La Celestina: Characters and Social Dynamics in Fernando de Rojas’ Masterpiece
Calisto: A Parody of the Courtly Lover
Calisto is the dandy, with a healthy economy, yet idle. He is a ridiculous figure who loses his dignity, wealth, and ultimately his life to satisfy his lust for Melibea. He has rents and servants and behaves like a man blinded by passion. He works tirelessly towards his goal: the conquest of Melibea. He has no scruples and uses all the tricks that may lead him to that end. His language is soaked in the rhetorical style of courtly literature of the time. He is a parody of the sentimental hero found in books.
Melibea: Passionate and Rebellious
Melibea, also from a very good family and well-versed in sentimental literature, is very active in the work. She does not hide her passion and ultimately dies. Interpretations of her character have varied. Some believe that, like Calisto, she exhibits inappropriate behavior, blinded by passion. The grief and pain she inflicts on her elderly parents with the loss of honor is part of the pathetic and heartbreaking final scene, making her a parodic character as well. Others emphasize the purity of her feelings, her rebellious nature (her final suicide is a rebellion not only against her family but also against God), and her honesty and sincerity, which contrast with that of her lover.
Pleberio and Alisa: Unaware Parents
Pleberio and Alisa are characters of little relief, except for Pleberio at the end of the work. They behave as parents unaware of their daughter’s true feelings and are therefore even more surprised by the events discovered in the outcome of the drama.
Celestina: The Master Manipulator
Celestina is the most complex character, pulling the strings of the plot through her deep knowledge of human beings and life. She is an old madam, around 70 years old, who has accumulated enough experience to navigate the situations she encounters. She defends herself with extraordinary cunning and is a master of flattery and manipulation. She uses these weapons to bring the characters to the point where she can gain the most benefit. However, her wisdom is blinded, not by the passion of love like the lovers, but by ambition and greed, which leads to her death at the hands of Sempronio and Pármeno. Her closest literary precedent is “Trotaconventos” from “The Book of Good Love” by the Archpriest of Hita, but she differs in her individuality, personal privacy, and the intense life of her own that Fernando de Rojas gives her.
Sempronio and Pármeno: From Loyalty to Greed
Regarding the servants, Sempronio is greedy and petty. Moved by materialistic instincts, he is incapable of the slightest sign of nobility. Pármeno, however, undergoes an evolution. Before being seduced by money and Areúsa and disappointed by the ingratitude of his master Calisto, he had been a faithful servant, attentive to his master’s well-being.
Elicia and Areúsa: Envy and Resentment
Elicia and Areúsa, Celestina’s protégés, are characterized by their outstanding envy, resentment, and vengeful instincts against the wealthy.
Two Worlds Collide: Masters and Servants
From all this, we can establish the following general characteristics of the two worlds (masters and servants) to which we have alluded above. The world of the lords is made up of the nouveau riche who imitate the behavior patterns of the traditional nobility. Calisto and Pleberio are representatives of the new bourgeoisie, the emerging social class that is gradually imposing its rules in the modern world. Apparently, the members of this group live motivated by ideals and principles, feelings about love, honor, and dignity. The world of the servants, represented by Celestina, Sempronio, Pármeno, and the prostitutes Elicia and Areúsa, show materialistic and selfish feelings, with no love or respect for their masters. Celestina accuses the rich of caring only for themselves, and Elicia and Areúsa express their resentment toward Melibea and the wealthy cruelly. In any case, as the work progresses, it becomes clear that selfishness and lack of solidarity affect everyone. Above all, what stands out in them is a strong individualism, as each looks after their own interests. It is in this sense that the Renaissance mentality is clearly evident.