Act I

Reading Check

1. That the characters are located in “[a] room painted yellow” (Act I, Scene I)

2. “I wish you were a woman.” (Act I, Scene I)

3. Because she does not want to leave the graves of her husband and son (Act I, Scene I)

4. “Both of his arms [were] mangled by the harvester” (Act I, Scene I)

5. That their children will marry (Act I, Scene III)

Short Answer

1. Although the Bridegroom’s mother is happy for her son, she hesitates to accept his bride-to-be. Ultimately, she is curious about the nature of the Bride’s mother and inquires about her to the Neighbor. (Act I, Scene I)

2. The Bridegroom’s mother learns that her son’s bride-to-be was once engaged to Leonardo Felix. She is horrified at the news since she despises the Felix family. (Act I, Scene I)

3. The lullaby is about a thirsty horse who cannot drink water from the river. (Act I, Scene II)

4. After the Bridegroom and his mother leave, the Bride reveals that she is not interested in the wedding gifts, despite her Maid’s urgings. The Maid reveals that Leonardo comes to her window at night, and the Bride is aghast. (Act I, Scene III)

Act II

Reading Check

1. Leonardo (Act II, Scene I)

2. Orange Blossom (Act II, Scene I)

3. “To be silent, and consumed by fire” (Act II, Scene I)

4. Grandchildren (Act II, Scene II)

5. Wax (Act II, Scene II)

Short Answer

1. Act II, Scene I begins in the hallway of the Bride’s house as she prepares for her wedding with the Maid. (Act II, Scene I)

2. Upon seeing Leonardo and his wife, the Bridegroom’s mother asks the Bride’s father why they are at the wedding. The Bride’s father replies because they are “family.” (Act II, Scene I)

3. As they prepare to depart for the church, Leonardo’s wife insists that they travel together, as she is frustrated with his behavior and is now pregnant with their second child. Leonardo does not respond and consents to her request to travel together. (Act II, Scene I)

4. There is lively chaos at the wedding with dancing, eating, and celebration. Throughout the scene, Leonardo’s wife looks for him. The Bride is preoccupied and ignores the young girls she talks to and the Bridegroom, whom she’s trying to escape from. The Bridegroom briefly talks with the Maid, who shares her excitement for the couple. (Act II, Scene II)

Act III

Reading Check

1. Blood (Act III, Scene I)

2. He says that “It’s the arm of my brother, of my father, of all my family.” (Act III, Scene I)

3. To die together (Act III, Scene I)

4. “[L]ike a great bird with immense wings” (Act III, Scene I)

5. That the Bridegroom and Leonardo were “[d]ead in the beauty of the night” (Act III, Scene II)

6. The Bride (Act III, Scene II)

Short Answer

1. As the Bridegroom and his family begin to look for Leonardo and the Bride, the two characters of the Moon and the Beggar Woman appear in the woodland. The Moon (a personification of nature’s acceptance of death) is eager for bloodshed, while the Beggar Woman (the personification of death) assures the Moon that the lovers will die. (Act III, Scene I)

2. The Bridegroom asks the Beggar Woman if she has seen Leonardo and the Bride traveling on horseback. She replies that she can hear him and help find them. (Act III, Scene I)

3. As the Bridegroom and Leonardo exit the stage, the Bride and Leonardo appear, arguing. Their conversation reveals a tumultuous relationship, as the Bride shares that she wishes she could go back, even though she loves him and was the one who prepared the horse to escape. (Act III, Scene I)

4. Leonardo’s mother-in-law urges her daughter, Leonardo’s wife, to “take to your house. Bravely, alone in your house. To grow old and to weep. Through the locked door. Never. Not dead or alive. We’ll nail shut the windows. Let rain and the night, fall over the bitter grass” (Act III, Scene II). Leonardo’s mother-in-law advises this because she understands that custom dictates her daughter will be expected to play the part of a grieving wife, despite Leonardo’s mistreatment of her.

5. After listening to the Bride’s impassioned plea and explanation, the Bridegroom’s mother decides it is neither of their faults. This realization points to the theme of The Incompatibility of Desire and the Social Order. (Act III, Scene II)

6. The final scene is the procession of the two men’s bodies, with the curtain falling on “[t]he neighbors, kneeling on the floor, weep[ing].” (Act III, Scene II)