Her Stepmother Poem by gershon hepner

Pregnant, she is made to suffer,
then, abandoned by her lover,
agrees to marry his half-brother
who’s got a yen for her. Jenufa.
Step-mother’s role is most important,
transformed to murderess from mordant,
but by Jenufa she is pardoned,
although she acts a way one oughtn’t.


Written during the first interval of a performance of “Jenufa” by the LA Opera, conducted by James Conlon, with Karita Mattila as Jenufa, Eva Urbanová as Kostelnič ka and Kim Begley as Laca. James Conlon ppointed out in a lecure before the opera that the play on which “Jenufa” was based, written by Gabriela Preissová, was originally called “Jeji Pastorkyň ” meaning “Her Stepdaughter”. In other words, the role of the stepmother who murder’s Jenufa’s daughter but is pardoned by her is highlighted in the original.