Cyrano De Bergerac: Edmond Rostand

Cyrano de Bergerac In the drama, Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand incorporates three different characters who come together to create this comedic, romantic, yet tragic play. Cyrano de Bergerac takes place in the beautiful city of Paris in 1640. Cyrano, who is the main character in the story, is not the most attractive man to lay your eyes upon. In fact, some would say he was the ugliest man of his time. No one was fond of his looks because his nose was bigger than you could ever imagine! Despite his lack of an appealing appearance, he was a smart man with a good heart and soul. Cyrano has many incredible character traits; however, he also has some that
will affect his fate in a very negative, tragic way. Cyrano’s traits include self doubt, tremendous willingness to help others, and his deep love for Roxane. Cyrano’s self doubt leads him to a most tragic ending. Self doubt consumed Cyrano to the point that he never gave himself a chance to try to win Roxane’s love. In the play, he states, “This nose proceeds me everywhere, a quarter of an hour in front, to say ‘Beware: Don’t love Cyrano’ to even the ugliest” (Rostand 38). He is so unconfident and ashamed of his nose that he wont dare to make his love for Roxane known. He goes on to say, “And Cyrano now has to love the best, the brightest, bravest, wittiest, the most beautiful” (Rostand38). Poor Cyrano believes Roxane is way too good for him. He thinks that if Roxane knew that Cyrano loved her, she would think of it as humorous and he would be rejected. Once again Cyrano continues with his point, “Look at it, and tell me what exuberance of hope can swell the rest of me” (Rostand 39). If Cyrano had not let self doubt consume him, then he could have had a life with Roxane and his life would have been completely different. Cyrano has this extraordinary willingness to help others.
Roxane loved Christian and Christian loved Roxane, even though they had never met. Despite the fact that Christian had all that Cyrano ever wanted, Cyrano wanted to help give Christian the right words to say. In Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano proclaims, “well, why not borrow it? And in return Ill borrow your good looks” (Rostand 78). Cyrano’s thought process here is that he can “borrow” Christians good looks. However, Christian is the only one getting credit because he’s borrowing Cyrano’s romantic vibes. Cyrano continues, “I don’t see why I shouldn’t give you words to woo her with” (Rostand 78). This is absolutely incredible, most men would be tremendously jealous and would do anything to get Roxane to hate that man and love them instead. Cyrano does not want to be enemy’s with Christian, instead he wants to help him and be a good friend. His willingness to help others effects his fait in a positive way. Roxane ended up loving Christian for his “soul”, which was Cyrano, instead of his stunning
looks. Even though Cyrano has an incredible deep love for Roxane, he never expresses it to her until he’s about to die.
However, he did express his love towards her to a friend in the beginning of the play. He begins to explain to his friend the wonder and beauty of his love, “I dream too…With such a girl on my arm, under the moon. My heart lifts, I forget my curse” (Rostand 39). “She can knit grace from a twine of air. The heavens sit in every gesture” (Rostand 38). Cyrano truly loves Roxane and dreams about her being his. Roxane means the world to him and Cyrano would do absolutely anything for her. Later on in the play, when Cyrano is old and alone, he reads a letter that he had wrote to Roxane, that was from “Christian”. Roxane noticed that he was saying it in such a powerful meaningful way. That’s when she realized it was Cyrano all along. Right before Cyrano takes his last breath Roxane says in a sorrowful tone, “My love, my only love” (Rostand
173). Cyrano’s fate was tragic, yet at the same time he died knowing that his true love, Roxane, loved him passionately. Roxane learned that the soul is the most important thing, not someone’s outward appearance. Roxane loved Cyrano because he was a kind, loving, honest, selfless man. However, if Cyrano did not have the self doubt he had, then Roxane would have fallen in love with him sooner. Nevertheless, it was Cyrano’s tremendous willing to help others and deep love for Roxane, that made Roxane no longer care about looks but love Cyrano for his exquisite soul.