(i) According to Celia, in what way has Duke Frederick indirectly banished her ?

Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :

Rosalind : That he hath not.

Celia : No, hath not ? Rosalind lacks then the love

Which teacheth thee that thou and I am one : 

Shall we be sunder’d ? Shall we part, sweet girl ?

No, Let my father seek another heir.

Therefore devise with me how we may fly, 

Whither to go, and what to bear with us :

And do not seek to take your change upon you,

To bear your griefs yourself and leave me out; 

For, by this heaven, now at our sorrows pale, 

Say what thou canst, I’ll go along with thee. 

Rosalind : Why, whither shall we go ?

(i)   According to Celia, in what way has Duke Frederick indirectly banished her ?

(ii)  Quote from the extract one line that shows that Celia has decided to break her relationship with her father.

(iii)  Why does Celia tell Rosalind that the former is associated with the latter in sorrow ?

(iv)  Where do the cousins plan to go ? What danger do they foresee during the journey ?

(v) What precautions do they plan to take against such a danger ?

Answer 1

(i)  Celia loves Rosalind so much that she considers her as even closer than a sister, almost as two bodies with one soul. She cannot even think of being parted from Rosalind. So she says that by banishing Rosalind, Duke Frederick has also banished Celia, his own daughter because Celia will not be separated from Rosalind. Wherever Rosalind goes, Celia will also go, even if it is into banishment.

(ii)  The line is : “No : let my father seek another heir.”

(iii)  When Celia asks Rosalind not to be more unhappy than she is Rosalind replies that she has more cause for unhappiness than Celia. At this Celia says that it is not true because in banishing Rosalind the Duke has also banished Celia because the two of them are so joined together in love that they can never be parted.

(iv)  When the two girls are thinking of where they can go, Celia comes up with the idea of joining her uncle and Rosalind’s father in the forest of Arden. Rosalind is worried that because they are young and beautiful they will face danger on such a long journey. She says that beauty tempts thieves even more than gold does.

(v)  Celia and Rosalind decide to disguise themselves because it will not be safe for them to travel so far in their own rich clothes and natural beauty. Celia says that she will dress in poor clothes and colour her face with a brown pigment called umber so that they can travel unnoticed. She suggests that Rosalind should do the same. Rosalind thinks that it will be better if she disguises herself as a man because she is so tall. She says that she will put on the fierce and boastful behavior of a man, whatever womanly fears may lie hidden in her heart.