The forest of Arden is the setting where the majority of As You Like It takes place. As inhabitants of the court enter the forest they experience people and an environment very different from what they are accustomed to and each perceive this experience differently. The environment is consistent so how each character views the forest as an alternative to life in the court reveals insights into the nature of the characters. The forest of Arden can invoke paradisiacal sentiments for some but feelings of meagerness for others but most find the forest a simple place of escape from the city. Only from a pastoral perspective can one truly see the full effects of nature on characters just as only from a fortune-or courtly perspective-can we see how characters are limited and confined from full enjoyment of pastoral life. The extent to which characters can adapt to the forest of Arden and accept such a life not only reveals insights into the true nature of characters but it also attempts to answer whether or not people are better suited to live in the country or the court.
             The audience's first impression of the forest of Arden is from Charles, the undefeated wrestler whom Orlando is about to defeat. Charles informs Oliver, in regard to the usurped Duke Senior, that "they say many young gentlemen flock to him everyday, and fleet the time carelessly as they did in the golden world" (Shakespeare 7). The inhabitants of the court see the forest of Arden as an Eden-like place, a reference that is continued in regard to some of the forest's inhabitants. Such optimism of the forest is true for Celia and Rosalind as well for in their banishment Celia remarks that "now go in we content to liberty, and not to banishment" (24). Upon entering the forest both Rosalind and Celia complain to great lengths but eventually both warm to the country experience. With Celia's remark that "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" (35...