Abstract:

Garcia Lorca is one of the pioneers of modern drama. He was a critic of the status of women in the Spanish society of his times. In his plays, he presents women as tragic characters. Yerma is a tragedy set in rural Spain. The present study is an analysis of the presentation of gender roles in Yerma. The study incorporates insights from feminists such as Simone de Beauvoir, Kate Millet and others. It focuses on the distinction between ‘gender’ and ‘sex’, ‘biological essentialism’ and ‘social constructionism’ and ‘patriarchal gender roles’. The study shows that in Yerma Lorca seems to be challenging the patriarchal gender roles. In the play we find an inversion of patriarchal gender roles. The female protagonist is shown to be dominant and she becomes a spokesperson for the needs, desires and sentiments of women. In Yerma, Lorca offers a subversion of the traditional gender roles.

Keywords: