Celestina

The Celestina (used as title, synecdoche, one of the characters of the book actually called Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea or Libro de Calisto y Melibea y de la puta vieja Celestina) is a book published anonymously by the bachelor Fernando de Rojas ( about whom we know little ) in 1499. This book is considered to be one of the greatest in Spanish literature, and traditionally marks the end of medieval literature and the beginning of the literary renaissance in Spain. The book is written against the servants of the low nobility and procuresses for us to beware their tricks and lies. The story tells of Calisto, a nobleman who falls in love with Melibea, the daughter of a bourgeois; they become engaged following the machinations of Celestina, but their love has a tragic end after an accident in which Calisto falls off a ladder. On seeing this, Melibea subsequently decides to jump from a window to her death. The name Celestina has become synonymous with procuress ? especially an old woman - dedicated to promoting the illegal engagement of a couple ? and the literary archetype of this character (her masculine counterpart is Figaro).

Related Topics:
Synecdoche - Fernando de Rojas - 1499 - Spanish literature - Spain - Nobility - Bourgeois - Archetype - Character - Figaro

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