Un Hogar Solido
Mark Jeremiah
May 12, 2011
Eng 15
"Un Hogar Solido" Blog
Un Hogar Solido by Elena Garro translates literally as "A Solid Home". This short, single act play was, for me, more difficult to relate to than her other works. The play has eight characters and is set inside a tomb with no windows or doors. The characters are deceased and are related to each other and are eagerly awaiting the deaths of the remaining living family members, for some sort of post mortem family reunion. I understand that this play is supposed to be symbolic of reflecting on life however I found it to be morbid, and even a bit distasteful. From the five year old 'Katie' playing with 'Don Clement's bones, to 'Lydia' explaining how she always wanted a solid home (her tomb), it seems to me that Garro is either making the topic of death insignificant, or she's trying to make her audience feel as though death holds more promise than life. If this is the case then Garro doesn't do a good job of making us want to experience this! Being "the center of the sun" and "the snow on rooftops" or being "the Mezcala" river doesn't sound as exciting or peaceful as spending time with and appreciating my wife or being there for my mother....here and NOW! Not in some far-fetched and unpromised after existence. But perhaps the saddest concept of this play is that, upon death, no one experiences heaven or the Creator. Because "being the fold of an angels tunic" or "wood in flames" cannot possibly compare with spending a blissful eternity with loved ones and our Creator....not with the objects that God created.
The play is a reference to Purgatory and the cleansing of the soul (i.e. letting go of the past) before entering the Kingdom of Heaven.
ReplyDeleteIt is a critical work explaining that Mexico cannot leave its past a prejudices behind and move on to a state of peace and/or grace. The family even divides itself between the main blood line and the 'foreigners.' The symbology of the uniform of Mejía, the cyanide poisoning of Muni, the many political titles of the orator at the funeral, etc... are all references to the disjointed power and racial/cultural oppression of the society.
What's more, between Saint Michael, the torture of slowly decomposing and the cathartic release at the end, the references to Dante's Purgatory are inescapable. Even the Spider to which Lydia refers to is in reference to Arachne, a greek woman who believed herself more skillful at tapestry weaving than Athena and suffered the punishment of being turned into a spider for her vanity. A mural of Arachne is one of the scenes that those that are punished for being prideful in life must carry stones over, according to Dante's description.
The play is about overcoming difference and achieving unity by letting go of the past AND the arrogance of Lydia to believe that only she knows how to create a perfect 'solid' home: she associates cleanliness with perfection, and finds it empty. She goes to purgatory for this.
At the end of the play, they are unifying with God and becoming present in all things, which is a valid and popular interpretation of Heaven.
Sidenote: Katie is in Purgatory for dying before her first communion and therefore having no existing relationship with God. When she expresses the desire, "I want to be the index finger of God the father," she expressing a positive relationship with God for the first time and therefore can proceed out of Purgatory... which she does with the rest of her family moments later.