La Celestina Act V & VI Summary & Analysis

Acts V & VI

Summary: Act V, Scene 1

Celestina rushes to Calisto’s house, praising herself for being so cunning and courageous in the face of danger. She thanks the devil, whom she believes sent Alisa away so she could have time alone with Melibea. Sempronio finds Celestina on the street, talking to herself, and thinks she’s gone mad. He asks her for an update on her meeting with Melibea. Celestina says there’s no time to talk and that she’ll tell them all the good news at once at Calisto’s house. This rouses Sempronio’s suspicions, since Celestina’s original plan was to stall to extort more money out of Calisto. Celestina explains that a “wise man changes course, but the fool perseveres.” Furthermore, Celestina mentions only sharing a small amount with Sempronio. When Sempronio raises an issue with her phrasing, Celestina quickly states that whatever she gets is theirs to share and rushes him on. Sempronio tells himself that one way or another, he’ll get the money out of her.

Summary: Act V, Scene 2

Pármeno and Calisto wait inside Calisto’s house. Pármeno sees Celestina and Sempronio approaching and announces their arrival to Calisto. Calisto calls Pármeno an idiot for not rushing toward the door to greet them and begins to wail about how painful it is to wait, knowing Celestina has information that could ease his heartache. He ends his lament by praising Celestina as an honest woman. As they draw closer, Celestina and Sempronio hear Calisto’s cries. Celestina remarks to Sempronio about how well Calisto regards her now and how this only means good news for their plan. She expects to get new clothing from him for every word of praise he uses. Sempronio tells her to pretend not to see Calisto when they go inside to say something good, but Celestina hushes him, saying there’s no need to worry and that she expects their plan to go well.

Summary: Act VI

Celestina opens her story by recounting how her life was in danger and wasn’t even worth the old cloak she was wearing in Melibea’s house. Pármeno comments to Sempronio that Celestina is likely trying to get objects rather than money from Calisto, since objects are more difficult to split up. Sempronio defends Celestina, saying she’s greedy like everyone else, but if she’s not fair with them, they’ll retaliate. Celestina goes on to describe to Calisto how she managed to subdue Melibea’s ferocious mood at the mention of his name by behaving like a bee, which transmutes everything it touches into something better, and that women only protest to make themselves look more chaste.

Celestina tells Calisto how she came up with a quick lie to cover herself, saying that she was there to request Melibea’s girdle, known to have touched all the holy relics in Rome and Jerusalem, to help soothe Calisto’s toothache. Calisto praises her cleverness, saying she’s unparalleled in her profession. Celestina asks for a cloak in exchange for the girdle. Calisto orders Pármeno to send for one, but Pármeno says it’s too late for the tailors. Calisto begins caressing the girdle, while the others warn him to stop before he starts mistaking the clothing for Melibea herself. Celestina says she’ll be back again with a prayer Melibea promised him.

Analysis: Acts V & VI

When Celestina says that a “wise man changes course, and a fool persists,” she makes a very keen insight that reflects not only her character but a larger theme in the novel about the contrast between nature and artifice. Earlier, when Pármeno introduced Celestina as an “old whore” to Calisto, she was described with rich imagery and as almost being a part of the natural world itself. Calisto first bristled at Pármeno’s insult, but Pármeno insisted that Celestina doesn’t mind being called a whore—in fact, she relishes the term and answers to it without any embarrassment. Pármeno described how, wherever she goes, Celestina is called “Old Whore”—even the creatures she passes by, sheep, frogs, and dogs, call her the term. Pármeno explained that anything that can make a noise proclaims Celestina as “Old Whore.” This imagery naturalizes Celestina and shifts her title into a more positive light. It serves to show how she’s not only one with the natural world, but that world celebrates her by proclaiming her presence wherever she goes. This parallels the way Celestina lives close to the natural order, something that has arguably allowed her to live to a ripe old age. It’s also what allows her to be a force that invigorates the other characters around her. She’s able to give life to Sempronio’s goals, make Calisto’s dreams come true, and put a roof over her prostitutes’ heads.

Celestina’s vitality and living close to the more primitive human impulses make her a foil to society’s order and artifice. Celestina’s ability to change course at random, knowing that a “fool persists,” shows her clever, adaptable nature. She is like Hermes the messenger god in classical mythology, who was said to be the only god who could enter and leave Hell and the underworld at will. Celestina can pass between worlds at will as well—the worlds of the lower and upper classes. Like Hermes in his ability to stay neutral among the gods, Celestina has relaxed morals and can facilitate arguments to create resolution between her neighbors because she finds a way to be accepted by everyone, if even for a moment.

Celestina wants Pármeno to be friends with Sempronio for her own and his best interests, and she wants Areúsa to sleep with Pármeno so she can get Pármeno on her side but also to disabuse Areúsa of any notions that she should be loyal to her clients, which is in Areúsa’s best interest. In being able to stand outside society by grounding herself in the more natural impulses that run through humanity, Celestina can help other characters provide for themselves in a society that ultimately exploits them or at least separates them from their purer nature.

Sempronio, in contrast, is more fixed. He’s fixed on his goal of getting money from Calisto, and he’s fixed on Celestina’s words. When she makes a casual comment that he shouldn’t worry and that she’ll give him his “little profit,” he fixates on the words she uses and scares himself into becoming suspicious that she’ll cheat him. Celestina does cheat him later, but her words at this point are rushed and likely meaningless—she’s happy that things turned out well with Melibea and wants to tell Calisto the good news as soon as possible. Sempronio allows his doubt and suspicion to grow because he is inflexible and overly focused on his potential gain.

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