Garcia Lorca’s Thamar y Amnón
The last poem of the Gypsy Ballads, is a retelling of the biblical rape of Thamar by her half-brother, Amnón. This is a highly problematic poem, for what Garcia Lorca does here, I argue, is to present us with a sympathetic view of Amnón, that it was his overpowering sexual desire that caused him to rape Thamar. Federico is not the first or last person to argue that sexuality has a dark side, that it can and will take on a barbarous, even suicidal persona; however, by entering into the debate by claiming Amnón just couldn't "help himself," that Thamar's own beauty "forced" her half-brother to violate her, Lorca is simply presenting a tired old chestnut that has been used since time-immortal; in short, that there is no such thing as free will, that men are simply slaves to their own libidos. As the Swedish say in such a situation, "Skitsnack!" Loughran (1994) notes:
Thamar and Amnón. Daughter and son of King David, half brother and sister. Lorca's treatment of the well known incestuous rape from II Samuel is embellished with other events form the same book of the Bible: King David's espying Bathsheba from his palace walls at evening and subsequent adultery, the arrows shot at Uriah the Hittite from off the walls of Rabbah, the flight on muleback of Amnon's brothers from the house of Absalom, and the rendering of garments by David and his household upon learning the the divine retribution for his transgressions with regard to Bathsheba and Uriah had come to pass in the bedrooms of his own palace, as promised … The collage that Lorca presents us with the appearance of all being parts of the single, main event: the luring of Thamar by Amnón into his bed chambers by feigning an illness, the taking of her virginity, and his subsequent abandonment of her. 75. Bastions. The Spanish "cubos" can be translated as cubes, buckets or the rounded bastions/ buttresses that strengthen ancient fortress or city walls and provided advantageous places from which to shoot or hurl projectiles at the enemy. Metaphorically, Thamar is under siege. 105. Harp. King David was noted for his playing of the harp or lyre. (pages 71-72)
If we compare the imagery of Preciosa y el aire with this poem, we see certain repeating symbols, but such a difference! First is Garcia Lorca's use of a rose, both opened and closed, to represent female genitalia. The description of Preciosa's "blue rose," is coy to the point of being obscure. However, Thamar's rosa encerrada "locked up rose," is brutally forced open to the point it is dripping blood. In retrospect, there is now a sense of voyeurism to both poems the reader might feel uncomfortable in sharing.
There are also several questions Federico does not answer. For example, early in the poem Thamar is described as being naked on the rooftops, but when she visits her half-brother, she is wearing clothing of some sort. My dictionary simply translates camisa as "shirt," but it Havard calls it "gown," Loughran and Humphries, "blouse," and Kirkland simply uses "underthings." I chose the term "intimate things," partially because I am not sure what the true definition of the term is, and partially because (in context with the plot of the poem) it can refer to both Thamar's underwear and genitalia. Also, what are we to make with this last poem? It is sinister, toxic, apocalyptic in its views, both as a comment between siblings (and by default all of us) and as a closing remark on the book. What started as a dark fairy tale of Old Man Wind chasing a Gypsy Girl (but thwarted) turns into the literal rape of a girl at the hands of an intimate. What I find telling by others who bother any analysis on this poem is not that they are horrified by rape, but that the importance they place is that it is an incestuous rape. Havard (1990) writes: "Incest represents the ultimate sexual offense and was central to Freud's discussion of tribalism in Totem and Taboo" (160). Ultimate sexual offense? Or worse, in my opinion, is an attempt to simply distance the act via metaphor. Again, Loughran writes: "It is no mere coincidence here that Apollo, god of the sun, and Diana, goddess of the moon, were brother and sister in mythology … [and] throughout the piece there is a constant 'confusion' between the virginal moon (Diana) and Thamar and between the coming sun (Apollo) and Amnón" (xxvii). Perhaps the act of rape is masked by this approach but it makes the poem no less beastly in what it implies.
| Thamar y Amnón Federico Garcia Lorca |
Thamar and Amnón translated by ZJC |
|---|---|
|
La luna gira en el cielo * Thamár estaba soñando * Amnón a las tres y media * Los cien caballos del rey * ¡Oh, qué gritos se sentían * Violador enfurecido, |
The moon, circling the sky * Thamar dreamed * At half past 3, Amnón * The king's hundred horses * Ai, what screaming is heard * Raper enraged, |