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Father
A servant in the Bride’s house. A seemingly kind and attentive woman, the servant is the only person who picks up on the Bride’s hesitancy to get married, though—like everybody else—she is also quite taken by the fancy gifts the Bridegroom’s mother gives the young woman. However, these material possessions don’t completely blind her to the Bride’s unhappiness, which is why she eventually asks, “Do you love your young man?” What’s more, she tells the Bride that it’s not too late to back out of the marriage, though the young woman unfortunately waits until after she’s already married the Bridegroom to change her mind. What’s more, despite her attentiveness to the Bride, the servant also actively tries to shelter her from Leonardo, as she realizes that he has an overwhelming effect on her.
The Servant Quotes in Blood Wedding
The Blood Wedding quotes below are all either spoken by The Servant or refer to The Servant. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act Two, Scene One Quotes
SERVANT (combing). Such a lucky girl…to be able to put your arms around a man, to kiss him, to feel his weight!
BRIDE. Be quiet!
SERVANT. But it’s best of all when you wake up and you feel him alongside you, and he strokes your shoulders with his breath, like a nightingale’s feather.
BRIDE (forcefully). Will you be quiet!
SERVANT. But child! What is marriage? That’s what marriage is. Nothing more! Is it the sweetmeats? Is it the bunches of flowers? Of course it’s not! It’s a shining bed and a man and a woman.
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SERVANT. It’s no time to be feeling sad. (Spiritedly.) Give me the orange-blossom. (The BRIDE throws the wreath away.) Child! Don’t tempt fate by throwing the flowers on the floor! Look at me now. Don’t you want to get married? Tell me. You can still change your mind. (She gets up.)
BRIDE. Dark clouds. A cold wind here inside me. Doesn’t everyone feel it?
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LEONARDO (getting up). I suppose the bride will be wearing a big wreath of flowers? It shouldn’t be so big. Something smaller would suit her better. Did the bridegroom bring the orange-blossom so she can wear it on her heart?
BRIDE (she appears still in petticoats and with the wreath of flowers in place). He brought it.
SERVANT (strongly). Don’t come out like that.
BRIDE. What’s the matter? (Seriously.) Why do you want to know if they brought the orange-blossom? What are you hinting at?
LEONARDO. What would I be hinting at? (Moving closer.) You, you know me, you know I’m not hinting. Tell me. What was I to you? Open up your memory, refresh it. But two oxen and a broken-down shack are almost nothing. That’s the thorn.
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BRIDE. […] I’ll shut myself away with my husband, and I’ll love him above everything.
LEONARDO. Pride will get you nowhere! (He approaches her.)
BRIDE. Don’t come near me!
LEONARDO. To keep quiet and burn is the greatest punishment we can heap upon ourselves. What use was pride to me and not seeing you and leaving you awake night after night? No use! It only brought the fire down on top of me! You think that time heals and walls conceal, and it’s not true, not true! When the roots of things go deep, no one can pull them up!
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Act Two, Scene Two Quotes
It hurts to the ends of my veins. On the face of every one of them I can only see the hand that killed what was mine. Do you see me? Do I seem mad to you? Well I am mad from not being able to shout what my heart demands. There’s a scream here in my heart that’s always rising up, and I have to force it down again and hide it in these shawls. They’ve taken my dead ones from me and I have to be silent. And because of that people criticize.
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The Servant Character Timeline in Blood Wedding
The timeline below shows where the character The Servant appears in Blood Wedding. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act One, Scene Three
...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,...
(full context)
Act Two, Scene One
On the wedding day, the servant combs the Bride’s hair, saying, “Such a lucky girl…to be able to put your arms...
(full context)
“Don’t you want to get married?” the servant asks, adding that the Bride can still back out of the arrangement. However, the Bride...
(full context)
While the servant helps the Bride get ready, the first wedding guest arrives. To the servant’s surprise, she...
(full context)
...to hear his “complaints.” “Mine would be louder,” the Bride admits, at which point the servant tries to end the conversation, telling them they shouldn’t “talk about what’s gone.” Nonetheless, Leonardo...
(full context)
...the sound of his voice, by the sight of his arms moving.” Hearing this, the servant firmly puts an end to the conversation, and the voices of the wedding guests sound...
(full context)
Act Two, Scene Two
The Bridegroom’s mother and the Bride’s father return after the wedding ceremony and ask the servant if they’re the first to arrive, but she informs them that Leonardo and his wife...
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...wife wonders where he has gone. During this time, the Bridegroom flirts cheekily with the servant and prepares to spend his first night with the Bride, who is currently talking to...
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...horse for a ride, and the wife continues to search. Seeing the Bride’s unhappiness, the servant asks her what’s wrong. “It’s as if someone’s struck me on the head!” the Bride...
(full context)
