Blood Wedding Journal #3

Analysis of various symbols in Blood Wedding and how they are used.....



Knife: jealousy (causes death/violence)

Littlest Knife: women, because they are the heart of jealousy

Grapes: wealth, people seek for wealth

Horse: Bride

River/Water: true love

Birds: Death/carriers of death

Moon: truth

Wind: power (double edged)

Beggar Women: Death

Trees: Deception/lies

Blood: Passion/emotion

Orange Blossoms: purity/virginity



A knife is a tool used to kill and jealousy is a very strong emotion that invokes the desire to murder or get rid of the offended person. Because jealousy does not have to progress into feelings of murder, the knife can also be used to harm/injure gravely. The mother is so adamantly against knives because of the harm it brought to her family. Her husband and child were killed in the vineyard, their own place of wealth and fortune. If a person has a vineyard that is prosperous they are seen as very well off and a respectable person, and since the husband was murdered in his vineyard we can see that he was killed because the Felix's were jealous of his wealth. Though his death did not gain wealth for them it gave them a sense of accomplishment because he was no longer around. What goes deeper than mere jealousy over worldly things is the jealousy of love. The littlest knife is women because only a women can evoke such strong emotions into a man that would lead him to murder again and again. The littlest knife cannot be held in the hand, this shows that it cannot be controlled and a women's passion cannot be contained. But it can penetrate the skin deeper than any other knife, emotions are stronger than physical pain and so a women can hurt a man more than anything else.



The horse is the bride because Leonardo is the skilled horseman, he is able to aptly control the horse and make it do whatever he wants. The bride states that she did not want to go with Leonardo but she was forced, this shows that he had great control over her and was able to coerce her into his desires. Also the horse does not want the water. Water is true love because it can quench the fire that the bride is feeling, and it is what she truly wants, it is described as a small refreshing amount. True love can save anything but if there was too much it would no longer be special and so there must needs be a small amount. The bride seeks after the black river because there is a large amount of it and she thinks it will be better than something small, the river is described as black because it is corrupted and no longer pure. It has been darken by deceit and jealousy. The bridegroom states that there is only one horse in the world, this expresses his deep love for the bride because there is no other person for him. He would do anything to save her and loves her profusely. When Leonardo is telling the bride that she is caught in this deceit by her own will he states that she untied the horse. This means that she let her passions go, she no longer tried to control herself and let herself run free, even if what she was running to was harmful to her.

The moon sheds light upon the night and allows things to be seen that wouldn't normally be visible to the naked eye during night fall. The moon is the revealer of truth, because it brings light it makes the truth known. Although the trees can cast shadows on the ground and make it darker so the moon's light can't penetrate the moon will always be able to shed at least some light even in the darkest trees. Because the trees shade the truth this makes them deceit. The woodcutters wish to chop down the trees and destroy the deceit because it pulls apart relationships and is very harmful, the woodcutters are similar to the chorus in Oedipus. And like the chorus they know a little bit more than the audience and they wish to help the protagonist in his quest. The wind is another force that is trying to knock down the trees, however the wind is described as double-edged. Meaning that there is a good side and a bad side, the wind represents power. Power can do a lot of good and can help a lot of people, but with a price, it will corrupt the person it is serving. Most often with power there comes many deceits and lies because it is uncertain how that person became so powerful and there are often hidden plans ans secrets to bring them out of power. Power, however cannot touch the truth. The wind cannot effect the moon, it can blow clouds in the way but eventually the moon will still shine. And so we see that truth brings down power and is able to reveal the core of power, making it weaker.