves to help Maria make nappies for her baby.

Yerma is busy sewing when Victor, another shepherd enters and assumes Yerma is making nappies for her own child. Yerma tells him no, and Victor responds by reassuring her and telling her that her husband needs to work less, since he will have no-one to leave all the money he's making to. Yerma is once again buoyed by Victor's encouragement, but once again seems lost in thought, looking longingly at the mountains.

It is a year later and Yerma is still without child, Juan is now working in the olive groves and she has just taken him his lunch. An older woman passes by and they begin talking about children and marriage. Yerma seeks the old woman's advice since she reveals she has had nine children, all boys. The old woman is reluctant however, and implies that there may be something missing from Yerma's marriage, a passion that should be there, although Yerma doesn't seem to understand, or does not want to. Yerma reveals that although she is fond of Juan, she did marry him out of a sense of duty and in order that she have children. She suggests that it is in fact Victor that she feels something stronger for, yet her family honour prevents her from pursuing this line of thought.

A little later, Yerma passes two young women also on their way back from the olive groves. One has left her baby at home, for which Yerma admonishes her. The other, like Yerma, is childless but happily so and clearly resents the idea that women are bound to marry and produce children and that that is the only life that awaits them. She tells Yerma that her mother makes her take all sorts of herbs to help her get pregnant, and that they are going to see the saint who helps women without children. Yerma then asks who her mother is, that she might seek advice from her.

Just then, Yerma catches Victor singing and from their conversation it is clear that there is a mutual attraction between them. She thinks she hears a child crying in the distance and Juan then enters. He tells Yerma that she ought to be at home and that people will 'talk' if she is seen out and about talking with other men. A little while later, Juan's fears are confirmed as a group of washer women gossip by the river about Yerma. They tell of how Juan's two sisters have come to live with them, effectively to keep an eye on Yerma who goes out walking alone. The sisters are likened to leaves that grow on graves and when the flocks of sheep pass by, they comment mockingly that Victor's are missing.

Back at the house, Juan complains to his sisters that they are not doing a good job of keeping an eye on Yerma. She is at the spring alone fetching fresh water for dinner, a dinner that he says is hard earned yet he can barely eat, since he is so exhausted from work. Juan once again protests that Yerma goes out on her own too much, but she tells Juan that it is hard for her to stay at home, when that home feels like a tomb. She then expresses to him of her need for a child, since he has a life of work and she feels she has no purpose. Juan cannot understand this though, since all he wants is a peaceful life and is frustrated that Yerma doesn't want this too.

Juan and his sisters go to eat, while Yerma remains stood in the doorway. Just then, Maria hurries past, as she is uncomfortable with how Yerma behaves when she passes by. But she does stop and allows Yerma to hold her child for a while. However this only makes her more melancholic and intensifies her yearning. The girl who spoke with Yerma earlier in the play, who was reluctant to settle for a conventional life, tells Yerma that her mother, Dolores, will see her. It's clear that Yerma has finally arranged to visit her to ask her advice. As she is preparing to leave, Victor arrives to say farewell. He has sold his flock to Juan and is going away, for reasons which are not made explicit but it is implied that he has become uncomfortable with the situation between himself, Juan and Yerma. Once he has gone, Yerma seems to have a new-found determination and leaves with the other girl to speak with Dolores.

It is dawn on the following morning and Yerma has apparently partaken in a prayer at a graveyard the night before with Dolores and two other older women. The prayer has helped women before and Yerma hopes that it will help her now. One of the old women sees Yerma's desperation and yearning and asks whether she will find contentment if she ultimately cannot have a child. Yerma's response to this is a passionate affirmation of her desire to have a child. The old women implore Yerma to seek solace in Juan's love whilst she waits to become pregnant, yet Yerma now reveals that she doesn't love him anymore. Whilst she is bound by familial honour to remain with him, she suspects that due to his lack of desire, she may never have a child with him. To everyone's surprise, Juan and his sisters arrive to confront Yerma. Juan assumes that she is cheating on him, yet Yerma vigorously protests her innocence which is confirmed by Dolores and the others. Yerma tries to tell Juan of her despair, yet he continually tries to silence her, not acknowledging her desperation.

A month later, Yerma is attending some kind of fertility ritual where childless women have gone to ask the 'saint' to help them. It emerges that this once sacred ritual has descended into a glorified orgy and Maria worries for Yerma's sanity in coming here. The gathered people then watch a performance by a masked man and woman, who are surrounded by dancers with garlands of flowers. The dancing and singing is a celebration of pure sexuality, with suggestive imagery of flowers, branches and horns.

After the dance, the old woman who Yerma sought advice from in the first Act approaches. She tells Yerma she is happy to see her there, and now offers her thoughts on why she is without child. She says that Juan's father and his father before him were notorious for not producing offspring, and the fault for her childlessness clearly lies with Juan. The old woman then offers Yerma one of her nine sons, since he is not yet married, and a place in her household. Yerma declines, however, once again stating her family honour and that she must remain with Juan.

Juan has overheard what has been said and now reveals to Yerma that he has never wanted a child. Although this is implicit throughout the play and he almost says as much in the first scene, this is treated like a revelation. Yerma expresses her astonishment that even though he could see how much having a child meant to her, he would not and will not provide her with one. In a dramatic clinch where Juan tells Yerma that all he ever wanted was her, Yerma turns on him and strangles him. Yerma acknowledges that with this act she has effectively murdered any child she might have had.