Character Analysis Of Cyrano De Bergerac By Raymond Rostand

There lives a man, Christian de Neuvillette, worshiped by all of the women of the land for his stunning looks. The one thing that stands between he and the perfect girl is his extreme stupidity. In the play, Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand, two men come together to create the ideal fairytale prince. Rostand uses one character that is ugly and smart, Cyrano, and one that is handsome and senseless named Christian. As the tale unfolds, Christian transforms through deception of intelligence into a deeper, more intelligent character, making himself more than just a pretty face. Rostand shows that Christian’s intelligence, or lack thereof, is only one factor in what makes up the character. The character of Christian is one of the focal

This shows a progression of his character with a growing confidence in himself; however, these actions result in revealing his true short comings. Inevitably, Christian cannot show his affection without stopping to stutter and loses Roxane’s interest quickly. Rostand once again has Cyrano step in as the wing man to keep Roxane entranced by Christian through Cyrano’s words. Again, this helps Christian gain the confidence to step up when he asks for a kiss from Roxane, His confidence in himself grows so that he is not afraid to climb the balcony and kiss her despite Cyrano’s strong disagreement with this action. “She is willing! – Why not make the most of it?” (129). Christian’s passion for Roxane leads to their deepening relationship through this romantic gesture. Rostand begins to demonstrate how Christian may have his flaws, but he has no problem with being a lover. He genuinely and ultimately cares for Roxane, and eventually becomes more comfortable with

Roxane comes to visit the frontline and bring food for the Cadets. Christian, knowing she could get hurt, begs her to leave considering the amount of danger she would be in. Roxane cries - “I will die with you!”(171) pleading to stay with the Cadets during the war. Christian knew he would never see her again and gave his life for her safety.

Rostand uses this character to play a major part in the overall theme and irony. Roxane is in love with the beauty of Christian yet by the words of Cyrano. The irony is that Roxane truly believes that Christian is her dream man because he is so handsome yet she is really in love with what he is saying, not him. He does not have the internal beauty that she is really looking for.

Christian’s overall transformation is a progression throughout the play. Initially, he uses his good looks and status to get what he wants but he is then challenged to work through his weaknesses and to rely on his strengths. Throughout the play, the reader can see that Christian’s strengths are equally as important as his weaknesses. He is a caring, compassionate man who is willing to die for the person he loved. Beauty may be a splendid quality for the eye, but what’s inside is equally