Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Describe Celia 's role in As You Like It.

Celia is Rosalind's cousin as well as her good and true
friend. She is Duke Frederick's daughter. She lives at the palace with Rosalind, who
comes to live there are Celia's father ousts Rosalind's father, Duke Senior. Despite her
father's actions, the two young women become very close. They love to laugh and make fun
of the goings-on in the court, and enjoy bantering with Le Beau and Touchstone,
particularly.


Celia is amused by Rosalind's infatuation
with Orlando. She is troubled when her father banishes Orlando from the court after the
wrestling match. She becomes outraged when Duke Frederick also ousts Rosalind, and, true
friend that Celia is, she accompanies Rosalind to the Forest of
Arden.


The girls know that they are in danger in such a
place, and adopt disguises for their safety. Rosalind becomes "Gaynmede," a male
persona; Celia remains a woman, but calls her self "Aliena" (a clever Shakespearean pun
of the word "alien" for Celia acts as an alien, that is, an outsider, but she has also
"alienated" herself from her father and his rule).


Celia is
the less dynamic of the two female characters, and after her transformation, her role in
the play is diminished. She is reduced to a go-between for Orlando and Rosalind. Her own
relationship with Oliver is never directly played out, only observed in conversation
with other characters.

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