Previous
Poncia
Pepe el Romano is Angustias, Martirio, and Adela’s love interest, and seemingly the only man in their village whom Bernarda deems high-class enough for her daughters. While he never appears onstage, Pepe visits Bernarda’s house each night to talk to Angustias and Adela through their windows. Though he proposes marriage to Angustias, likely because she has inherited all of her father’s wealth, he carries on an affair with Adela, which leaves her pregnant and indirectly contributes to her suicide at the end of the play. His womanizing and impropriety reflect how traditional Spanish conceptions of honor give men all but complete power over women—and therefore also license to mistreat them.
Pepe el Romano Quotes in The House of Bernarda Alba
The The House of Bernarda Alba quotes below are all either spoken by Pepe el Romano or refer to Pepe el Romano . 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:
).
Act 2 Quotes
PONCIA: Afterwards, he behaved himself. Instead of doing something else, he took up breeding finches—until he died. Anyway, it’s best for single women like you to know that fifteen days after the wedding a man leaves the bed for the table, then the table for the tavern. And any woman who doesn’t accept it rots away crying in a corner!
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The opening sequence in Act 2 demonstrates how Poncia has become the five sisters’ confidant and substitute mother figure. She listens to them discuss Pepe and Angustias’s budding relationship and offers advice based on her own marriage. She admits that her husband lied, cheated, and drank, but she supposes that all men do the same. As she explains here, given men’s disproportionate power and the social norms that excuse their behavior, women have no choice but to accept unreliable, unworthy men. In turn, this grim reality feeds those damaging social norms by teaching men that there are no consequences for Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum e
ADELA: She follows me everywhere. Sometimes she peeks into my room to see if I’m asleep. She won’t let me breathe! And it’s always, “What a shame about that face!” “What a shame about that body, which will never belong to anyone!” No! My body will be for anyone I please.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Adela tells Poncia that Martirio seems to be watching her, which makes her deeply uncomfortable. She dreams of having the privacy necessary to live in peace and make her own choices without judgment, but her sister seems to be jealous of her beauty and youth. (As readers and audiences will soon learn, Martirio is primarily jealous of Pepe’s interest in Adela.) Most of all, Adela hates Martirio’s comments about her future: Martirio suggests that Adela will never be able to marry. First, this is true of all of the sisters besides Angustias: they have no realistic prospects in the village Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia
PONCIA: Besides, who says you can’t marry him? Your sister Angustias is sickly. She won't survive her first childbirth. She's narrow in the hips, old, and from what I know, I can tell she’ll die. Then Pepe will do what all widowers do in this country: he’ll marry the youngest, the most beautiful, and that will be you. Live on that hope or forget him, whatever you want: just don’t go against the law of God!
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Once Adela’s interest in Pepe becomes clear, Poncia offers the cynical suggestion that Adela let Pepe and Angustias’s marriage go forward—but hope to become his second wife when Angustias inevitably dies in childbirth. This may sound like a cruel joke, but it’s not. To Poncia, this outcome would be acceptable because it would not involve adultery (“go[ing] against the law of God”). Modern readers and audiences might find this shocking—and to some extent, that was García Lorca’s point. He suggests that only an inhumane system could celebrate behavior so cruel and manipulative as hoping one’s sister dies. And yet traditional Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaqu
(Outside, a woman screams, and there is a great uproar)
ADELA: They should let her go! Don’t go out there!
MARTIRIO: (Looking at ADELA) Let her pay for what she did.
BERNARDA: (In the archway) Finish her off before the Civil Guard gets here! Burning coals in the place where she sinned!
ADELA: (Clutching her womb) No! No!
BERNARDA: Kill her! Kill her!
CURTAIN
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2 of The House of Bernarda Alba ends with a jarring, unexpected event that portends the tragedy that will soon befall Bernarda’s family. After catching a young woman killing and hiding the body of a child she bore out of wedlock, a mob of townspeople abducted her and started dragging her down the main road. They will likely kill or torture her as punishment. Upon learning this, Bernarda starts to enthusiastically cry out in support and even describe the horrible punishments she hopes the woman will suffer (like “burning coals” on her genitals). This horrifies Adela, who not only Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut voluptatibus. Voluptatem qui voluptatum. Voluptatibus sed placeat. Aut tenetur autem. Fugit voluptates in. Quidem impedit sunt. Excepturi ullam nobis. Ducimus odio quo. Ut autem harum. Omnis vel voluptatum
Act 3 Quotes
PRUDENCIA: It’s lovely. Three pearls! In my day, pearls meant tears.
