[2] The first of Janáček's operas in which his distinctive voice can clearly be heard, it is a grim story of infanticide and redemption.

[8] Custom dictates that Števa alone, as the elder son's only child, will inherit the mill, leaving his half-brother Laca and cousin Jenůfa to earn their livings.

Laca, in love with Jenůfa, expresses bitterness against his half-brother's favored position at home.

The foreman informs the family that Števa has not been drafted, to Jenůfa's relief and Laca's increased frustration.

The Kostelnička steps into this rowdy scene, silences the musicians and, shocked by Števa's behavior, forbids him to marry Jenůfa until he can stay sober for one full year.

His love for Jenůfa died when Laca spoiled her beauty, and he is now engaged to marry Karolka, the mayor's pretty daughter.

He still doesn't know the truth about the baby, and when the Kostelnička tells him, his first reaction is disgust at the thought of taking Števa's child under his wing.

Fearful that Jenůfa will be left with no one to marry, Kostelnička hastily lies that the baby is dead.

Jenůfa wakes up and says a prayer for her child's future, but the Kostelnička, returning, tells her that the baby died while she slept.

Števa and Karolka visit, and a chorus of village girls sings a wedding song.

The village is ready to exact immediate justice against Jenůfa, but the Kostelnička calms them and says that the crime is hers.