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The Melancholic Complexion of Melibea
- Modern Language Review
- Modern Humanities Research Association
- Volume 116, Part 2, April 2021
- pp. 295-315
- 10.1353/mlr.2021.0088
- Article
- Additional Information
Abstract:
Fernando de Rojas's masterpiece, La Celestina, is indebted to the medical treatises that circulated widely in fifteenth-century Iberia. Celestina scholarship has aptly traced Calisto and Melibea's lovesickness (amor hereos) to the epistemology that dealt with this life-threatening condition. These scholars, however, have not gone beyond commenting on and analysing the ways in which lovesickness affected the star-crossed lovers. This study shows that Melibea suffers from other melancholic illnesses, which predispose her to amor hereos, while the latter evolves into more virulent forms of melancholy.