YMMV / Jenufa

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Loads and loads of that.
  • Jenůfa’s feelings for Števa. Is she really blindly in love with him and oblivious to his faults until Kostelnička has to spell it out he has rejected her like the cowardly scoundrel he is? Does she believe in I Can Change My Beloved? Or maybe has she fallen out of love with him by the first act already, only clinging to him for her honor’s sake?
  • Does Laca really respect and admire Kostelnička, or is he only buttering her up to ensure she prefers him over Števa as a candidate for Jenůfa’s hand? Or is he maybe so nice to her because she is the only member of the family to treat him decently?
  • Did Laca cut Jenůfa’s cheek by accident or deliberately? The writing is ambiguous on that part; even the synopsis on Opera Guide in different languages offers different interpretations.
  • Why does Barena shield Laca, claiming Jenůfa’s face was cut by accident and Laca didn’t mean any harm at all (actually, he at least wanted to give her a Forceful Kiss)? At least one production (the 2013 one from Berlin) hints that Barena has a crush on Laca herself.
  • Why is Kostelnička such a Shipper on Deck for Laca/Jenůfa, even after he cuts her face (and she has suffered her husband’s abuse, so she knows what it’s like)? Does she understand his remorse better than others? Does she merely see him as the last hope of saving her stepdaughter’s reputation (and her own)? Can she be misled by the fact that in her company, he is always on his best behavior (see above the possible explanations for that)? Or maybe she's got a thing for him herself?
  • Does Jenůfa really grow to love Laca or does she stay with him because there’s pretty much no other choice for her? Or worse, is she afraid he will hurt her again if she rejects him?
  • Even the productions that show she loves him genuinely differ on the moment where it begins. Some have it in the second act already, and some make her suffer quietly for acts two and three and have a Love Epiphany in the very final duet.
  • Was Laca's outburst at the news of the baby just a momentary shock? If Laca had been given more time to think on it, would he have accepted the boy (especially since he knows firsthand what it's like to be a stepchild of the family)?
  • The depth of Laca’s remorse and the nature of his feelings for Jenůfa are also up for interpretation.
  • Does Jenůfa forgive her stepmother or is she only saying it half-heartedly to comfort the woman?
• Base-Breaking Character: Laca, Laca, Laca. It's nigh impossible to stay indifferent to him: practically every reviewer either loves him for the second half of the opera or hates him for the first half. The fact that he ultimately stays with Jenůfa for good doesn't help matters. Even Kostelnička, who is a murderess, has less controversy around her character.
• Esoteric Happy Ending: Those who don't believe in Laca's remorse and his romance with Jenůfa see the ending as pretty depressing, as from this point of view Jenůfa gets stuck with a jealous and violent husband.
  • From another point of view, it is downplayed: it is not an Esoteric Happy Ending per se, but rather a beginning of a long Earn Your Happy Ending road; Laca has repented and changed his ways, but he still struggles with a lot of guilt and Jenůfa has too many painful memories for their marriage to start as really happy.
• Iron Woobie: It's implied Grandmother Buryja has suffered the same abuse as Kostelnička at her husband's hands but keeps it secret. She says that her son, Kostelnička's husband, wasn't worse than other men, and when Laca slashes Jenůfa's cheek, she is angry but doesn't look very shocked.
  Grandmother: Only grief, only grief comes from men!
• Never Live It Down: Laca is that awful guy who cuts Jenůfa's face and refuses to accept her child. His remorse, acts of kindness towards Jenůfa and Kostelnička, and the fact that he alone defends Jenůfa against an Angry Mob with stones often tend to be glossed over, as well as his Freudian Excuse.
  • Doubles as a Tear Jerker moment In-Universe, if one considers that he also views himself in that way.
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: Many people deem the opera too grim (and most of its characters too unsympathetic) for it to be seen more than once (if even once at all).