Federico García Lorca

Act I, Scene 2. Yerma, a young woman desperate for children, encounters an older, more experienced woman in a field. Yerma confides her struggles with fertility and her detached relationship with her husband, seeking guidance and understanding. The Old Woman offers cryptic advice and a cynical view on life and marriage, leaving Yerma feeling more isolated in her longing.

Yerma confronts her husband, Juan, about his declining health and their lack of children after twenty months of marriage. She expresses her deep love and desire for a family, while Juan dismisses her concerns, suggesting she is imagining things and that their childless state offers peace.

Yerma, a childless woman, speaks with her friend Maria, who has just discovered she is pregnant. Yerma's joy for her friend is tinged with her own deep longing for a child, leading to a poignant discussion about motherhood and the pain of infertility.

Yerma encounters Victor, who is singing cheerfully, and they discuss their respective temperaments and Yerma's husband. The conversation takes a turn when Yerma believes she hears a child crying, revealing her deep longing for motherhood and Victor's discomfort.

Yerma, a woman desperate for children, speaks with a younger, more cynical woman about marriage and motherhood. The Second Girl expresses her disdain for domestic life and her lack of desire for children, contrasting sharply with Yerma's deep longing.