Celestina

When Melibea agrees to give Celestina her girdle, she does so innocently, trusting Celestina’s claim that the garment will help her to heal Calisto’s toothache, a thoroughly chaste proposition. That the girdle has touched all of the relics of Rome and Jerusalem is a rather baffling claim, but it gives the girdle a sense of religious power and holiness. Because Celestina asks both for the girdle and for a personalized prayer, the act seems sacred and pure. But when Celestina delivers the girdle to Calisto, it becomes a symbol of Melibea’s body and Calisto’s desire. Calisto fondles the girdle, worshipping it as if it is Melibea, connecting the undergarment to Melibea’s nakedness. He sexualizes and corrupts her innocent offering.

Additionally, the girdle puts in question Melibea’s well-known beauty. Elicia and Areúsa accuse Melibea of fabricating her beauty through cosmetics, arguing that Melibea’s wealth gives her the resources to make herself attractive. Their own beauty is better because it is natural, achieved without such money and resources. Although Elicia and Areúsa’s tirades stem from jealousy, the girdle that reshapes Melibea’s body does suggest that her beauty has a fabricated aspect.