«Huego de amor»: la metáfora amor fuego en la estructura de Celestina

Abstract

In the study of Celestina, contemporary critics have frequently analyzed how the work represents love and lovers. Our study contributes to determine love’s role in Celestina by examining a pervasive metaphor in the text, love as fire, and its implications. By far, the most common way in which the characters of Celestina describe love is by referring to a classical metaphor: love as fire. In fact, the phrase «huego de amor» (love’s fire) appears specially frequently in Celestina to describe the characters feelings. The expression appears in connection to two famous urban fires of classical Antiquity: those of Troy and Rome. Fiery love played a decisive role in these two well-known fires, and that connection implies that both the love as fire metaphor and urban fires warn the reader about the tragical end of Celestina’s lovers. Thusly, the work connects urban fire and love as fire to communicate a moral lesson about the dangers of love.