Celis Character Analysis in Herland

Celis is the Herlandian woman who marries Jeff. Celis is frequently bewildered by Jeff’s evident adoration of her and rebuffs his attempts to treat her as weak or in need of protection. Aside from this, Celis and Jeff fall deeply in love with each other and become the only couple (the others being Ellador and Van, and Terry and Alima) to consummate their marriage. Celis is also the first woman in Herland to get pregnant by a man in over 2,000 years and is therefore treated with extreme reverence and kindness. Terry, Ellador, and Van leave Herland before the birth of Celis’s child, but Jeff decides to stay with her in Herland.

Celis Quotes in Herland

The Herland quotes below are all either spoken by Celis or refer to Celis. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

What left us even more at sea in our approach was the lack of any sex-tradition. There was no accepted standard of what was “manly” and what was “womanly.”

When Jeff said, taking the fruit basket from his adored one, “A woman should not carry anything,” Celis said, “Why?” with the frankest amazement. He could not look at that fleet-footed, deep-chested young forester in the face and say, “Because she is weaker.” She wasn’t. One does not call a race horse weak because it is visibly not a cart horse.

Related Characters: Celis (speaker), Jeff Margrave (speaker), Vandyck “Van” Jennings (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 100-101

Explanation and Analysis:

Shortly after reuniting with Celis, Alima, and Ellador, the men begin courting them and realize just how difficult it is to navigate heterosexual romantic relationships without prescribed gender roles. In this context, when Gilman says “sex-tradition,” what she means are socially constructed gender roles that dictate men and women’s behavior. The exchange between Jeff and Celis highlights the difference between each culture’s (Western and Herlandian) views about womanhood. Jeff is the most chivalrous of the men and believes that it’s only right for him to take on all tasks that require any amount of physical strength. Celis, who has no Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium

This is one thing which we did not understand—had made no allowance for. When in our pre-marital discussions one of those dear girls had said: “We understand it thus and thus,” or “We hold such and such to be true,” we men, in our own deep-seated convictions of the power of love, and our easy views about beliefs and principles, fondly imagined that we could convince them otherwise. What we imagined, before marriage, did not matter any more than what an average innocent girl imagines. We found the facts to be different.

Related Characters: Vandyck “Van” Jennings (speaker), Celis, Ellador, Terry O. Nicholson, Jeff Margrave, Alima

Page Number and Citation: 132

Explanation and Analysis:

Despite the difficulties that arise during their courtships, Jeff marries Celis, Terry marries Alima, and Van marries Ellador. As Van points out in this passage, the men did this in the firm belief that they would be able to persuade their new wives to adopt their own beliefs about marriage in due time. More importantly, Van reveals that the men maintained this belief even after the women explicitly told them their beliefs and values. This highlights the fact that even though the men (or at least Van and Jeff) have begun to change their perceptions of women, they still maintain Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Mi

Celis Character Timeline in Herland

The timeline below shows where the character Celis appears in Herland. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...herself and says “Ellador” and then points to the other two and says “Alima” and “Celis.” (full context)

...to tear apart with their hands. As they struggle with the cloth, they suddenly notice Celis, Alima, and Ellador watching them from a short distance away. Jeff, Van, and Terry cautiously... (full context)

Motherhood and Reproductive Control Theme Icon

Jeff, Terry, Van, Celis, Alima, and Ellador enjoy playing the game, but Van tells the other men that they... (full context)

Gender Roles and Relationships Theme Icon

...group of girls to deliver a brief summary of world history, the men look for Celis, Alima, and Ellador, but are unsuccessful. After the men deliver their first lecture, Somel asks... (full context)

Jeff, Van, and Terry continue delivering lectures, eventually reuniting with Alima, Celis, and Ellador. Soon, the men begin courting the three—Jeff falls madly in love with Celis,... (full context)

...time, however, the platonic feeling between them gradually transforms into romantic love. Ellador, Alima, and Celis, it turns out, had been the first to see the men and had taken the... (full context)

Jeff tells Celis that elsewhere in the world, people believe that motherhood is enough of a burden for... (full context)

...way for when “the real miracle time” comes. They are able to help Jeff and Celis understand, too, but Terry refuses to listen. Madly in love with Alima, Terry wants to... (full context)

Jeff, Van, and Terry try to prepare Alima, Celis, and Ellador for their weddings, but must explain the importance of the ceremony to all... (full context)

...Terry are unwilling to share details about the evils of life outside of Herland with Celis, Alima, and Ellador, even though the men accept them as a necessary part of their... (full context)

Celis tells the men that they are loved just for themselves, without having to give anything... (full context)

...prepared for their marriages, the men assumed that they would be able to persuade Ellador, Celis, and Alima to adopt their beliefs about marriage. However, they find that these predictions and... (full context)

...the country and each other). Terry is often furious with Alima, but Jeff readily adopts Celis’s Herlandian ideas. Van takes a middle ground, being neither as lustful as Terry nor as... (full context)

After their marriages, Celis, Alima, and Ellador return to work immediately. With no work of their own to do,... (full context)

While Van and Jeff find more and more happiness with Ellador and Celis, Terry’s experience with Alima is much different. To the reader, Van explains that he simply... (full context)

...and Van will go with Terry. Jeff, however, privately says he wouldn’t dream of bringing Celis to the dirty streets of America and tells Van he must tell Ellador what it’s... (full context)

Celis reveals that she is pregnant. Ellador is momentarily jealous but tells Van that it’s better... (full context)

Celis Character Analysis

Celis Quotes in Herland

Chapter 8: The Girls of Herland Quotes

Chapter 11: Our Difficulties Quotes

Celis Character Timeline in Herland