Celestina - Day Five

Act 19 - Is it better that Calisto dies in an accident as opposed to being murdered? Calisto is dead, so does it make a difference how he dies? What do you make of Melibea's reaction to Calisto's death?

It certainly makes a literary difference between whether Calisto is murdered at a certain character's hands or due to bad luck. In our case, both of the lovers are falling from heights to their death. Whether this represents an exalted state or that their fall represents the true nature of their position in relation to Celestina's magic is a discussion worth having. Melibea's reaction to Calisto's death is troubling for sure, but it's easy for me to understand. It's intriguing that she was limiting his advances before he died but was so distraught following his death that she killed herself. 

Act 20 - Did it surprise you when Melibea commits suicide or were you expecting it? Were you expecting her to go through with it or did you think Melibea's father would somehow stop her?

When Melibea mentioned going to the roof for some "fresh air" or something along those lines, I imagined she was going to kill herself. Before then, I did not really think one way or another about what she was going to do. I definitely thought once she was up there that she would commit suicide, it would make little sense for Rojas to have her go up there only to have her not die. It makes sense for the moral of the story as well. Everyone in contact with Celestina dies, everyone in contact with desire who acts self-indulgently dies. Desire is something, I suppose, that should be fought against and under no circumstance be something that absorbs one's life. If Melibea's father had saved her, this whole idea would not have been expressed and the major stance of the text would be very confusing. 

Act 21 - Why do you think the author has Melibea's father make a very long speech about her suicide but does not really show Melibea's mother's reaction? Why do we hear so little from her Why is it for the most part the first time Melibea's parents speak? Why does Melibea's father react to her suicide but not to the revelation that Melibea had been seeing Calisto in secret for months?

His emotional reaction to the death of his daughter overcame his need for her to remain virtuous in society's eyes. It's interesting that only Melibea's father is given a voice for his sorrow, it represents his dominance in all family matters. We hear so little from her because she is merely a placeholder in the novel, she takes up space but has no influence because she doesn't carry out actions. Perhaps there is something more important to be gleaned from the fact that this is the first time we hear Melibea's parents speak, but it makes sense as they were only peripheral to the plot of the story. Their influence on the characters' actions was through fear, not any direct speech.