Celestina 4

Question 1

Calisto’s speech here does not convey any sense of happiness; rather, he is troubled by the shame he now suffers because of his actions, his desires, and the deaths of Celestina and his servants.

“Alas, how can my great loss ever be made good? What shall I do? Where can I turn to advice? Whom can I tell of my disaster? Why do I conceal it from my family and my other servants? I’m in trouble abroad, and I don’t speak of it at home. I had better put on an appearance.” Celestina was the embodiment of desire, and society allowed her to do what she did because she bore the burden of shame so that no one else had to (much in the same way that prostitutes all bore the shame of their station while medieval society permitted to continue). Now that Celestina is dead, Calisto has to bear his own shame. Again we see the theme of truth and appearances, a constant dichotomy throughout the text. Calisto will pretend to be innocent even though he knows he bares the same shame that became the death of Celestina and his servants.

“By day I will stay in my room, and by night in that sweet paradise, that happy garden, among those gracious plants and that fresh venture. O night of my relief, would you were here again! O shining Phoebus, hasten your customary way!” Calisto’s desire has not been satisfied; he wants Melibea just as much as ever, if not more. Calisto uses extensive metaphors and allusions to convey the lust and desire he feels. First, he mentions the garden again, another possible allusion to the Garden of Eden: after Adam and Eve gained sexual knowledge, they were thrown out of paradise; this could foreshadow an unhappy ending for the lovers. Calisto also mentions the Greek God Phoebus when he speaks of his desire for time to move faster; it is interesting to note that Greek and other pagan religions are incited far more often than God. This could be interpreted as a way of further under-toning the absence of religion in the text. However, at the same time, Melibea and Calisto are placed into the positions they are in precisely because the state’s religion has assigned these positions to them. Therefore, Calisto’s troubled speech here may represent the individual’s battle with human nature and society’s abuse of religion. Again and again Calisto speaks of Melibea as one would speak of God. It is because the state religion itself has failed Calisto, (and in fact all of these characters) that he must place his faith in another person; in so doing he transfers his worship of God to a worship of desire. Yet this new ‘religion,’ rather than fulfilling him, is the cause of all this trouble and pain. Calisto’s speech may therefore be commentating on his search for faith in something tangible. Because Calisto’s nature makes him consumed by desire, Melibea appears to fulfill his sense of worth. Yet he cannot convey happiness in his speech because according to society he must bare the shame of succumbing to his natural desires.