Amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín: the lorquian universe from eroticism to tragedy

Abstract

Amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín, subtitled erotic Alleluia, is one of Federico García Lorca's avant-garde works. It belongs to his farces and its origin dates back to a topic from the Spanish Golden Age theatre, the love between an old man and a beautiful young woman, which is also the main theme in La zapatera prodigiosa. The work shows essential themes of Lorca's theatre: the duality between eroticism and death, the presence of symbols and the confrontation between social conventions and human desires. On the other hand, the text raises another theme from classical Spanish theatre, the honour, although in this case the resolution of the conflict leads the hero to death by a doubling of its personality. The book contains in the lyrical elements symbols associated with eroticism in other Lorca's works, such as fish or water. There is a revision of the patriarchal model and a critique of marriage as a social rite, opposed to the eroticism and sensuality. Sexual instincts and desires are defended in a conventional and prejudiced society. In short, this theatrical piece brings together the themes and forms of Lorca's aesthetics and vision of the world, governed by love and death.