Year: 1993
Type: article
Abstract: In Act VII of Celestina Fernando de Rojas devotes his attention to a medica} problem which was thought in ancient and medieval times to afflict women.Areúsa is suffering from the mal de la madre: "Mal gozo vea de mí, si burlo; sino que á cuatro oras que muero de la madre, que la tengo sobida en los pechos ... " (11, 133).Critics heretofore have taken very little notice of how significant is the mention of this difficulty, doubtless understanding it as but yet another of the many references from the culture of the quotidian which are so common in Celestina.In addition, of course, Areúsa is a relatively minor character and the scene in which the mal de la madre is mentioned appears to have no great relevance to the overall structure of the work.The mal de la madre or "wandering womb" was a malady familiar to both lay and medical people in ancient times and it was widely commented upon in medical writings.The womb was thought of as a kind of animal, a frog or a toad, and it was believed that this being could at certain times wander about within the body of a woman producing a number of unpleasant symptoms such as
Source: Celestinesca
Author: James F. Burke
Institution: University of Toronto
Language: Spanish
Topic: Medieval Iberian Studies
Subfield: Classics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W200496501