1. Analyze the opening scene in Melibea’s garden. Why a garden? What might a garden signify? How do you interpret the words of Calisto and Melibea? Why does Melibea react in this manner? Can we read these words as genuine?
In the opening scene of Celestina, Calisto is in a garden with Melibea. In the garden, they go on to tell each other their feelings, or lack there of, for one another. The garden is a very symbolic figure in this scene. Typically a garden can be used as a metaphor for a woman's virginity. Therefore, implying that Melibea is a chaste woman. However, there is also another strong symbolic meaning to the garden. In the story of Adam and Eve, the setting took place in a garden. Eve eats the forbidden fruit in the garden and then goes on, according to some interpretations, to trick Adam into eating the fruit, as well. This story definitely foreshadows what Sempronio later says about women. Essentially, the garden represents that women are bad and will ruin men. In this scene, Calisto goes on about his undying love for Melibea, while Melibea shows no interest in him whatsoever. Rather, Melibea raves about how chaste of a woman she is. I cannot read these words as genuine because they are too over the top. Calisto seems to play the stereotypical man who sees Melibea once, yet he instantly knows that he loves her. For Calisto, his love for Melibea is very vapid and shallow, and it is not based on any reality. As for Melibea, if she really was so pure, why would she need to constantly remind Calisto of this? It seems as if she is hiding something. Therefore, this first scene was a bit over the top and dramatic to ever be taken as genuine.
3. What are our initial impressions of Celestina? What type of character is this? What does she say which influences your analysis? What about her later exchanges with Parmeno? (And this back history with Parmeno’s mother – what do you think happens here?)
Celestina is a very peculiar woman. In all of our readings thus far, we have never had a female character with such moxie and spunk. She has a very negative reputation among her peers. In fact when Parmeno begins to describe her, he goes on for a good page constantly repeating that she is a 'whore'. Celestina is very well aware of this, and rather than trying to deny this, like many women in the other stories we have read try to do, she embraces it. She is not ashamed of who she is, and the actions she does. I could say that she probably the biggest feminist that we have read so far because she is so forthcoming about who she is. Celestina is all about instant pleasures for herself. She has sex often because it is sexually gratifying for her. Then, she wants to steal Calisto's money by taking advantage of him because she wants instant money. She is the type of character who is very selfish, and does not care about how her actions affect others. We see this when she persuades Parmeno to help her and Sempronio into taking Calisto's money by 'helping' him gain Melibea's love. Also, an important line she says to Parmeno is that "all is fair in love and war." This statement holds very true to her character. She takes whatever she can when she can because she honestly believes that if someone is stupid enough to get taken advantage of, then they deserve to get taken advantage of. Parmeno already knows Celstina because he worked for her as a child. When he tells Celestina this, she is in shock because he looks so different. Parmeno goes on to tell Celestina that he thinks that she is just a 'whore', and Celestina replies back that his mother was 'a whore too.' This is very important because she may be implying that his mother is similar to Celestina and used Parmeno for money, too.
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