Celestina and the Ends of Desire by Gerli E. Michael.;

Author:Gerli, E. Michael.; [Gerli, E. Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 2011-02-26T16:00:00+00:00

¡Anda, bova, dile, no me indignes con tu tardança!

LUCRECIA: Celestina, hablando con reverencia, es su nombre.

ALISA: ¡Hy, hy, hy! Mala landre te mate si de risa puedo estar, viendo el desamor que deves tener a essa vieja que su nombre has vergüença nombrar; ya me voy recordando de ella. Una buena pieça; no me digas más. Algo me verná a pedir; di que suba (112).

[Go too, you fool; tell me her name; do not anger me by this your delay.

LUCRECIA: Her name, saving your reverence, is Celestina.

ALISA: Hi, hi, hi! I am not able to stand for laughing to see that that the loathing which thou hast of this old woman should make thee ashamed to name her unto me. Now I call her to mind; say no more. A fine piece of work! She is come to beg somewhat of me. Bid her come up.]

In crafting Alisga’s portrayal, Rojas gleaned from the antiguo autor’s use of laughter, that, as Henri Bergson states, ‘laughter always implies a kind of secret freemasonry, or even complicity, with other laughers, real or imaginary’ (1937, 6). Alisa’s high-pitched giggle invokes, hence, not just the sounds but also the sentiments of Pármeno’s response to Celestina’s ribald joke. It marks a sympathy between the two. At the same time it refers us to Alisa’s more than casual acknowledgment of Celestina’s presence. Alisa’s laugh acts as a paralinguistic gloss to the exchange with Lucrecia and specifies the former’s unequivocal recognition of Celestina, as well as her full appreciation of the nature of the old bawd’s forbidden trade.

Beyond Alisa’s explicit invitation for Celestina to enter her home, Alisa’s snicker also points to her tacit approval of Celestina’s presence in the house plus a more than ingenuous awareness of her mission (‘Una buena pieça; no me digas más. Algo me venrá a pedir’ [A fine piece of work! She is come to beg somewhat of me]). Indeed, it carries a hint of understanding and a whiff of past chicanery; at the very least it betokens curiosity while suggesting, perhaps, Alisa’s inner wish to exploit the possibilities of Celestina’s visit on behalf of her marriageable daughter.

Recognizing Celestina, as well as ignoring Lucrecia’s explicit description of her as ‘la que empicotaron por hechizera, que vendía las moças a los abades y descasava mil casados’ (110) [she that stood on the pillory for a witch; who sold young wenches to your Abbey Lubbers and that hath marred many thousands of marriages], and, more importantly, indicating by her giggle that she knows full well how she makes her living, after a warm exchange of greetings, Alisa calls Melibea and asks her to attend to their visitor. Suddenly declaring her distress at the lateness of the hour, Alisa turns heel and leaves the two alone, invoking the need to visit an ailing sister, whom she has not seen since yesterday. Till the moment of her precipitous departure, Melibea’s mother seems on estimable terms with Celestina, despite her full knowledge of the nature of her business.

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