How can a person be arrogant and insecure at the same time? In Edmund Rostand’s comedic tragedy, Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano is a tragic hero based on the characteristics of having a tragic flaw, a result of his downfall, and him coming to self-knowledge by the end of the play. Cyrano fights many obstacles in the book internally and externally before he arrives at his final destination of acceptance. Ultimately, Cyrano will be proven to be a tragic hero by more closely examining his character.
The first characteristic that makes Cyrano a tragic hero is that he has a tragic flaw, and this occurs because of his appearance. The first example of this is how he constantly pokes fun at his nose, which causes him to be vulnerable to others. The men, including Le Bret, Ragueneau, and Ligniere are all at the local bakery making fun of Cyrano: “a nose, gentlemen, that makes one feel like squealing” (Rostand 16). Because Cyrano constantly makes fun of his nose, he is giving permission for others to do it as well. By
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He often challenges people to do things that put others in danger because he believes he is the best. For example, Ragueneau states of Cyrano, “Cocky, insolent, Gascony-proud he goes…” (Rostand 16). This expresses how others view Cyrano from his actions. Another reason the play ends up in a downfall is because of his lack of confidence when it comes to love. Cyrano is brave when it comes to fighting and competition, but not when it comes to love because he is afraid of rejection. In the book it says, “Madly. More. Tell her. No. (Rostand 145) Christian and Cyrano are arguing whether Cyrano should confess his love to Roxanne and he refuses. His lack of confidence ends up keeping him from love and what he truly wants. Although others see Cyrano as arrogant, in reality he is self conscious and afraid of