In Act I, Scene 3 of William Shakespeare's comedy
As You Like It, Celia, daughter of Duke Frederick, suggests that
she would be willing to exchange her father with the father of Rosalind, Celia's cousin
and daughter of the previous, rightful Duke, whom Frederick has overthrown. Frederick,
fearing that Rosalind is becoming too popular with the populace, wrongfully accuses her
of treason and orders her to leave his court and join her banished father. When Celia
protests, the following exchange
occurs:
- FREDERICK
You are a fool. You, niece, provide yourself.
If you outstay
the time, upon mine honour,
And in the greatness of my word, you die.
Exeunt DUKE and
LORDS
- CELIA O my
poor Rosalind! Whither wilt thou go? 495
Wilt thou change fathers? I will give
thee mine.
I charge thee be not thou more griev'd than I am.
Celia’s response
is significant for a number of reasons:
- It
indicates her deep disapproval of her father’s
behavior. - It indicates the depth of her love for
Rosalind. - It indicates some sympathy on her part for
Rosalind’s banished father. - It helps raise the issue of
love, a major theme of this play. - It helps prepare us for
her willingness to follow Rosalind into exile. - It helps
introduce the theme of change in a play that will be all about change, including changes
of costume and character. - It shows her capacity for
sympathy. - It helps establish her as one the virtuous
characters in the play. - It reinforces our already
negative reaction to Frederick: if he has lost the sympathy of his own virtuous
daughter, he deserves no sympathy from us. - It implies
that Celia, not her father, is the character who possesses a true sense of
“honor.” - It helps us realize that it is Frederick, not
his daughter, who is the true “fool” in this scene. - It
helps prepare us for a play in which female characters will often show a good deal of
independence, initiative, and virtue
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