Analysis Of Cyrano De Bergerac By Edmund Rostand

Our character defines who we are. Character is consisted of many elements such as personality, physical traits, dialogue, decisions, and choices made; these components create a profile of how others view an individual, and predictions of their next actions and choices. In Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmund Rostand, characters Christian and Cyrano possess unique aspects that influence their decision making, their perspective to other characters, and the plot. Cyrano’s character is seen as heroic, an astonishing poet, and a remarkable warrior. These attributes can be supported when Cyrano decides to fight and defeat Valvert, a proud, rude, and spiteful nobleman while reciting an extemporized ballad. After the duel, many characters are perplexed

Although being told his wit, passion, and vitality outweigh his unattractive looks by his trusted friend, Le Bret, Cyrano is insecure and fails to reveal his love for his beautiful cousin, Roxane. “Letting this wretched devil of a nose / Breathe in the perfume, I follow with my eye,” Cyrano’s self-consciousness is present throughout the play, choosing to admire Roxane from a distance rather than approach her (39). Cyrano holds the traits of an individual with inner-beauty, captivating the hearts of his audience, but his lack of outer beauty inhibits his one goal, to win the heart of his

Cyrano steals Roxane’s heart with his linguistic talent through Christian as a proxy, who also wins her heart with his handsome appearance. Their duel affair is stopped when Christian decides he cannot continue his relationship with Roxane after she says: “If you were ugly, twisted, all askew, / Dwarfish, deformed, I feel, I know I should be able to love you more,” (144). Christian claims to Cyrano, “She loves my soul. You are my soul,” meaning that in reality, she is in love with the poet, and not the allurement (145).

Rostand’s utilization of inner beauty vs outer beauty in Cyrano de Bergerac showcases the nonexistence of a perfect human. Cyrano and Christian’s cooperation to infatuate Roxane led to a state of despondency. Fifteen years later after Christian’s death in the Thirty Years’ War, a dying Cyrano tells Roxane about their collaboration to win her love. “I never loved but one man in my life. / Now I must lose him twice,” Roxane never loved Christian for his looks, but the words that came from Cyrano’s eloquence (171). Rostand didn’t just choose to give these characteristics to Cyrano and Christian to create an interesting play, but to create a moral that shows no human being is perfect and that an individual will be loved for who they are, not for who they