Englit Guide 96

  The Burial of the Sardine ( L’Enterrement de la sardine ) by Fernando Arrabal - Character Analysis Hieronymus Hieronymus is the central figure of The Burial of the Sardine , and the strange world of the play is largely experienced through his situation. He is a dwarf who lives in a confined room and is separated from ordinary social life. His physical confinement is accompanied by a limited understanding of the world around him. He watches life outside through his window, making him both an observer and an outsider. Despite his unusual circumstances, Hieronymus possesses a certain innocence and curiosity. He is interested in the world beyond his room and responds to the experiences brought to him by Altagora and Lis. However, he does not completely understand the significance of what happens around him. This limited understanding contributes to the play's atmosphere of uncertainty. Hieronymus is also a character of dependence. Because of his isolation, the people who vis...

  The Burial of the Sardine ( L’Enterrement de la sardine ) by Fernando Arrabal - List of Characters 1. Hieronymus Hieronymus is the central character of The Burial of the Sardine . He is a dwarf who lives in a confined room and spends much of his time observing the outside world through a window. His restricted existence makes him dependent on the people who visit him and curious about the world beyond his room. He experiences events with a mixture of innocence, uncertainty, and fascination. His eventual departure from the room and entry into the procession marks an important change in his situation. 2. Altagora Altagora is one of the two women who regularly visit Hieronymus. She plays an important role in his isolated existence and becomes involved in his experiences, memories, and understanding of the outside world. Her relationship with Hieronymus combines elements of companionship, instruction, authority, and control. Her presence contributes greatly to the strange a...

  The Burial of the Sardine ( L’Enterrement de la sardine ) by Fernando Arrabal - Symbols and Motifs The Sardine The sardine is the central symbol suggested by the title of the play. Its burial transforms an ordinary object into the focus of a strange funeral ceremony. The sardine can be associated with the ending of the carnival and with the passage from celebration to closure. Its small and insignificant nature also contrasts with the elaborate spectacle surrounding its burial. Through this image, the play creates a deliberately disproportionate and absurd relationship between a simple object and a grand ceremonial event. The Room The room in which Hieronymus lives is one of the most important symbols in the play. It represents physical confinement as well as the narrow limits of his experience. Within the room, his life follows repetitive patterns and depends heavily on the visits of Altagora and Lis. The enclosed space therefore becomes a representation of isolation, d...

  Themes of The Burial of the Sardine ( L’Enterrement de la sardine ) by Fernando Arrabal Fernando Arrabal’s The Burial of the Sardine ( L’Enterrement de la sardine ) is marked by the characteristic mixture of absurdity, violence, grotesque humour, ritual, and psychological disturbance associated with his theatre. The work presents a world in which ordinary logic and social conventions lose their stability. Beneath its strange and often disturbing situations are several important themes. 1. The Absurdity of Human Existence The central theme is the absurdity of existence . Events do not necessarily follow a rational or conventional order, and actions often appear disconnected from their expected consequences. Characters find themselves in situations that are strange, irrational, and sometimes deliberately meaningless. Arrabal uses this absurdity not merely for comic effect but to suggest the uncertainty of human life. Individuals attempt to impose meaning upon a world tha...

  The Burial of the Sardine ( L’Enterrement de la sardine ) by Fernando Arrabal - Analysis Fernando Arrabal’s The Burial of the Sardine is a deeply unconventional play in which the ordinary structures of realistic drama are replaced by a world of confinement, repetition, grotesque behaviour, fantasy, and uncertainty. The play centres on Hieronymus, a dwarf who lives in an enclosed room and whose experience of the outside world is largely limited to what he can see through his window. His restricted existence creates the basic dramatic situation, while the appearances of Altagora and Lis and the strange procession outside gradually transform his isolated life into an increasingly disturbing theatrical experience. One of the most important features of the play is its absurdity . Events do not always follow the logic expected in conventional drama. Characters behave in unusual ways, conversations and experiences may appear disconnected, and situations frequently acquire an exagg...