Lorca Journal 3

            The young children in Act II help to reinforce the theme that one will suffer without following the roles of gender and obedience. The kids are constantly waiting on the bride and trying to please her. They fight over who got the first pin out of her dress because whomever got the first one is said to marry first; they want the pin  because it is drilled into people at a young age that one must be married to fulfill the duties of being a women. At one point, the mother says that “girls never leave the house” (61) and the children know this and even want it because it is all they’ve even known because they are trained to be obedient. They strive to practice their ‘women’ chores by serving the bride. They are unaware of the consequences, but are starting to be exposed to what happens when a women disobeys her duties and doesn’t be with a man in a bed have kids, which is “what marriage is” (40) all about. The bride breaks the gender roles and obedience of womanhood and instead runs off with another man on her wedding night. Although the tragic end to the Bride’s decision is not yet unveiled, it results in her suffering. The young characters help show how prominent the gender roles and obedience of a woman are to society because these values are taught at such a young age.