«Cuanto va de la excellencia del alma a la del cuerpo»: Legibility of the body in Feliciano de Silva's Segunda Celestina

Abstract

This article studies the body signs and their meaning in Rojas' Tragicomedia, in the Segunda Celestina by Feliciano de Silva and in other celestinesque works. This legibility of the human body can be explained by the fact that physiognomic lore was widely spread during the fifteenth- and sixteenth century. Therefore it is not surprising that the fictional characters are aware of the relationship in between outward appearance and personality. In the works analyzed feminine hirsutism or scars can be interpreted as allusions to the character of a person or their marginalized  social  status. In the same way the description of the ugliness or the beauty of the women characters do not respond only to the poetological rules of the time but can be read from the viewpoint of physiognomy.