Cyrano De Bergerac Beauty

Beauty is a debatable topic. It is hard to define as the styles and people that are considered beautiful at a certain time, might be considered ugly by those who come a century later. While the latest fashion changes constantly, the one thing that society agreed upon for centuries was the pursuit of beauty. Whatever the century, the quest for beauty has prevailed, whether it be by putting arsenic on one’s face to create paleness or exposing oneself to rays that cause cancer, in order to be tan. Beauty is different to everyone, but a few features are generally considered agreed upon by society, and the general opinion of one such characteristic, Cyrano’s grotesque nose, has continued to be the same for centuries. Cyrano de Bergerac, the main
character of a play by the same name, was born at a time when beauty did influence how people perceived themselves and others. Luckily for him, there were other certain qualities that were also taken into account when people thought of somebody. Cyrano was a renaissance man, he chose to excel at everything in life, whether that be fencing, poetry, philosophy or music as noted by his friends (Scene 1, Act II, 22).Cyrano did everything in his power to change the way that people perceived him, so it was not solely based on beauty. However, as much as he tried to change the way that people perceived him, it was all in vain as he did not allow himself to profess his love, due to his nose, his lack of beauty which he is so often reminded of. As much as society and people attempt to claim that beauty does not influence how others perceive us, most people’s first impressions relies solely on outward appearance and beauty.

Cyrano de Bergerac offers many examples that prove beauty does influence how others perceive us.
Notably, is the first time that Roxane sees Christian. Roxane does not know Christian at all, she has never seen him before. Yet still by only setting eyes on him from her balcony at the playhouse, falls in love with ‘his bright locks, like D’Urfe’s heroes’ (Scene 2, Act VI, 97). From that first glance, she believes herself to be madly in love with him. Although they have not spoken, Roxane insists that ‘eyes can speak’ (Scene 2, Act VI, 96). Roxane has no other means of making an opinion of Christian, she does not know what he is like as a person, yet based off of beauty, she perceives that Christian is worthy of her undying love. Roxane is a prime example of how she lets beauty influence how she perceives everyone around
her.

In addition, Roxane makes assumptions about Christian’s mental status based off of his beauty. Cyrano even points out that Christian could have ‘a well-cured pate, and witless tongue, perchance!’ (Scene 2, Act VI, 97). In other words, he may be handsome, but he may not be very eloquent, a trait Roxane values, but she can’t see past his beauty. Similarly, Cyrano has the eloquence and wit that she desires, but she cannot see past his nose, so she is immune to seeing his mental acuity. She does not believe it could be possible that Christian could be that beautiful and not have a brain that is equal in wit, another instance in which she proves that beauty influences perception. Roxane time and again proves that beauty does influence how others perceive us, as she believes that only by being beautiful, Christian must be smart and eloquent as well.

Although there are some moments within the play ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ where the main character finds the rare individual who looks past his nose and sees the human being that is inside, the moments few and far between. Often, those moments are only after one of Cyrano’s other more romantic hero traits has prevailed. In the beginning of the play, Cyrano is confessing his love of Roxane to Le Bret, but is in dismay because he believes Roxane could never love someone with such an ‘grotesque’ nose. Le Bret counters with how the orange girl’s eyes ‘did not abhor’ Cyrano (Scene I, Act V, 62). This is one of the only occasions where beauty does not change how Cyrano is perceived, however it was preceded by a duel where Cyrano had the opportunity to showcase his wit and his skill at poetry. This duel romanticized him so that when the orange girl offered him food from her buffet, she was only thinking of the valor and skill that he had exhibited earlier and not of his nose. The prime example that could refute this topic is when Roxane realized that she loved Cyrano instead of Christian the whole time. Her perception of Cyrano’s nose or how beautiful he was did not change, it was only after realizing he was the soul behind Christian’s pretty face that she loved him. Roxane was unable to move past Cyrano’s nose and focused on Christian’s beauty and ‘his bright locks’ (Scene 2, Act VI, 97). Although both the orange girl and Roxane see past Cyrano’s beauty, or lack thereof, they fail to do so until he amazes them with his wit and dueling skills.

In conclusion, as exemplified in the play, ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’, beauty plays a major role in how people perceive each other.
Roxane, the main love interest, plays a major role in how Cyrano thinks of himself, as she consistently reaffirms how important beauty is in society. Cyrano, while trying to make up for his nose in other ways, is constantly reminded of that fact and his unrequited love for Roxane, which will eventually prove to be his downfall. The play ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ has endured for over the centuries precisely because readers still can relate to how grotesque Cyrano’s nose is, which is the persisting struggle in this story. As much as society likes to think that it has changed since the centuries ago in which this was written, beauty is still what many people think of when they make their first impression of
someone.