Blood Wedding

At the dawn of the wedding, the Bride and the Servant move to the courtyard outside the Bride’s house to escape the heat while the Bride is prepared for the ceremony. The Servant is happy and excited for the day and for the companionship the marriage will bring to the Bride. The Bride is reticent and tells her to shut up, claiming that marriage could just as easily bring “endless bitterness” (24). The Servant tries to tie a crown of orange blossoms on the Bride, but the Bride flings the crown to the floor. The Servant is abhorred at such an act and warns the bride not to “tempt Fate” (24). The Bride is despondent at the idea of marriage and admits to feeling “an icy wind blowing […] deep inside” (24). Nonetheless, she admits she loves the Bridegroom and that maybe she’s just intimidated by the enormity of marriage. Soon, they hear the traditional wedding songs of the arriving guests and the Bride goes inside.

Leonardo is the first to arrive, having left his wife in a cart and ridden on horseback alone. He is brusque with the Servant. He brushes off the suffering of his horse and doesn’t immediately recall his son.