Animals in <i>Celestina</i>

Abstract

The authors of the 21-act version of the Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea include 182 mentions of animals and the aim of this study is to analyze and interpret them. There are characters referring both to themselves and to others using animal imagery. Animals are seen for what they are but also used anthropomorphically to mirror human beings. Animals' sexual behavior and their use in ironic contexts is featured as well. These mentions of animals spring from ancient traditions and continue to suggest that they reflect much of the behaviour of human beings. This study of the ample use of animals aims to enrich a new reading of this classic work.

Keywords

• animales