Small World Part 4

Question: How does Persse resemble specific characters in any of the medieval stories that we have read in class, particularly regarding his love life?

By the end of the novel, I related Persse more to Calisto from La Celestina than anyone else, including Percival from the story of the grail. The fact that Angelica turned out to be two people reflects the idea that the two versions of Angelica that Persse had in mind could not possibly coincide in a single person (this is very much like Calisto’s struggle with the real Melibea and the idealized Melibea). While Angelica, both for her namesake and her reputation, appears to be unattached to the world, making her an impossible goal, her sister Lily is very much attached to the earth and earthly pleasures (both in her actions and her namesake). However, it is interesting that both names reflect a kind of purity, however unrealistic, that Persse is striving for. Just as Melibea and Calisto could have neither honor nor pleasure once their lives became intertwined, so too is Persse incapable of attaining the angelic being that he followed around the world nor even maintain the pleasure that he experienced with the sister once he found out that she was not the person that he was looking for. The revealing of Angelica’s twin sister after Persse became involved with her also reflects the way that Melibea and Calisto lost all the pleasure of their fantasy once they finally got together.