<DIV><P>In a tragic and poetic tale, one of Lorca's greatest theatrical achievements, Dona Rosita's sad future is clearly destined from the start, as the young girl waits in vain for her fiance to return and her hopes of marriage fade. Years drift by and Dona Rosita eventually lives with her aging aunt and uncle and becomes a sadder and more mellow woman. Her fate is symbolized by the rosa mutabile, a flower from her uncle's garden, which blooms and withers all in the same day. Lorca's play explores the human tendency to cling to impossible hopes in order to survive. Dona Rosita preserves her life's lie in order to make her solitude bearable. Like most of his other plays, <I>Dona Rosita </I>offers a criticism against the restrictions placed on women at the time of the Spanish Civil War, and their dependency upon men as instructed by society.</P><P>First performed in 1935, <I>Dona Rosita</I> remains a classic work of Spanish theatre alongside Lorca's <I>Blood Wedding</I>, <I>The House of Bernarda Alba </I>and <I>Yerma</I>. This Student Edition features parallel English and Spanish texts of the play, together with a full commentary, questions and a bibliography.</P><P> </P></DIV>