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Act Summaries & Analyses
Celestina waxes poetic about the treachery she endured in order to speak to Melibea on Calisto’s behalf. Pármeno keeps interjecting to express doubt, but Sempronio shushes him and they argue as Calisto begs Celestina to tell him what happened. Celestina assures Calisto that she has turned Melibea’s “rigor into honey, her anger into meekness, her haste into calm” (85) and that women only claim to hate the men they love in order to seem modest and unavailable. Calmer, Calisto bids Celestina to follow him into his chamber and tell him everything Melibea said.
Pármeno and Sempronio follow Calisto and Celestina to Calisto’s chamber where Calisto presses Celestina for the entire story. The two servants argue as Celestina dramatically tells Calisto how she managed to get Melibea alone and how she told Melibea that Calisto needed her for his toothache.
Celestina adds that she has Melibea’s girdle, which she offers in exchange for a cloak. Anxiously, Calisto orders Pármeno to fetch his tailor. Pármeno grumbles that Celestina only wants more payment and reminds Calisto that it is too late to send for a tailor.