ANGUSTIAS: But things have changed now.
ADELA: I don’t think so. Things always mean the same. Engagement rings are supposed to be diamonds.
PRUDENCIA: It’s more appropriate.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Bernarda’s friend and neighbor Prudencia visits for dinner at the beginning of Act 3. Oddly, rather than discussing the late Don Antonio’s funeral, their conversation revolves around Prudencia’s family’s reputation, the church, and Angustias’s upcoming marriage to Pepe el Romano. But when Angustias shows Prudencia her wedding ring, this is the conversation that follows. Unable to restrain herself, Prudencia notes that pearls are traditionally associated with tears. She thus implies that a pearl wedding ring is a bad omen for a couple. Ironically, the sister least beholden to tradition, Adela, is the first to jump to Prudencia’s defense. But she Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eu
BERNARDA: You shouldn’t ask him. Especially after you’re married. Speak if he speaks, and look at him when he looks at you. That way, you won’t quarrel.
ANGUSTIAS: Mother, I think he hides many things from me.
BERNARDA: Don’t try to find out about them. Don’t ask him. And, above all, don’t ever let him see you cry.
ANGUSTIAS: I should be happy, and I’m not.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Angustias voices her concerns about her upcoming marriage to Bernarda, who ignores and overrides her. Bernarda belligerently insists that a woman’s role is to obey her husband and accept her lot in life, no matter how unhappy this makes her. She proposes her own favorite strategy, denial, as the solution for any dissonance between one’s dreams and one’s reality. This illustrates not only the grim reality of womanhood in early 20th-century rural Spain, but also the great lengths to which women like Bernarda went in an effort to convince themselves that this reality was normal and acceptable. Bernarda’s disappointing advice Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error
ADELA: Mother, when there’s a shooting star or a flash of lightning, why do we say:
Blessed Santa Barbara, why
Are you writing, up so high,
With holy water in the sky?
BERNARDA: In the old days they knew many things that we have forgotten.
AMELIA: I close my eyes so I won’t see them!
ADELA: Not me. I like to see things blazing through the sky, after being motionless year after year.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The sisters look up at the stars, which come to symbolize their own desire to free themselves from their mother, village, and society’s constraints. Curious, freethinking Adela asks Bernarda why they traditionally associate shooting stars with Saint Barbara, and to her dismay, Bernarda has no idea. She trusts such traditions on their own merits. But her inability to explain beliefs she holds so blindly and fanatically suggests that the whole edifice of tradition in rural Spain is really just an elaborate justification for domination, particularly by men and the church. The lines that follow from Adela and Amelia further underline Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid i
MARTIRIO: (Pointing at ADELA) She was with him! Look at her petticoats, covered with straw!
BERNARDA: That is the bed of sinful women! (She moves toward ADELA, furious)
ADELA: (Confronting her) The shouting in this prison is over! (She seizes her mother’s cane and breaks it in two) This is what I do with the tyrant’s rod! Don’t take one step more. No one gives me orders but Pepe!
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
At the end of the play, Martirio tells Adela that she no longer views her as a sister, then calls over their mother Bernarda and points out the straw on Adela’s petticoats. In this play, adultery is strongly associated with animalistic desire and natural settings, like the olive grove where the field hands take women, sometimes with and sometimes without their consent. Given this link, Bernarda and the audience can reliably interpret the straw on Adela’s petticoats as evidence of adultery. Now finally exposed, Adela knows that her mother’s wrath would ordinarily await her. After all, her adultery is a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore lab
(A shot is heard)
BERNARDA: (Entering) I dare you to find him now!
MARTIRIO: (Entering) That’s the end of Pepe el Romano!
ADELA: Pepe! My God! Pepe! (She runs out of the room)
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Shortly after Adela admits to having had sex with Pepe, Bernarda realizes that Pepe is waiting just behind the house, in the corral. Bernarda takes her gun, runs into the corral with Martirio, and fires at Pepe. Although she misses—and he rides off into the night on his horse, presumably never to return—Martirio spitefully suggests to Adela that they have killed Pepe. (Some might interpret her as only saying that Pepe won’t be in the family’s lives anymore, but after the gunshot, her implication is clearly murder.) Upon realizing that she can no longer leave her family for Pepe, Adela Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequat
BERNARDA: I want no weeping. We must look death in the face. Silence! (To another daughter) Be quiet, I said! (To another daughter) Tears, when you’re alone. We will all drown ourselves in a sea of mourning. The youngest daughter of Bernarda Alba has died a virgin. Did you hear me? Silence! Silence, I said! Silence!
