This section briefly touches on the importance of Celes' name, age, and element
in relation to her personality.
"Celes" may be derived from "celestial," but I don't think that's actually been
verified in any way. It could be a completely random name, though that seems
somewhat unlikely. Anyway, since interpretating is fun, definitions of "celestial"
are below, followed by possible applications to Celes:
-
Of or relating to the sky or the heavens: Celes doesn't really have any
relation to the sky or heavens, at least the sky or heavens (outer space) in a
literal sense. I guess you could try saying she somehow represents the sky or
the heavens, but I don't really buy that.
-
Of or relating to heaven; divine: Celes isn't divine in any sense. She did
have high status as one of the three top high-ranking generals in the Empire, but
I really doubt she was considered divine. The Emperor may have been thought of
as divine, but that's also pretty doubtful. However, Kefka and Gestahl do offer
Celes the opportunity to gain massive power, similar to those of a deity, powers
which Kefka eventually obtained for himself, but Celes refused them. To her,
power only created war.
-
Celestial empire, China; -- so called from the Chinese words, tien chan,
Heavenly Dynasty, as being the kingdom ruled over by the dynasty appointed by
heaven: This is interesting. Although I can't think how this would relate to
Celes herself, it makes me wonder about the Empire she served.
-
Supremely good; sublime: Celes is described as having a spirit as "pure as
snow." I think "supremely good" and "sublime" are a bit overboard, but they
could be extensions of Celes' spirit and nature.
Romanizing Celes as "Ceres" points to potential Roman mythological influences.
Ceres was the Roman god of grain and the harvest, also known as Demeter in Greek
mythology. However, there isn't much relation between Celes and Ceres in my
honest opinion.
"Chere," in French, apparently means "dear" (as relating to people) or "expensive."
We won't get into the "expensive" definition, but Celes certainly is an important
and dear person to many characters in
FFVI.
Aside from Gau and Mog, the women of
Final Fantasy VI are the youngest
characters in the game. Celes and Terra are both 18. 18 is actually pretty
young, especially for Celes who is a top general for the Empire. The closest
male character to their age and maturity level is Locke, who is already 25,
and the other male characters are older than that. However, when compared to
later
FF games, Celes and Terra are actually older than other main
characters like Rinoa, Garnet, and Yuna.
I'm not sure why Square made Celes and Terra so young, at least when compared
to the other characters. Both Celes and Terra are major focal points of
FFVI, both are in similar occupations, and both have to confront major
changes in their lives. Being young gives them the opportunity to show that
even though they have much to face and deal with, their youth enables them to
change more readily. They can cope, rebuild, and move on.
Celes' element is, for the most part (she naturally learns Flare and Meteo
on her own), ice. While Terra is mostly fire, sometimes uncontrollable and
emotional, Celes initially prefers to keep her feelings hidden behind a wall
of aloofness. Edgar's description of her is "cold as ice." That's simply
how she deals with others- coolly, distantly, somewhat harshly. Celes tries
to suppress her emotions, and when confronted with problems, she either treats
others with cold words or retreats into herself. The events she experiences
and the people she meet ultimately help her to melt that cold exterior.
The game says Celes has a spirit as "pure as snow," another ice reference.
The purity of new fallen, white snow is similar to her emotional strength,
her sense of goodness, and her need to be truthful to herself, even if some
of these things are not learned until later in the game. Still, these are
all qualities inherent within Celes, but some of them have to be uncovered.
