THE 13 CHARACTERS OF THE MATCHMAKER AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - LITERATURE - 2025

The characters in La Celestina were built with great psychological depth and a lot of individualism, and they are the ones who shape this comedy. La Celestina is the name by which the work written by Fernando de Rojas at the end of the 15th century, officially called Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, is commonly known.

This dramatic novel has generated much to talk about since its appearance, as it is characterized by being presented in the form of dialogues and without giving much room for narratives.

Cover of the 1599 edition of La Celestina. Source: Plantinian Office

It takes place in a period of transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, in which the crisis of the moment is reflected due to the clash between both currents: the one that proposed opening up to a new way of perceiving the world with new political systems, and the that he preferred to continue living under the feudal regime and medieval culture.

There are many adaptations and editions that have been made after its original publication (Burgos, 1499). Those of Toledo (1500) and Seville (1501) stand out, titled Comedia de Calisto y Melibea.

These editions were followed by those of Salamanca, Seville and Toledo (1502), in which the work appears titled as Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea. Years later, the Alcalá edition (1569) was made, in which the title was changed to La Celestina.

Main characters of La Celestina

Callisto

He is characterized by being a hopeless romantic, with a lot of passion and madness for his beloved and representative of courtly love; However, it also reflects a lot of insecurity and selfishness, which makes you easily lose your spirits and your assertiveness.

Through him you can appreciate the danger that extreme passion and love entails, since it is these feelings that lead him to carry out actions that make him a tragic character.

His only interests are love and greed, so he used his servants and the pimp sorceress for the fulfillment of his wishes. This is how Callisto came to Celestina, an old sorceress who helps him to reciprocate this young man's love.

At the end of the play, Calisto suffers an accident that ends his life: he falls down the stairs while fleeing the house of his beloved, Melibea.

Melibea

La Celestina, edition of 1507

She begins as a young woman oppressed by social obligations that did not allow her to fully live Callisto's love.

However, as the novel progresses, this character evolves psychologically and it is revealed that his personality is not really easily oppressed, and he soon finds his love; after that meeting she is completely in love.

Melibea, like the rest of the characters, is very individualistic, concerned with acting so that she can get what she wants. She is complex and fearful of disappointing her parents and losing their honor, so she does not hesitate to act behind their backs to avoid serious conflicts.

He is a very attractive and interesting character, with a more carnal and less literary passion than Callisto's, with physical features that represented the ideals of beauty typical of the time.

After her great love dies, Melibea suffers a very strong emotional crisis, she confesses to her father the love affair that had developed between them and commits suicide.

Celestina

A matchmaker and two lovers, by Luis Paret (1784)

She is considered the protagonist of the work. Although this revolves around the love of the two young people, Celestina passed into the memory of the book's readers as the pimp of love; however, in the novel she plays the role of witch, sorceress.

His motivation is money, success and lust. She is extremely intelligent, but she is also selfish, false, disloyal and greedy.

He is of humble origin, with a long past behind. In her younger days she was a prostitute, trained in that world by Pármeno's mother.

However, at the time in which the story unfolds, already with an older age, she worked in other trades such as "farmer, perfumer, teacher of makeup and virgos, pimp and a little sorceress."

She is proud of her craft throughout the play. She does not regret her past, because her long career is what has filled her with so much experience.

He knows all the weaknesses and human passions so, with his great knowledge and cunning, he psychologically controls most of the characters and is the thread that unites the powerful and the servants.

Despite his great wisdom, his greed is the one that dictates death, a fact that exemplifies the punishment of greed: he dies at the hands of Sempronio and Pármeno - Calisto's servants - for not wanting to deliver money.

Secondary characters

Alisa and Pleberio

They are Melibea's parents and the reflection of a bourgeois marriage. Concerned to maintain their social position and continue with the traditions of the time, they were not involved in the drama that their daughter was experiencing and did not maintain a close relationship.

Alisa, very authoritarian and unconcerned about Melibea, was in charge of keeping Pleberio always taken care of and at ease, while he was consumed by work.

