Between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, The Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea, or La Celestina as it was popularly called and which eventually prevailed as its title, appears in 15th-century Spain (the century of the discovery of America, the persecution of non-believers, and the Inquisition) as a pioneering humanist work, whose bold erotic element astonishes and delights readers.
Two lovers, Calisto and Melibea, break the rules of Platonic courtly love and Christian morality. It is a sinful love that, however, will not have a happy ending. Fernando de Rojas does something very dangerous: the protagonists resort to prostitution and magic, while the work is full of bold situations and words for its time. Yet later, when the Inquisition examines the work of the “suspicious”—due to his Jewish ancestry—Rojas, it leaves it untouched. The sinful characters all die without having time to confess—they paid for their mortal sin.
