Apetito «contra natura»: Celestina and her same-sex desires

Caleb A. Mertz-Vega

doi:10.7203/Celestinesca.46.21582

Authors

Caleb A. Mertz-Vega University of California, San Diego. PhD Student, Comparative Literature. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6151-7412

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/Celestinesca.46.21582

Keywords:

Homoeroticism, Bisexual, Sexuality, Same-sex desire, Double-entendre

Abstract

Fernando de Rojas’ La Celestina drips with sexuality as represented by prostitution, double entendre, and hypersexuality but some scholars have balked at the opportunity to investigate the significance of Celestina’s same-sex desires that permeate through the pages in her interactions. This essay delves into a queer reading of Dorothy Severin’s edition of La Celestina using widely accepted heteronormative scholarship but applied to the female relationships that occur within. Areúsa’s mal de madre, Calisto’s dolor de muelas, and Elicia’s mysterious dolor all benefit from Celestina’s cures and satisfy Celestina’s sexual appetite for same-sex desires. I also suggest that Celestina’s relationship with Claudina is more than a close sisterhood and parallels that of the reverence Calisto holds for Melibea. Finally, I contemplate Pármeno’s societal representation of repulsion toward “the Other.” I argue that Celestina’s passionate past with his mother motivates his murderous intention toward Celestina.

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Author Biography

Caleb A. Mertz-Vega, University of California, San Diego. PhD Student, Comparative Literature.

B.A. in English and Spanish from UC Berkeley, and current PhD student at UC San Diego. I’m interested in the application of affect theory to reception history of LGBT characters in the literature of the northern Amazon region of Latin America. Are innate responses truly universal or are they shaped by enculturation? Of particular interest is the psychological and political influence of contemporary literature to the social acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. I am also interested in how rural communities steeped in traditional biblical texts interact with gay and lesbian themes in Spanish and American literature.

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