Pleberio is the incarnation of the absent father in his daughter's day-to-day life but deeply concerned about her economic well-being, as he made sure that Melibea did not lack anything.

The couple fully trusted their daughter, making it easier for Melibea to fulfill her own wishes without having to make an effort to hide everything from her parents, while they planned a wedding for her with another man of the same class, solely for interests.

Sempronio and Pármeno

They were both servants of Callisto but they had notable differences between them. Sempronio is characterized by aggressiveness, selfishness, greed, disloyalty, ambition and shows less affection for his master, thanks to his spiteful personality and the search for his own benefit.

Instead, Pármeno is shown at the beginning of the play as a loyal servant, concerned with keeping Calisto satisfied and safe.

Being a weak personality, he was easily drawn into the world of greed, bad intention and lust, as he began to seek a better economic condition and more sexual pleasure after Celestina promised him the love of Areúsa, who became her lover.

Sempronio took advantage of Callisto and deceived him. He allied with Celestina to plan a meeting between the master and his beloved, and get financial benefits from him.

It is this money that the witch subsequently refuses to share, and it is this pair of servants who commit the crime of murdering Celestina. Eventually they pay for it: they die with their throats slit in the town square for having killed the pimp.

Elicia and Areúsa

Elicia is Celestina's family, they live together and she is her ward, like Areúsa. They are both prostitutes and Elicia, despite being Sempronio's lover, maintained relationships with other men without any remorse.

Elicia lives life without excessive worries about her future and aspects that have to do beyond pleasure, until Celestina dies and she is forced to take more responsibility and planning.

Areúsa, Elicia's friend, is very individualistic and spiteful, busy only fulfilling her cravings. As a consequence of the sorceress's request, Areúsa became Pármeno's lover when Centurio went to war, but her true love is the soldier.

Tristan and Sosia

They are faithful servants and friends of Callisto after the death of Pármeno and Sempronio. They are naive, humble young people, very loyal and committed to their master, who protect him until the end of his life.

Sosia fell deeply in love with Areúsa and she managed to get information from her about Calisto and his great beloved, Melibea. For his part, Tristán is very cunning and attached to Callisto, so the death of his master affected him deeply.

Lucrecia

It is Elicia's family and Melibea's faithful maid. She always watched over the well-being of her mistress and tried to warn her about Celestina's movements. She failed in this attempt, but then she took care of keeping the secret of the affair and became an accomplice in all the couple's escapades.

During the outcome of the play, he never showed an act of disloyalty towards Melibea and her parents; this made her very different from Callisto's initial servants, who were in charge of deceiving him and making the most of it.

However, he was accused of being an accessory to Celestina's actions in exchange for powders and bleach, solely for the fact that he did not definitively prevent the sorceress's plan.

Centurio

He is a very bad-tempered soldier, known as a ruffian, malefactor and bully. His great love is Areúsa, who is his faithful lover, although Celestina led him to get involved with Pármeno while Centurio was at war.

He is even considered responsible for Calisto's death, after the prostitutes Elicia and Areúsa asked him to assassinate him to avenge the death of Calisto's servants. Centurio could not fulfill the wishes of the ladies, as Tristán and Sosia managed to drive him away.

References

1. Severin, D. (1992). La Celestina. Retrieved on February 14, 2019 from the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia: servicios.educarm.es
2. Da Costa, M. (1995). Female empowerment and witchcraft in ´Celestina´. Retrieved on February 14, 2019 from the University of Valencia: parnaseo.uv.es
3. Herrera, F. (1998). The honor in La Celestina and its continuations. Retrieved on February 14, 2019 from the University of Valencia: parnaseo.uv.es
4. Illades, G. (2009). The tragicomic “God's greatness” on La Celestina. Retrieved on February 14, 2019 from Scielo: scielo.org.mx
5. Okamura, H. (nd). Lucrecia in Celestina's didactic scheme. Retrieved on February 14, 2019 from the University of Valencia: parnaseo.uv.es
6. La Celestina. Retrieved on February 14, 2019 from Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library: cervantesvirtual.com
7. La Celestina (Book). Retrieved on February 14, 2019 from EcuRed: ecured.cu