La Celestina and El Conde Lucanor: 15th Century Spanish Literature
15th-Century Theater and the Rise of Profane Drama
With the growth of cities and the rise of the bourgeoisie, new forms of theater emerged. New elements were incorporated into profane theater. It gradually abandoned its liturgical character and became a genre of fun and entertainment, represented in the public squares.
Analyzing La Celestina
Genre and Authorship of La Celestina
La Celestina is a literary work that breaks the mold of its era. The first difficulty lies in its classification as a genre. Due to its hybrid traits, it can traditionally be included in two genres:
- Play: Due to its close relationship with humanistic comedies (they had a dialogue form).
- Fiction Work: Due to its direct observation of life and its narrative aspects, which overflow purely theatrical boundaries.
The authorship and setting of the text also pose similar problems. The oldest edition conserved, consisting of 16 acts, does not include the author’s name. In 1502, an edition appeared in Seville with 5 acts added. This edition includes acrostic verses in red that ensure the first act of the play was found as written, and the rest was written in 15 days.
The discrepancies between editions generate a series of questions about the author and the genre of the work. Critics have come to the conclusion of the existence of two authors:
- The First Author (Name Unknown): Responsible for the initial approach of the work.
- Fernando de Rojas: Finalized the work from the letter he found, but gave it a different course.
Authorial Intent and Character Dynamics
The author’s intention is to warn young people of the inconvenience of letting go of love and passion, and also of the evils of greed. The differences between the characters reflect the transformation of medieval society into the Renaissance. These distinct characters present two worlds:
- The Bourgeois World: (Melibea, her parents Pleberio, Calixto).
- The World of the Servants: (Calixto’s servants Sempronio and Pármeno, Celestina, Elicia, and Areúsa).
There are two main interpretations of the work: the realistic view of the servants, motivated by money; and the idealistic view of the lovers, driven by hunger and the passion of life, whose tone is Renaissance.
Key Themes in La Celestina
- Religio Amoris: Calixto makes love his religion and Melibea his God.
- Descriptio Puellae: Love is described through the beauty of the lady, starting with her hair, followed by her eyes, and so on. This is the kind of ideal beauty of the society of the time that will be maintained during the Renaissance.
- Fate and Death: Pleberio, Melibea’s father, laments the death of his daughter. His words reflect a medieval mentality about death and fate, which contrasts with the ideas of love and beauty presented in the previous topic.
El Conde Lucanor: Structure and Purpose
El Conde Lucanor contains 51 stories that reflect the beliefs and ideas of Juan Manuel, as well as the customs of the era. The protagonists are Count Lucanor and Patronio. The stories always employ the same structure:
The Narrative Structure of El Conde Lucanor
- Exposition of the Problem: The Count asks Patronio for advice about a specific problem.
- Narrative Illustration: Patronio does not directly answer the Count’s request, but tells a story that relates to the problem raised previously. (This is the literarily richest part.)
- Outcome: Patronio applies the story to the problem that had been raised and tells the Count what he must do. This council has strength because its foundation rests on the story above.
- Generalization: Juan Manuel composed a couplet that condenses the moral of the story.
Juan Manuel’s Technique and Stylistic Features
Juan Manuel was the first writer conscious that he had a personal style, which is why he deposited the manuscripts in a monastery in Valladolid, so that errors would not be introduced by bad copyists. However, his precautions to save his work were fruitless, as the manuscript was burned. His characteristic stylistic features are concision, elegance, and clarity.