Set in a small, traditional Andalusian village just before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, The House of Bernarda Alba follows the well-to-do Bernarda Alba and her five unmarried daughters—Angustias (age 39), Magdalena (age 30), Amelia (age 27), Martirio (age 24), and Adela (age 20)—in the days just after her husband Antonio’s death. Trapped inside Bernarda’s white-walled house by a combination of their mother’s tyranny, their society’s restrictive gender roles, and their lack of anywhere else to go, the five daughters struggle to imagine futures for themselves and start to fight over the one eligible bachelor left in town, the womanizing Pepe el Romano.
Just after Antonio’s funeral, Poncia and The Maid, who work as servants in Bernarda’s house, clean frantically and commiserate about how cruelly Bernarda treats them. After all, Bernarda spends her life locked inside, gossiping about the neighbors and worrying that her daughters will marry someone of lower social status. Upon returning from the funeral, Bernarda immediately starts criticizing the Maid, Poncia, and her daughters for infractions ranging from mourning too loudly to offering her the wrong color fan. She explains that she intends to make her daughters spend eight years grieving inside the house, as tradition dictates. Meanwhile, from deeper inside the house, Bernarda’s mother Maria Josefa screams about how her daughter ignores her and how she wishes to be free.
When Adela reports that Angustias was eavesdropping on the local men’s conversation after the funeral, Bernarda starts beating Angustias and demanding an explanation. Bernarda tells Poncia that nobody in town is good enough for her daughters, but she would never allow them to move away, either. The daughters discuss their bleak views on love and marriage, and a fight breaks out between the daughters and Bernarda when it comes out that Pepe wants to marry Angustias for her money (as the daughter of Bernarda’s first husband, Angustias is wealthier than her sisters). Elderly Maria Josefa comes onstage, says she wants to leave the village and get married, and insists that none of her granddaughters will ever find a husband. The sisters violently drag Maria Josefa back to her room and lock the door.
Sometime later, the four older sisters are embroidering linen in preparation for their wedding days. Angustias explains that Pepe el Romano has asked her to marry him. Poncia congratulates her, but also warns that all men eventually grow tired of their wives and turn to drinking and adultery instead. In private, Poncia also tells Adela that she saw Adela watching Pepe and Angustias meet at night—and she knows that Adela is secretly in love with Pepe, too.
The women hear the young fieldhands coming back from work and dream of going outside, but they know they can’t. “To be born a woman is the worst punishment,” Amelia concludes. Angustias reveals that the photo of Pepe she kept under her pillow has disappeared, and Poncia finds it in Martirio’s bed. Martirio claims this was a joke, but Adela accuses Martirio of also loving Pepe, and the other sisters tell Angustias that Pepe just wants her money. Poncia privately warns Bernarda of the “monstrous” conflict brewing among her daughters, because it’s clear that Pepe and Adela are really in love. But Bernarda insists that everything is fine and tells Poncia to “work and keep your mouth shut.” When Poncia points out that Pepe was talking to Adela late at night, Bernarda calls her a liar, but Martirio realizes there is a problem. Meanwhile, the townspeople drag a woman into the streets, intending to kill her, because she had a child out of wedlock and then killed it. Bernarda cheers them on as Adela holds her stomach in horror, which suggests that she is pregnant with Pepe’s child.
A neighbor, Prudencia, visits for dinner and explains how conflicts over her husband’s inheritance and her daughter’s disobedience are tearing her family apart. Bernarda praises her for preserving her family’s honor and taking solace in the church, even if it makes her day-to-day life miserable. Bernarda shares the news of Angustias’s engagement, and Prudencia congratulates the family, even though the pearl engagement ring reminds her of tears. Prudencia leaves, Bernarda assures Angustias that Pepe isn’t hiding anything from her, and the other sisters gaze up at the stars and dream of freedom. Bernarda chastises Poncia for suggesting that something is wrong with Angustias’s engagement, but Poncia and the Maid agree that Bernarda is choosing to live in denial. Poncia thinks Adela will do anything to win Pepe back from Angustias.
Maria Josefa walks onstage with a baby ewe, sings a song about going to the seashore and having children, and begs Martirio to let her out of the house. Martirio locks her back inside her room instead. Martirio then runs into Adela, whose hair is disheveled. They get into a fight and conclude that they don’t see each other as sisters anymore. Adela announces that she will do anything to get Pepe, even if it means ruining her family’s reputation or killing one of her sisters. In fact, she has just come back from having sex with Pepe by the river. Bernarda arrives and confronts Adela, who says she only cares about Pepe. She reveals that Pepe is waiting behind the house, in the corral, and she tells Angustias to go see him. Instead, Bernarda gets her gun, runs into the corral with Martirio, and fires. Even though she missed Pepe (he rode away on his horse), she tells Adela that Pepe is dead. Adela goes into her room and hangs herself; when Poncia discovers her body, Bernarda announces that “my daughter has died a virgin” because she still hasn’t realized the truth about Pepe and Adela. Bernarda insists that it’s time to mourn and demands silence from the whole family.
