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The following paper has been uploaded for no profit motive. The right of copy should be consulted the author leila_behroozfar@yahoo.com Title A Foucauldian Study of The House of Bernarda Alba Subtitle A Conceptualization of Michel Foucaults Abstract Ideas Through a Power-Oriented Play Abstract The whole paper deals with an analysis of the following concepts in the play The House of Bernarda Alba by the Spanish playwright: The concept of power and its productivity, Anti-authority struggle, The concept of resistance against power, The outcome of coercion to silence, The notion of identity and its restraining outcome, The notions of abnormality and normality. Keywords Discipline, Hidden Transcript, Panopticon, Victorian Moral Codes

The play The House of Bernarda Alba which conveys the story of a dominant mother whose imposition of power on her five daughters result in resistance, uprising, and a catastrophic end is an obvious criticism against the Victorian Moral Codes which were associated with Shallow

Morality, Conformity, Silence nd a great deal of endeavor to maintain appearance. Michel Foucault, the French Postmodernist Thinker and Philosopher, whose ideas revolved mainly around concepts such as Power, Knowledge, and Discourse was one of the rough dissidents of Victorian Moral Codes which according to him led to suppression and repression of the individual under the reign of the Supreme Power. The writer of the article is determined to consider, analyze, and discuss the following concepts found in the aforementioned play i.e. The House of Bernarda Alba written by the Spanish playwright Frederica Garcia Lorca: The Concept of Power and Its Productivity Anti-authority Struggle The Concept of Resistance Against Power The Outcome of Coercion to Silence The Notion of Identity and Its Restraining Outcome

The Notions of Abnormality and Normality

The Concept of Power and Its Productivity The concept of Power has been one of the most polemical notions throughout the history of philosophy and thought. Scrutinized and discussed by various outstanding features such as Nietzsche, Marx, and so on and so forth is not a new concept followed and defined by Foucault. To be precise and to the point, the only and the most significant difference of Foucauldian definition of power and that of those preceded him lies in Foucaults perception of power in other words, Foucault sees power not only repressive but productive; something which brings about forms of behavior and events rather than simply curtailing freedom and constraining individuals. He also points out that power is not possession in the hands of the powerful but it is a performance, a strategy that permeates the whole social body.

In The House of Bernarda Alba, being the dominant power in a small society like family, Bernarda Alba constantly strives for controlling her five daughters by initiating binary oppositions such as decency vs. indecency and exercising permanent Surveillance which act as tools in her hands. This power penetrates into the minds of the individuals to the extent that each individual acts as a monitor and observer of the others. In this play Adela in act 2 is heard talking aboit her sister Martirio as follows: Adela: She follows me everywhere. Sometimes she peps into my room to see if Im asleep. The whole house resembles a prison, Panopticon, with a domineering mother functioning as a guard and surveillance and the whole inhabitants of the house as prisoners that persuade Bernarda to struggle to take and have the control of the whole house: Adela[standing up to her]: This place has sounded like a prison long enough[Act 3]

The imposition of the power on the people living in the house paved the way for the appearance of certain forms of behavior such as tendency to nicknaming her as leopard-face by Bernardas mother Maria Josefa or lizard by the servant if the house Poncia. Anti-Authority Struggle In his profound essay The Subject and Power Foucault argues on AntiAuthority Struggle in which the powerless or suppressed inaugurates a struggle against the prescriptions of the authority in that society. In this local or immediate struggle, people criticize the conditions of their lives and take action to set them free from the dominance of the authority. In this play, several hints of this struggle taken by daughters especially Adela can be detected: Martirio[softly]: Adela [Pause. She moves right up to the door. [Loudly] Adela!Adela appears. Her hair is somewhat disheveled. Adela: Why are you looking for me? Martirio: Keep away from that man

Adela: who are you to tell me what to do? Martirio: thats no place for a respectable woman. Adela: and havent you just longed to be there? Martirio[loudly]: the time has come for me to speak out. This cannot go on. Adela: this is only the beginning. I had the strength to take action, the spirit and courage that you havent got. Power and Resistance In volume one of the History of Sexuality Foucault asserts that where there is power there is resistance. In other words. Foucault is willing to convey that in power relations there is no master/slave relation but there is struggle against master. According to him, to exercise power there should be someone who resists i.e. where there is no resistance, there is no power relation. Those resistant individuals should pay physical costs to themselves.

In this play, being the most resistant figure, Adela dies at the end of the play. Her death can be considered as atonement for her all struggles and resistance against her mother. Foucault also states that in the presence of their equals, both powerless and powerful, develop a hidden transcript that is a critique of power spoken behind the back of the dominant. In order to analyze a power relation, we must analyze a total relation of power i.e. the hidden transcripts as well as the public performance. For instance, in the scene where poncia and the Maid are alone these hidden transcripts can be detected: Poncia:she doesnt want to be seen in her own kingdom. To hell With her. Maid: she has been good to you Poncia: Thirty years washing her sheets, thirty years eating her Leftoversbut damn and blast her all the same, may she roast In hell.

The other features enormously discussed by Foucault is Discipline as self-regulation that is a set of strategies, procedures and ways of

behaving which are associated with certain institutional contexts and which then permeates ways of thinking and behaving in general

The Outcome of Coercion to Silence: As discussed by Foucault: within the ninetieth century, there was an attempt to silence discussion of sexuality and restrict social practices. We should not assume that this repression was effective, or effective in the ways in which it was envisaged it would be. The seeming repression of sexual discussion and sexuality itself had an unintended effect, thats to increase the desire to speak about sexuality and increase to pleasure gained from violating these taboos. As it can be seen in this play, Adela gains pleasure from violating the taboo of relationship with would-be husband of her half-sister i.e. Angustias. Bernarda, does her best to put a ban on sexual discussions and practices but this restriction leads to no way except failure. The Notion of Identity and its Restraining Outcome:

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Foucault is among the philosophers who advocate dissolution if identity, rather than its creation or maintenance. As discussed by Siegel: [he] sees identity as a form of subjugation and a way of exercising power over people and preventing them from moving outside fixed boundaries In this play, Bernarda Alba constricts her daughters due to her tendency to maintain her reputation; in other words, her identity. Being a model for Victorian Moral Codes, Bernarda cares excessively on what other people may say about her and they may stain her reputation. This maintenance of identity leads her to subjugate her daughters which results in the catastrophic outcome. The Notion of Abnormality and Normality: Foucault constantly argues on the definition of two terms of Abnormality and Normality. He poses the two significant questions who determine the abnormality and normality in a society? And why is a person dubbed abnormal?

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In this play, Bernardas mother is expected to be known as Mad which is a type of Abnormality. But, in the course of the story, she is depicted as the mouthpiece of the five girls, that is to say; she strives for going away, marrying, and procreating.

Maria Josefa:just because I have white hair you think I cant have Babies and babies[ACT 3] Maria Josefa:I must go away from here,[ACT 3] She is dubbed as Mad and is locked due to defying the orders of supreme power i.e. Bernarda Alba who is an executive and a follower of Victorian Moral Codes.