Abstract
This article argues for a re-reading of one of García Lorca’s most complex plays, Así que pasen cinco años in the light of recent theoretical work on sexual categories and social identity. It suggests, contrary to what Lorca portends to do in his more conventional tragedies about sexual repression and institutionalized life, that Así que pasen cinco años offers a powerful defense of heterosexuality and marriage within the matrix of family life. This is done at the expense of a sublimated homosexuality that the protagonist disavows. Drawing from Freudian psychoanalytic theories and other contemporary, groundbreaking theorists on gender and sexuality, such as Foucault, Adrienne Rich and Judith Butler, the article argues against a natural and ‘essential’ notion of heterosexuality, in favor of a biologically fixed but culturally presupposed sexual identity that is imposed onto the psyche of a more authentic ‘other’ whose existence is disavowed. In this respect, the article posits this play as partaking of the conflict between nature and civilization that informs much of what Lorca wrote.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, A. & Maurer, C. (Eds.) (1997). Epistolario completo. Madrid: Cátedra.
Belsey, C. (1980). Critical practice. London: Methuen.
Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble. Feminism and the subversion of identity. New York and London: Routledge.
Carter, A. (1993). The Sadeian woman: An exercise in cultural history. London: Virago.
Cernuda, L. (1975). Obra completa. Prosa I. 3 vols. Derek Harris & Luis Maristany (Eds.). Barcelona: Seix Barral.
Dyer, R. (2002). The matter of images. London: Routledge.
Eagleton, T. (1978). Criticism and ideology: A study in Marxist literary theory. London: Verso.
Edwards, G. (1983). El teatro de Federico García Lorca. Carlos Martín Baró (trans.). Gredos: Madrid.
Flys, J. (1955). Poeta en Nueva York. (La obra incompleta de F. García Lorca). Arbor, 31, 247–257.
Foucault, M. (1989). Historia de la sexualidad. 3 vols. Ulises Guiñazú, Martí Soler & Tomás Segovia (trans.). Madrid: Siglo XXI.
Freud, S. (1933). The new introductory lecture on psycho-analysis. W. J. H. Sprott (trans.). New York: Norton Publishers.
Freud, S. (1953). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud. 24 vols. James Strachey (Ed. and trans.). London: The Hogarth Press, VII: 123–243.
Freud, S. (1965). The interpretation of dreams. James Strachey (ed. and trans.). New York: Avon Books.
García Lorca. (1978). “El público” y “Comedia sin título.” Dos obras teatrales póstumas. Rafael Martínez Nadal & Marie Laffranque (Eds.). Barcelona: Seix Barral.
García Lorca, F. (1989). Obras completas. 3 vols. Arturo del Hoyo (Ed.). Madrid: Aguilar.
García Lorca. (1994). Prosa inédita de juventud. Christopher Maurer ed. Madrid: Cátedra.
Gibson, I. (1985 & 1987). Federico Garcia Lorca. 2 vols. Madrid: Grijalbo.
Gide, A. (1931). Corydon. Julio Gómez de la Serna (trans.). Madrid: Ediciones Oriente.
Gide, A. (1944). Les nourritures terrestres. Paris: Gallimard.
Glavey, B. (2009). Dazzling estrangement: Modernism, queer ekphrasis, and the spacial form of Nightwood. Publications of the Modern Languages Association, 124(3), 749–764.
Hocquenghem, G. (1978). Homosexual desire. Daniella Dangoor (trans.). London: Allison and Busby.
Huélamo Kosma, J. (1989). La influencia de Freud en el teatro de García Lorca. Boletín de la Fundacion Federico Garcia Lorca, 3(6), 59–83.
Ingraham, C. (2002). Heterosexuality: It’s just not natural! In D. Richardson & S. Seidman (Eds.), Handbook of lesbian and gay studies. London: Sage.
Knight, R. G. (1966). Federico García Lorca’s Así que pasen cinco años. Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, XLIII:32–46.
Lacan, J. (1982). Ferminie sexuality. Juliette Mitchell & Jacqueline Ros (Eds.), Jacqueline Rose (trans.). New York & London: W. W. Norton and Co.
Llamas, R. (1998). Teoría torcida. Prejuicios y discursos en torno a “la homosexualidad.” Madrid: Siglo XXI.
McIntosh, M. (1981). “The homosexual role.” In K. Plummer (Ed.), The making of the modern homosexual (pp. 30-49). Totowa (NJ): Barnes and Noble.
Miller, D. A. (2007a). On the universality of Brokeback Mountain. Film Quarterly, 60(3), 50–60.
Miller, D. A. (2007b). On the Universality of Brokeback Mountain. Film Quarterly, 60(3), 50–60.
Plasek, J. W., & Allard, J. (1984). Misconceptions of homophobia. Journal of Homosexuality, 10, 23–37.
Rich, A. (1993). Compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence. In H. Abelove, M. Aina Barale, D. M. Halperin (Eds.), The lesbian and gay studies reader (pp. 227–254). New York: Routledge.
Sartre, J. P. (1963). Saint Genet. Actor and martyr. Bernard Fretchman (trans.). New York: George Braziller.
Secrest, M. (1986). Salvador Dalí. New York: Dutton.
Smith, P. J. (1998). The theatre of García Lorca: Text, performance, psychoanalysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Strindberg, August. (1973). A dream play and four chamber plays. Traducción e introducción por Walter Johnson. New York: The Norton Library.
Taylor, R. (1965). Sex in history. London: Panther Books.
Tidwell, J. E., & Ragar, C. R. (2007). Montage of a dream. The life and art of Langston Hugues. Columbia, MO: University of Columbia Press.
Ucelay, M. (Ed.) (1995). “Introducción.” Federico García Lorca. Así que pasen cinco años. Leyenda del tiempo (pp. 9–184). Madrid: Cátedra.
Valente, J. Á. (1976). Pez luna. Trece de Nieve, 1–2, 191–201.
Welles, M. L. (1976). Lorca’s Así que pasen cinco años: A “Leyenda del tiempo. Romance Notes, 17, 137–145.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jerez-Farrán, C. El imperativo heterosexual y sus consecuencias en Así que pasen cinco años de García Lorca. Neophilologus 99, 235–252 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-014-9408-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-014-9408-2