La Celestina: Authorship, Genre, Love, and Characters Analysis
La Celestina: Authorship and Context
It is now widely accepted that acts II to XXI of La Celestina were written by Fernando de Rojas, while the first act may have been authored by Rodrigo Cota.
Genre: Drama or Novel?
Some critics classify La Celestina as a drama because it primarily consists of dialogue between characters, lacking a traditional narrator. Others consider it a novel in dialogue, realistically parodying the sentimental novel genre. La Celestina is situated within the context of humanistic comedy, intended for reading aloud in university settings rather than theatrical performance. It incorporates elements such as the presentation of the era’s customs, uncertain timelines, lengthy monologues, and anticlerical sentiments.
Modes of Discourse
- Dialogue: Alternates between lengthy, rhetorical speeches and rapid verbal exchanges.
- Monologue: Allows characters to express their innermost thoughts, weaknesses, fears, and intentions.
- Aside: A humorous device, typical of Roman comedy, though its effectiveness varies in La Celestina.
Treatment of Love
Parody of Courtly Love
Calixto violates the conventions of courtly love from the outset by immediately declaring his feelings to Melibea, bypassing the customary waiting period. Furthermore, he does not keep his affections secret, confiding in his servant Sempronius and seeking advice, ultimately resorting to a go-between. This behavior diminishes Melibea’s stature.
Magic
Celestina employs magic to win Melibea over to Calixto. She uses a love potion, a practice believed to incite passionate love, and conjures the devil to achieve her aims.
Love as Madness
The work also explores the concept of love as a form of madness. During Rojas’s time, this sentiment was considered a type of insanity, which ultimately drives Melibea to suicide.
Sexual Love
Love is portrayed as physical; Celestina emphasizes not only physical pleasure but also the spiritual delight derived from sex. Sexuality becomes a commodity.
Increpation of Love
Following Calixto’s accidental death, Melibea commits suicide, prompting her father, Pleberio, to deliver a powerful monologue at the end of the work, condemning love.
Character Analysis
The personalities of the characters are revealed through their dialogues, actions, and descriptions by other characters throughout the play.
Calisto
Initially a comic figure, he embodies parodied courtly love and the madness of love. However, after his first night with Melibea, his feelings transform into a genuine passion. He is selfish, foolish, yet occasionally displays moments of clarity.
Melibea
She is the true tragic character of the work. Some critics believe she is a victim of Celestina’s spell, thus absolving her of guilt from a Christian perspective. Others argue that Celestina merely awakens her latent love for Calisto through her words.
Celestina
The go-between, she represents an attack on established norms. Physically, she is described as old, wrinkled, and bearing a scar on her face, which some interpret as the mark of the devil. She has dedicated her life to trading in sexuality and prides herself on her skills as a matchmaker. She is highly intelligent and adept at using words to overcome her adversaries.
Sempronio and Pármeno
They are Calisto’s servants. Sempronio is the archetypal false servant from Roman comedy. He entrusts his love affairs to Celestina and shares in her earnings, betraying Calisto. Driven by greed, he eventually commits murder. Pármeno is a complex character who, initially loyal to Calisto, becomes disillusioned by his master’s rudeness and transforms into a disloyal servant.
Elicia and Areúsa
They are prostitutes and friends of Celestina, who are romantically involved with the servants. Their relationships contrast with the idealized love between Calisto and Melibea, representing a realistic and raw side of love. They become significant when they plot Calisto’s death in retaliation for the loss of their lovers.
Pleberio and Alisa
Pleberio becomes prominent in the final acts, particularly in the concluding lament. His wife remains in the background.
Purpose of the Work
La Celestina is a profoundly original and complex work, and its ideological ambiguity has led to various interpretations. Some scholars emphasize its moralizing intention, citing the fact that the main characters die without confession as evidence of its didactic purpose. Other critics argue that the work primarily presents a disillusioned and pessimistic view of the world, where human beings are helpless and defenseless against fate.