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Celia is a kind person and talented actress, and she has a much quieter relationship with fame than Evelyn does. Evelyn’s overt sexuality makes her a source of endless fascination to the public, whereas Celia courts the limelight to a lesser degree. Celia wears her talent more comfortably than Evelyn, and knows and says that she’s a better actress. But she is insecure when it comes to her relationship with Evelyn, and wants a level of devotion which Evelyn struggles to give her.
From their first interaction, Celia criticizes and admires Evelyn’s character. She also serves as Evelyn’s moral compass throughout her life. Celia continually questions, protests, and rejects Evelyn’s dogged pursuit of success regardless of the personal costs. She pushes Evelyn to live more authentically and challenges her to choose love over image and fame. Even when Evelyn’s actions help Celia protect her own flourishing career, Celia demands a level of romantic purity and devotion that Evelyn struggles for decades to meet. When Evelyn fails to live up to her standards, Celia often lashes out cruelly. Celia can also be naïve, ignoring the realities of living in a LGBTQ+ relationship in a homophobic world. She is often confused, both wanting the protection of Evelyn’s public schemes and resenting that they are necessary. Toward the end of her life, Celia comes to understand the complexities of the personal and public forces that separated her from Evelyn. She only regrets the time the two of them lost to misunderstanding. In the end, Celia gives up a fixed idea of who Evelyn needs to be, and she finds the peaceful, mutual love she’s been seeking for decades.
