Yerma - I. R. Macpherson

One of Lorca's best known plays tells the story of a young
peasant wife in rural Spain whose sole conscious desire is to
embody what she regards as the natural, moral and social laws
governing her life as a woman in motherhood. The tragedy of
Yerma, which literally means 'barren', in this powerful and
emotive drama, is that she remains childless and so is denied the
dignity and the emotional fulfilment which traditionally only the
role of mother could bring. The frustration of Yerma's maternal
instinct, the only acceptable channel for her sexuality in her
repressive society, leads her through humiliation and despair to
an erosion of her whole personality which culminates at the end
of the play in violence and death.It is not only the strong feminist theme that accounts for the
play's great popular appeal today. With the highly charged
emotion are blended poetic imagery and lyricism which haunt the
imagination of modern audiences as much as those of fifty years
ago when Lorca was murdered. Spanish text with facing-page
translation, introduction and notes.