Eloísa is under an almond tree: SUMMARY and CHARACTERS

Heloise is under an almond tree, is a play, written by Enrique Jardiel Poncela. It was premiered at the comedy theater in Madrid in 1940 and became a symbol of classical Spanish comic theater. This work is a clear example of theatrical comedy that is only based on the entertainment of the reader or the spectator.

In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to teach you the summary and the characters of the play of Heloise is under an almond tree, so you know what are the adventures that happen to Fernando and his fiancée, Mariana, along with their families, who are a bit crazy.

the prologue of Heloise is under an almond tree starts with a introduction to the work in which he presents us with the main features of the protagonists and makes a lot of emphasis on the class difference that can be noticed among the humblest characters and the lords.

The work begins in a cinema she that she waits for the session to begin and the conversations of different groups of people who are in this space will be interspersed. Always with a clear tone of comedy. When

Mariana and her boyfriend Fernando They have agreed to go to a concert, as an excuse to escape together and go to the boy's farmhouse. But, just at the last moment, Fernando began to behave in a strange way and Mariana couldn't stand it. The way he behaved Fernando was like ordinary people, like any one of the town.

So Mariana ran away from the concert, along with her aunt Clotilde, and went into the first movie theater she found (where she is currently). While Mariana is explaining everything that happened to her aunt, Fernando and Ezequiel enter the room. Then Mariana changes her behavior towards the boy, seeing that he returns to being what he was before her and the type of boy that she likes.

Both couples separate and start talking on their own, but the conversation goes wrong again between the two lovers, so Mariana escapes againshe, along with her aunt and Fernando goes after them to chase them with the car.

Image: IMDB

in the first act Fermin appears, which is the Edgardo's servant, showing Leoncio the house, since today is his first day of work in this crazy house. Edgardo (Mariana's father) he is Clotilde's former lover and when she is there she abandoned him, she decided not getting out of bed anymore because of bad love and to this day he had fulfilled his promise. That is why he is such a demanding master with his servants, because he cannot do anything by himself. However, Edgar he is obsessed with traveling and she does it in the following way: her servant Fermín puts on some slides and rings the bell every time they arrive at a new place. So this one has had to learn all the railway routes and train schedules.

At that moment, Micaela (Edgardo's sister), her maid Práxedes, hers, two of her dogs Cain and Abel, Mariana and Clotilde arrive at the house. In the moment in wich Mariana finds herself alone, Fernando arrives and ends up convincing her to run away with him. tonight. Then she objects and the boy decides use chloroform to take it away. Once Fermín takes the girl, Ezequiel is attacked by the dogs, thinking that it was the thief.

While Clotilde heals her wounds, she discovers a notebook hidden among Ezequiel's belongings. When she is alone, she opens the notebook and sees that there is a list of women's names, with some information and the dates of her death. Then Mariana's aunt begins to suspect that Ezequiel is murdering women. The news that Mariana has been kidnapped he reaches the ears of Edgardo, who gets out of bed after 21 years, believing that he would lose his daughter and they all go to the Ojeda farm.

Mariana wakes up and she realizes that this farm looks familiar to her. Then Fernando begins to explain his story to the girl, such as the suicide of her father, for reasons of love, while he was studying in Belgium. From that moment he had begun to investigate about the enigma of his father and she had discovered a party dress with one sleeve missing and the shawl, a music box identical to Mariana's and an oil portrait that turned out to be the same one that Edgardo had made of his daughter years before Mariana.

So, the boy tells Mariana that after meeting her and discovering the relationship he had with her father's event, he fell madly in love with her. Mariana, locked up in the farm, discovers, together with the servant Dimas, a room in which she finds the missing pieces of her dress, some shoes and a bloodstained knife. Which makes the girl think that there has been a murder there.

Meanwhile, the secret of Ezequiel, who does not kill women, but experiments on cats to eliminate a genetic skin disease of said animals. So, in that house they begin to solve a large number of problems that they had been having for a long time: Mariana's sister appears in a room, after having been missing for three years, it is discovered that the servant Dimas is a secret detective, etc.

Mariana decides put on the dress she found and see the reaction of others, to clarify everything that is happening. Micaela, seeing Mariana dressed like this, assumes that she is Eloísa and she loses her mind. It is at that moment when Edgardo clarifies everything that happened:

The Briones had lived in that house, before the Ojedas, which is why the house seemed familiar to Mariana. There had been a strong relationship between Fernando's father and Eloísa (Mariana's mother), once she had separated from Edgardo and the man had fallen in love with her. michaelaAt that time, she already had serious mental problems and while they were on their way to a party, he killed Eloísa with a dagger in the back.

For the purpose of cover up for Micaela, his brother Edgardo kept the evidence of the crime in his house, next to Eloísa's favorite music box and a painting that he himself had done for his wife. It is the same painting that, years later, he would do for Mariana, since mother and daughter were exactly the same. He buried Eloísa under an almond tree, due to the fact that it was her favorite place. After this, Micaela is taken to an asylum and the play ends with all the problems resolved.

The main characters they are what have an important weight in the story and, without them, the plot of the work would not be complete. We explain who they are and what their main characteristics are:

• Mariana: she is a pretty "average" girl considering her family's bouts of insanity. She is a dreamer and always wants to know what is happening around her. She is impulsive and has a hard time thinking twice before doing them.
• Clotilde: she is the aunt of Mariana (Heloísa's sister), a woman who enjoys laughing at people and making jokes about everything she sees or hears. She is also a very impulsive woman and she always says the first thing that comes into her head, without thinking too much. She opines that she is surrounded by a pack of madmen, not realizing that she is her first.
• Michaela: she is Edgardo's sister and is the most obsessive and maniacal person in the play. He always follows his objectives, without taking into account who he has to take ahead. She is the craziest in the house, although sometimes she tries hard not to show it. She only trusts her two dogs of hers, Cain and Abel.
• Fernando: he is a dreamy man, but very unsure of himself. This insecurity, in part, is due to the changing attitude of his girlfriend Mariana de él. He has obsessions and troubles, but he never loses hope of achieving his goals.
• Ezequiel: he is Fernando's uncle. This is an unapologetic man who is very self-assured and lives only to enjoy and not to worry. Throughout the play he tries to downplay everything that happens.
• Edgar: he is the father of Mariana and husband of Eloísa. He thinks that the solution to all his problems is to abandon himself, that's why he has been living lying in his bed for 21 years. He makes very strong decisions, but he reflects very well before taking each step.

Image: Slideshare

The secondary characters of Heloise is under an almond tree, contribute to the story being full of nuances and making the viewer who is trying to decipher this family mess go a little crazy:

• Leontius: he is the new servant of the Briones. He is easily scared, but does not abandon his goals.
• Fermin: He is the previous servant of the Briones, who is later hired by Fernando Ojeda. With so much time serving in the madhouse some of this madness is rubbing off on him.
• Praxedes: she is Micaela's maid. A very manic and talkative girl who has also gone half crazy.
• Julia Briones: She is the daughter of Edgardo and Eloísa, sister of Mariana, wife of Luis and niece of Clotilde and Micaela. She is very traditional and indecisive, and at the same time in love.

We hope this lesson has been useful for you to understand the summary and the characters of the play of Heloise is under an almond tree. If you are interested in continuing to learn more about literature, do not hesitate to consult our reading section. We also recommend you read this other lesson from a PROFESSOR about What is farce - with examples, since this play is part of the so-called farce.

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