CURTAIN
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The House of Bernarda Alba ends with its title character repeating her first line from the play: “Silence!” Earlier, she yelled “Silence!” to demand her daughters and servants mourn her late husband Antonio according to her wishes. Here, she is doing the same for her daughter Adela, who has just committed suicide. Curiously, Bernarda falsely claims that Adela “has died a virgin.” Bernarda saw the straw on Adela’s petticoat, accused her of sin, and shot at her paramour Pepe el Romano, so there’s no doubt that she knows—or at least knew—the truth. It is unclear whether she has truly forgotten, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut voluptatibus. Voluptatem qui voluptatum. Voluptatibus sed placeat. Aut tenetur autem. Fugit voluptates in. Quidem impedit sunt. Excepturi u
Get the entire The House of Bernarda Alba LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Pepe el Romano Character Timeline in The House of Bernarda Alba
The timeline below shows where the character Pepe el Romano appears in The House of Bernarda Alba. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
Angustias walks across the stage. Magdalena reveals that Pepe el Romano wants to marry Angustias, and Amelia and Martirio say he’s a good man,...
(full context)
Act 2
...Poncia. As she embroiders sheets for Amelia, Magdalena jokes to Angustias that she is adding Pepe’s initials. The women wonder why Adela hasn’t come, and Angustias says she can’t wait to...
(full context)
...body will be for anyone I please,” Adela announces, and Poncia asks if she means Pepe el Romano. Poncia points out that Adela woke up and stood at the window when...
(full context)
Angustias enters, furious that someone has stolen the picture of Pepe she kept under her pillow. Her sisters return, and Angustias confronts them. Bernarda comes in,...
(full context)
The sisters all accuse one another of sin; Angustias reminds the others that Pepe el Romano chose her, but Adela, Martirio, and Magdalena declare that he just wants her...
(full context)
...felt the need to say something, and that it would be better for everyone if Pepe marries Adela—the woman he really loves. “Things are never the way we would like them...
(full context)
Poncia points out that her son saw Angustias and Pepe talking at four-thirty in the morning. Angustias enters to say that this is false, and...
(full context)
...and Adela, who both threaten to expose the other. Martirio claims that she’s attracted to Pepe, but hasn’t done anything with him, and Adela claims that Pepe is trying to sleep...
(full context)
Act 3
...to bring water instead. Prudencia asks if Angustias will marry, and Bernarda joyously says that Pepe will propose to her in three days. Adela and Magdalena quarrel, and Angustias shows Prudencia...
(full context)
...a joke. Bernarda reminds Angustias that keeping up appearances is essential, and Angustias mentions that Pepe seemed worried and distracted during their conversation the previous night. Bernarda says women shouldn’t ask...
(full context)
...black night, the giant white stallion, and the bright stars. Angustias goes to bed, since Pepe is in the city tonight and won’t be visiting. Adela asks Bernarda why they pray...
(full context)
...house and not cause any trouble. Bernarda asks if Poncia’s son still hangs out with Pepe late at night and claims that there’s no trouble left for them to get into...
(full context)
...and the Maid agree that Bernarda prefers ignoring the truth to confronting it and underestimates Pepe’s power over her daughters. Poncia blames Adela for leading Pepe on—and, rumor says, for letting...
(full context)
...attack her in the fields and asks Martirio to accompany her. Then, she warns that Pepe el Romano will “devour” the family’s women. Maria Josefa sings again while Martirio returns her...
(full context)
Martirio sees Adela, whose hair is unkempt, and tells her to stay away from Pepe. But Adela says that Martirio is just jealous. Martirio declares that she has to speak...
(full context)
Adela declares that Pepe is hers, even if this means “one of us has to drown.” Pepe has taken...
(full context)
...house to a prison and the cane to a “tyrant’s rod;” she says that only Pepe can tell her what to do anymore, because she is his. Angustias enters; Adela tells...
(full context)
Bernarda and Martirio return to the stage, and Martirio triumphantly declares that Pepe is no more. Distraught, Adela runs off into her room. Then, Martirio admits that they...
(full context)
...screams, and then runs back to the stage, clutching her own throat. Bernarda warns that Pepe will suffer for this and announces that “my daughter has died a virgin.” But Martirio...
(full context)
