# Celia — As You Like It character guide

> Celia in As You Like It by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Celia Alas, Celia Ay, Celia Dear sovereign, Celia Prithee, Celia Well, Celia O Lord, Celia No, Celia for Aliena, Aliena

**First appearance:** 0001-act-i

## Snapshot

The usurping duke's daughter who abandons court and fortune to follow her exiled cousin into Arden, disguised as the shepherdess Aliena.

## Who they are

Celia is the daughter of Duke Frederick, which makes her Rosalind's cousin and, by the play's strange arithmetic, the one person whose loyalty cuts against her own father's interests. When Frederick banishes Rosalind, Celia refuses to be left behind, trading a palace for a forest and a name for a costume. Her devotion is the play's quiet counterweight to all the scheming around her: she is the witness who keeps Rosalind honest, the friend who laughs at her own father's cruelty, and the woman whose love story with Oliver arrives as a kind of afterthought—proof that in Arden even the practical can be surprised.

## In the story

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/chapters/act-i-scene-ii)

Comforts Rosalind, jokes with Touchstone, and encourages Orlando after his victory.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/chapters/act-i-scene-iii)

Refuses to be separated from Rosalind; chooses the alias Aliena and plans their flight.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-ii)

Mentioned as having fled with Rosalind; her gentlewoman overheard them praising the wrestler.

### [Scene IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-iv)

Disguised as Aliena, she is exhausted and faint from travel, and expresses a liking for the forest.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-ii)

Present as Aliena, addressed by Rosalind as 'sister'.

### [Scene IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-iv)

Teases Rosalind about Orlando's broken promises, offering witty and cynical observations about love and fidelity.

### [Scene V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-v)

Present with Rosalind and Corin, observing the exchange.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-i)

Participates in the mock wedding as the priest and later criticizes Rosalind for misrepresenting women in her love-talk.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-iii)

Accompanies Rosalind, pities Silvius, and helps identify Oliver's destination.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/characters/celia
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/as_you_like_it_se/characters