"S guese la Comedia o Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, compuesta en reprehensi n de los locos enamorados que, vencidos en su desordenado apetito, a sus amigas llaman y dicen ser su Dios".

En la prehistoria del realismo novelesco, ning n libro ocupa un lugar tan excepcional como La Celestina, cuyo mero t tulo de tragicomedia apunta ya que en ella est n viol ndose las reglas m s sagradas en el establishment de las letras. Porque nunca antes, y nunca durante muchos a os despu s, intent nadie en Europa plasmar un orbe de ficci n con tantos visos de integrarse en el mbito de la experiencia diaria, ni menos mediante una presentaci n tan detenida y cuidadosa de individuos, hechos y cosas, de vivencias y relaciones personales y sociales, en coincidencia con los resultados, ya que no con los designios, de la novela realista. Ah reside a todas luces no s lo la novedad radical, sino adem s el apabullante logro art stico de La Celestina. ...] Por lo dem s, las palabras y las acciones de los protagonistas tienen tal verdad y contundencia, tanta entidad propia, que no nos toleran entender el mundo m s que por sus ojos y a trav s de sus voces, y nicamente despu s, al cerrar el libro, nos mueven a inquirir si ese es tambi n el mundo del autor, nuestro mismo mundo. Es la conquista suprema, el acierto m s genial de La Celestina.
Francisco Rico ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
The Celestina is considered by scholars to be the first European novel. Written in fifteenth-century Spain, this masterpiece is remarkable for its originality, depth, handling of dialogue, and drawing of character. The novel's focus is the character of Celestina, who dominates the scene. An old bawd brimming with salty wisdom derived from a vigorous and sinful life, she is one of the great creations of all literature. This Spanish classic was originally published anonymously, in 1499; later editions bear the name of Fernando de Rojas as author.
La Celestina is the tale of a passionate love affair that ends in tragedy. The story tells of a bachelor, Calisto, who commissions the old procuress and bawd Celestina to start an affair with Melibea, an unmarried girl kept in seclusion by her parents. Celestina, who is the madam of the local brothel, uses all her wiles and with the help of two greedy servants she goes about weaving her spells on the young girl ... with tragic results.
Humorous and ribald in its language, La Celestina is a continuous dialogue in which masters and servants participate, with Celestina in its midst. Through the characters' dialogue much of the Spanish soul of those times has been revealed and learned, and by extension, of the human condition.