El adefesio (The Monstrosity) is a play written by the Spanish poet and dramatist Rafael Alberti in 1944, during his exile in Argentina. It is considered one of his most important and original works, as well as a masterpiece of the Spanish theater of the 20th century. The play explores the themes of love, death, madness, and identity through a complex and symbolic plot that combines realism, expressionism, and surrealism.
The play tells the story of a young woman named Rosa, who is married to an old and wealthy man named Don Pedro. Rosa is unhappy and bored with her life, and she falls in love with a mysterious and handsome stranger named El Adefesio, who appears in her dreams and fantasies. El Adefesio represents Rosa's ideal lover, but he also has a dark and sinister side that threatens to destroy her. Rosa decides to run away with El Adefesio, but she soon realizes that he is not what he seems, and that she has entered a nightmare from which there is no escape.
The play is divided into three acts, each one corresponding to a different stage of Rosa's journey: the first act takes place in her luxurious mansion, where she lives with Don Pedro and her servants; the second act takes place in a hotel room, where she meets El Adefesio for the first time; and the third act takes place in a cemetery, where she faces the tragic consequences of her choice. The play uses various symbols and metaphors to convey the psychological and emotional states of the characters, such as flowers, mirrors, masks, clocks, and coffins. The play also incorporates elements of music, dance, poetry, and painting to create a rich and expressive theatrical language.
El adefesio was first published in 1946 by Editorial Losada in Buenos Aires, and it was later reprinted by other publishers in Spain and Latin America . The play was also adapted for radio, television, and film by various directors and actors. The play has been praised by critics and scholars for its originality, complexity, and beauty, as well as for its reflection of Alberti's personal and political views. Alberti was one of the most prominent members of the Generation of '27, a group of poets and artists who revolutionized the Spanish culture in the 1920s and 1930s. He was also an active supporter of the Second Spanish Republic and a fierce opponent of Franco's dictatorship. He spent more than 20 years in exile after the Spanish Civil War, living in Argentina, Italy, and France. He returned to Spain in 1977, after Franco's death, and he received numerous honors and awards for his literary work. He died in 1999 at the age of 96.
If you are interested in reading El adefesio, you can download a free PDF version of the play from the Internet Archive. You can also find other works by Rafael Alberti on Open Library . You can also watch some adaptations of the play on YouTube . Enjoy!