Summary of A Sunny Morning by Serafin and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero

Summary of the Play: A Sunny Morning by Serafin and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero

About Authors:

Spanish dramatists Serafin lvarez Quintero (1871-1938) and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero (1873-1944). They grew up in Utrera, a small town near Seville in the Spanish region of Andalusia. They started writing for the theatre at a very young age. They were known as the “Golden Boys” of the Madrid theater. They worked together on nearly 200 dramas depicting Andalusia’s life, manners, and speech.

Gilito, their first stage piece, was written in 1889. Among the brothers’ most well-known works are the comedies The Flowers (1901), A Sunny Morning (1905), and The Merry Heart (1906), as well as the uncharacteristically serious Malvaloca (1912). Helen and Harley Granville Barker (1927–32) translated several of their plays into English. In the early 1950s, their complete collection of plays was published in seven volumes as Obras Completas.

A Sunny Morning is a light comedy about the reunion of two lovers in their 70s who met in a park and were passionate lovers in their youth but were torn apart by fate. This play takes place on a sunny morning in Madrid, Spain, on a park bench.

Short Summary:

Serafin and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero, two prominent Spanish authors, wrote “A Sunny Morning,” a one-act drama. This play is built on the central theme of a love affair, with two ex-lovers in their 70s reuniting in a park and reminiscing about their romantic past.

Dona Laura is sitting in a park, feeding breadcrumbs to the birds when the performance begins. Don Gonzalo then appears with Juanito and complains about the people taking others’ seats. He keeps seeking a bench but can’t seem to find one. He frightens the birds and irritates Dona Laura. He takes a seat on Dona Laura’s bench.

Dona Laura describes him as a bad-tempered man. Don Gonzalo begins to read his book. They continue to use pinching words against one other. Don Gonzalo pulls out his snuffbox, and they each snuff and sneeze three times. Following that, they form a cordial relationship.

Don Gonzalo begins reading aloud, followed by Dona Laura. They even discuss their vision. They discuss different cities, places, travel, individuals they’ve met, and activities they’ve done. They realize they were once lovers. Both of them conceal their identities and begin telling their stories under aliases.

Don Gonzalo, Don’s cousin, narrates Don’s story. Dona Laura, as Dona Llorente’s friend, shares her story. They tell their fabricated accounts about their deaths. They fabricate lies about Don and Laura Llorente concealing their identity. Finally, they agree to reconvene the next day if it is a sunny morning. They leave with their servants.

Main Summary:

“A Sunny Morning” is a one-act love comedy written by two prominent Spanish writers, Serafin and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero. This romantic comedy has been provided with the intention of entertaining the audience. This play is built on the central theme of a love affair, with two ex-lovers in their 70s reuniting in a park and reminiscing about their romantic past. This one-act play is about two former lovers, Don Gonzalo and Dona Llorente, who adored each other when they were younger. During their youth, they were estranged from each other due to ill luck and Dona Llorente’s parents’ unfavourable roles.

Gonzalo and Dona are both pretty old now, having outlived their youthful exuberance and allure. When they first meet at the park, they are unable to recognize each other. However, they subsequently learn that they know each other but do not divulge their true identities to each other.

This play begins on one of autumn’s peaceful sunny mornings in a peaceful corner of a park in Madrid, Spain. At the start, we see a handsome, white-haired lady in her seventies sitting on a park bench and feeding bread crumbs to pigeons. Her appearance is quite refined. She’s there, along with her maid Petra. Petra later leaves the area to meet with the park guard. The arrival of another main character, Don Gonzalo, an elderly man, and his servant Juanito follows. Don Gonzalo appears to be irritated at first because he cannot find a vacant bench in the park to sit on.

Three priests have taken over the bench he usually sits on in the park. He approaches Laura’s bench and shares it, despite his reluctance. Laura is enraged by Don Gonzalo. She accuses Don Gonzalo of frightening pigeons who were feeding her breadcrumbs. She refers to him as “an ill-natured man.” Don Gonzalo dislikes sitting on the bench with the old lady. Laura continues to use harsh language against Don Gonzalo. Don Gonzalo, on the other hand, gives up after using their pinching and rude words of disagreement. He pulls out his snuffbox and hands it to her. They both sneeze at the same time. Finally, they reestablish a friendly relationship with one another.

They begin their conversations in a very friendly manner. Don Gonzalo reads aloud from a collection of poems. During their conversation, Gonzalo mentions that he is from Valencia. When he learns about Laura’s home country, he is taken aback. Laura tells him she is from Maricela, where she grew up in a villa. Gonzalo is taken aback by Laura’s revelation and says he knows a woman named Laura Llorente who lived in a villa there and was possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. After hearing each other, they realize they were once lovers. However, they pretend to be anonymous.

They both begin talking about Laura Llorente and Gonzalo. Gonzalo and Laura Llorente are referred to as cousins and friends by old Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura. In their conversation, they express their feelings about Gonzalo and Laura Llorente’s tragic love affair. Laura Llorente lived at Maricela in Valencia, according to their conversation. In her youth, she was known as ‘The Silver Maiden’ in her community. She was as lovely as a lily, with jet black hair and black eyes. She was a beautiful lady with a dreamy figure.

Gonzalo, the gallant lover, had captured her heart. Every morning, he would ride through the rose garden on horseback and toss a bouquet to her balcony, which she would catch. Laura used to spend the majority of her time sitting on her balcony. She would toss the flowers back to Gonzalo when he returned riding on his horse in the afternoon. They were madly in love. Laura’s parents, on the other hand, desired that their daughter marry a wealthy local merchant.

Gonzalo got into a fight with that merchant one day. The merchant insulted Gonzalo while he was waiting to hear Laura’s song beneath her window. During the fight, Gonzalo injured the merchant. Gonzalo fled from his hometown to Seville, then to Madrid, fearful of the consequences of a fight with a merchant. In fact, that merchant was well-known in the area. Following that, he made numerous attempts to contact Laura via letters, but all of his efforts were futile. He was unable to contact Laura after that. Laura’s parents intercepted all of his letters. Laura did not receive a letter because of her parents.

Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo are now plotting their demise. They tell their stories about their deaths. The old Don Gonzalo claims to be the young man’s cousin. According to him, the young Gonzalo had to leave his post because he had seriously injured the merchant. He enlisted in the army and traveled to Africa. He was killed in the battle and died in glory. The old Laura claims to know the woman known as ‘The Silver Maiden,’ and that she was her friend when she was younger.

She also lies about knowing the tragic story of her love affair with Gonzalo, a brave young man. The elderly lady reveals that her friend waited for Gonzalo for quite some time. She didn’t get any information about him. She was seen leaving her house on the beach one afternoon. She scribbled Gonzalo’s name in the sand and sat down on a rock, her gaze fixed on the horizon. She drowned in the sea after being swept out to sea by the waves.

Gonzalo had lost hope for Laura after three months of separation. Gonzalo absconded with a ballet dancer and married her in Paris. He began to live his family life. Laura, on the other hand, married after a two-year separation.

They are both aware that they are lying, but they pretend to be unaware. When they run into each other in the park after nearly 50 years, they both remember their passionate love affair. They conceal the truth, however, because they have moved on from their romantic past. At the end of the play, they agree to meet again at the park the next day if it is sunny.

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