Benarda+Alba+-+Characterisation+-+PONCIA

__**Poncia**__ is the housekeeper in Bernarda's house and is sixty years old. At the beginning of the play she claims she is indifferent to the people in the house, especially Bernarda who she wishes to "have a horrible pain - like nails stuck in her eyes." and calls her "bossy" and "domineering". However, later it becomes apparent that she does care about the daughters. For example, when Bernarda hit Angustias for powdering her face, Poncia comes in between to calm Bernarda down to keep peace in the household. She can also often be seen warning the girls to be careful with their actions and can seem like a better mother to the girls than Bernarda as Poncia is more caring and considerate of the girls' reputation. Poncia is one of the first to see the conflict between the girls over Pepe el Romano and attempts to give them advice to try to make peace: she tells Adela that Pepe will be hers eventually as Angustias is unlikely to survive childbirth. She is the objective character that gives unbiased viewpoints on the events and also gives advice: "Get rid of those thoughts", which she tells Adela when she mentions her affection towards Pepe el Romano.

However despite the many wise piece of advice offered by Poncia, the girls often choose to ignore them as they believe her to be "just a servant" (said by Adela after getting the most important piece of advice over the whole play). They have the (arrogant) belief that they know things better than Poncia, as they are of a higher social class, even though they are younger than Poncia. We see how an old woman of sixty is not taken seriously by young girls, simply because she is of a lower class, even though her advice is the smartest in the play. Therefore Poncia can be used to show the way people of lower classes are treated in traditional Spain even though clearly they deserve credit.

Lorca uses different ways to show the barriers between people. To give an example,- in the beginning of the play, the men are outside, on the courtyard (patio), drinking brandy, but the women are inside and they are not really allowed to see them (this is the reason why Bernarda Alba gets furious when she finds out Angustias was peering through the door to look at the men). Another example is the relationship between the servants and the family. Poncia is rather friendly with Bernarda, although when she asks: " Can we or can we not bew honest with each other?" Bernarda replies: "We can not. You are my servant, and I pay you. Nothing more!" We know they don't just have a boss/servant-kind of relationship, because Poncia calls Bernarda by her first name.

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