La Celestina and the Popularization of Graphic Criminal Violence

Abstract

In Spanish literature, La Celestina marks a watershed in its strikingly modern and detailed treatment of the criminal classes, and it is perhaps the first work of fiction to successfully bring the world of the hampa to the written page as much for entertainment as for moralization. La Celestina is the starting point for the popularization of graphic violence, particularly in an urban setting, as the fictionalized version of a publicly recognized phenomenon would become increasingly popular in Spain throughout the first half of the sixteenth-century. Rojas's training in law and rhetoric, along with first-hand knowledge of the hampa aided in his portrayal of violent criminal behavior. The addition (sometimes by others) of gangster-laden texts, such as the «autos» of Centurio and Traso, along with details from sixteenth-century woodcuts, and increased criminality in La Celestina's «sequels», all reveal the audience's increased desire to see violent lawbreakers at work and at play.