UC Riverside

Exploring various renditions in film, literature, and art inspired by La Celestina – 1499 – this dissertation analyzes the afterlives of Fernando de Rojas’s singular work through several visual adaptations from the 16th to the 21st century. Despite being Rojas’s only creation, it has sparked extensive discourse and creativity. The project looks closely into Celestina’s visual avatars, and how the adaptation to the pictorial and filmic media changes the way the inherent psychoanalytic dynamics adapt to the structures of desire that infuse these cinematic gazes. Translations, spanning German, Italian, and French, date back to the early days of publication, fostering a cascade of adaptations to keep the narrative alive. Beyond language, wood carvings and tapestries have visually immortalized scenes from La Celestina. Remarkably, amid these diverse interpretations, the central theme of inevitable death for the main characters remains unwavering. Chapter 1 - The translatability and adaptations of César Fernández Ardavín’s 1969 and Gerardo Vera’s 1996 versions of La Celestina. Both versions adapt Fernando de Rojas’ classic work into the big screen utilizing different lenses, such as the historical context in which they were being made. Chapter 2 - Art form adaptations of La Celestina, starting from the wood carvings, tapestries, and subsequent paintings. All these various forms of art become part of the celestinesque cannon. La Celestina has given the artists from these various artforms different ways of interpreting and reinterpreting Rojas’ classic work. Chapter 3 - There is a craving for the nostalgia aspect of what these works provide readers and viewers. The nostalgia for the same stories even when the plot is known. Viewing different versions based on the original form in various modes of media. Chapter 4 - Death and falling of the main characters; Calisto, Melibea, Celestina, Sempronio, and Pármeno. These characters are linked by death and are driven by lust and riches to Thanatos. The desire for more becomes their doom.