Celestina Day Four

Act 12: Given the respective character/traits of Sempronio,
Parmeno and Celestina, is Old Celly really a victim or does
she get her just desserts? Were the servants justified in
murdering her or were they acting of pure greed? Is it
possible to sympathize with either party? Etc.

While it's obviously arguable that Celestina did a lot of things wrong and cheated Sempronio and Parmeno out of their money and just her general character portray her as a "bad apple", it's only natural for the reader to feel sympathy for her in this act. She is an old woman being murdered brutally in front of someone whom she has bonded with and reared as an adult or young adult. The servants were perhaps justified in their emotion but not in acting in such a rash manner. Perhaps if they had the keen wit of Celestina they would have managed a way to get their "fair reward" without the simple brutality of violence. They were not so much acting out of greed as acting out of their own honor as it's pretty embarrassing to be cheated by an old whore. It's not as easy to sympathize with Sempronio and Parmeno until later when you learn they jump out of the window in fear of the law. That part was a bit touching.

Act 13/14: Why does Calisto grieve his servants' and
Celestina's deaths? What motivates him to 'grieve'? Or,
given what happens at the end of chapter 13 and all of
chapter 14, would you say he is really even 'grieving'?

It seems that Calisto's sadness is short lived, but his new happiness in finding and sleeping with Melibea is of the sort that breeds trouble. A deeply guilty pleasure without addressing the negative aspect of the pleasure is indeed a damaging thing for a psyche. That is to say that Calisto indeed feels greatly for his servants, at least perhaps Parmeno, but is not dealing with the internal conflict between their work granting him love with Melibea and their death. As for him caring for Celestina, I believe this, too, brought a certain level of grief for Calisto however not nearly as much as for his servants. Which goes to show another order of social stratification. Celestina, being a whore almost entirely ostracized from society, is in a lower state than servants even though she runs her own life and lives from her work. Merely being in the vicinity of nobility or wealth increases their value. There's of course something to be said of the fact that Calisto was closer to Parmeno and Sempronio because he knew them longer, but it's no less an interesting point in addressing who he grieves for. I wouldn't say that the grief is so much present, as I stated initially, as a sort of double edged pleasure, as if often the case.