Celestina: Part 1

The opening to Celestina was a wonderful parallel to Adam and Eve but more so it set the tone for a personal intrusion. In literature gardens are often seen as somewhat tamed forms of nature, both beautiful and revered yet private, and by having Calisto stumble into the garden of Meliba is represents the unapproved intrusion of a man into the private sector of her life. While it is not the most subtle of imagery it matches the characters and their attitudes on sex, love and desire which are often frankly put and brutally honest. I do not read Meliba as being totally offended by Calistos intrusion, more so she is disillusioned to his lovestruck manner, and having had a preview to the end she is better for this attitude. While the dialogue between Sempronio and Calisto is comical and biting at the dynamic between the master and conniving servant I can still see him as being a long suffering friend, otherwise I assume he would have just robbed him outright. As a reader I am amazed at the quick onset of Calistos love sickness, normally while love sickness is a well documented phenomenon both in medicine and in creative works the onset is generally post heartbreak but it seems poor Calisto has a weak constitution when it comes to his love for the unattainable image of Meliba, which thankfully is put to good use fueling the plot line. Enter Celestina, the war-profiteer when it comes to human desire, or as she is portrayed by Parmeno "Who could tell you what the old crone did? And all of it was mockery and lies." (26).  She is a woman who earns her living by manipulating people using their desires to breed fear, longing, anguish, and desperation. She draws out this process, as we will see in the case of poor Calisto, for her own benefit.  From a literary point of view Celestina represents the control that desire has over our lives, she is the dark side of love and she knows just how to use it. At first she comes across as a harmless quack who makes a living off of poor saps but soon proves to be the puppeteer of the various human desires that the audience sees coming into play. Parmenos dramatic monologues on Celestina serve to foreshadow, he acts as logic which is always extremely under-voiced in dealing with love, and therefore he will remain hopelessly unheard by Calistos heart yet on occasion as logic will he can validate certain actions of his master unwittingly. The dynamics of the first 10 acts tie in beautifully to the readings on sex regulation. Not only did that provide historical insight and background to Parmenos views of Celestina and her various "professions" both past and present but it also aided in reinforcing just how seriously Celestina could offend the sensibilities of that time (and yet Calisto hopelessly pursues her for "knowledge").