Bohemian Lights: Plot and Structure Analysis
Bohemian Lights: Argument and Structure
Luces de Bohemia (Bohemian Lights), initially published in the journal “España” in 1920 and later revised as a book in 1924, introduces a groundbreaking genre in theater and literature. It presents a nocturnal odyssey across 15 scenes, exploring themes of frustration, death, and the burial of a blind Bohemian poet, Max Estrella, described as “a brilliant and hungry Madrid absurdity.” The play reflects the chronic political chaos and debauchery of the post-World War I era.
Plot Summary
The plot unfolds as a series of absurd incidents in the final night of Max Estrella’s life. Unable to provide for his wife and daughter, he drowns his sorrows in taverns. There, he interacts with individuals from the lower classes and avant-garde artists. He becomes entangled in political unrest, leading to his arrest, beating, and imprisonment. He witnesses the death of a child struck by a stray bullet and the execution of a Catalan striker.
Before his death, Max reflects on the artist’s role, aiming to depict reality as if seen through a “concave mirror” – distorted, ridiculous, and laughable. This representation of human flaws is intended as an authentic imitation of human nature. This “tragedy” is not traditionally tragic but rather something more preposterous, horrifying, and burlesque: an *esperpento*.
Structure
The play’s structure disregards the conventional division into acts and comprises 15 scenes:
- A Prelude: Scene I
- The Central Body of Work: Scenes II to XI, further divided into two stages:
- Scenes II-VI: Max’s time in the dungeon with the Catalan worker.
- Scenes VII-XI: From his release from prison to the death of the Catalan worker.
- The End of the Pilgrimage: Scene XII (Max returns home, his death).
- The Epilogue: Scenes XIII-XV: Parallels are drawn between the last scene and Scene I, fulfilling the “announced” suicide from the beginning.
Each scene takes place in a different setting, all within the “brilliant and hungry Madrid absurdity” of the early 20th century. Therefore, the space serves a narrative function.
Scene Locations
- Scene 1: Guardillón (small loft)
- Scene 2: Cave of Zarathustra
- Scene 3: Tavern of Pica Lagartos
- Scene 4: Street, Modernist bun shop
- Scene 5: Ministry of the Interior, “The Delegate”
- Scene 6: Calabozo (Dungeon)
- Scene 7: Newsroom of El Popular
- Scene 8: Private office of the Minister
- Scene 9: Coffee Shop
- Scene 10: Tour of the gardens
- Scene 11: Street in Madrid, in a poor neighborhood
- Scene 12: A doorway
- Scene 13: Wake
- Scene 14: Courtyard of the cemetery
- Scene 15: Tavern of Pica Lagartos
The contrast between the beginning and the end of the play, particularly concerning death, is noteworthy. At the outset, Max foreshadows death (“with little money, one could make coal for the eternal journey”), and the play concludes with headlines about “The stench of a brazier. Two ladies asphyxiated” (Max’s wife and daughter). The themes of death and suicide provide structure and coherence throughout the work.
Similarly, Max’s circular night journey through Madrid is significant. The play begins in Max’s home (guardillón, Scene 1) and the Pica Lagartos tavern (Scene 3), and it ends in Max’s home during the wake (Scene 13) and again in the Pica Lagartos tavern (final scene).