The True Love in Cyrano de Bergerac (Spoilers!!!)
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The True Love in Cyrano de Bergerac (Spoilers!!!)
This is an analysis of the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. There's spoilers in this so read at your own warning =)
The True Love in Cyrano de Bergerac
The world shows many ideas of what true love is and this story, Cyrano de Bergerac, shows these conflicts. Written by Edmond Rostand, this story is a love story. It’s about a guy named Cyrano who thinks no one can love him because of his nose. His nose is long and big, and even though he tells others that his nose shows him to be witty, he hates the way he looks. Cyrano loves a girl named Roxane, but doesn’t have the courage to tell her that he loves her because he is afraid that he will be rejected by her with the way he looks. There is another person that loves her though, Christian who is very handsome. The two team up to make the perfect person, which has good looks and great wit, by having Christian to be the body and Cyrano to be the words. The setting, irony, conflict, and how characters change in this story show that even though many think love is about looks, true love isn’t;love is selfless and looks at the inside of a person.
First off, a setting in this story is used as a disguise for Cyrano, which shows the thinking that looks are the only way for someone to love you. That setting, which is set outside Roxane’s house, uses the height of the balcony as a disguise for Cyrano when he takes Christian’s place. Because of the height and because it is probably dark Roxane doesn’t really notice Cyrano is speaking and thinks it’s still Christian. Since Roxane doesn’t really notice the change, Cyrano uses this opportunity to freely open himself to her. He uses Christian’s body, with his good looks, and speaks to her, “Stay awhile! ‘Tis sweet—The rare occasion, when our hearts can speak, Ourselves unseeing!” (pg. 436) This shows Cyrano’s thinking that Roxane won’t love him because of his looks. Because of that mindset, Cyrano combines himself with someone else that is good looking instead of going to her as himself. This mindset that Cyrano shows the idea that true love is about looks and not within.
Second, the main conflict in this story reveals what true love is in how it starts and is resolved. It shows that true love is about the inside and not about the outside. The main conflict starts when Cyrano is talking with his best friend Le Bret. He says, “The fond hope to be Beloved, e’en by some poor graceless lady, Is, by this nose of mine for aye bereft me—This lengthy nose which, go where’er I will…” (pg. 380) This again shows what Cyrano’s thinking is of love. He thinks that his looks hinder the chance of someone loving him. But his friend says otherwise, “Your courage and your wit! The little maid who offered you Refreshment even now, Her eyes did not abhor you—you saw well!” (pg. 381) Le Bret is saying look at your courage and your wit, your looks don’t matter, love is about who you are inside. The conflict Cyrano has inside shows again the thinking of love being outside and not in.The resolution also shows that true love is inside and is connected to the changes the character Roxane makes. After the talk Cyrano had with Le Bret he goes to meet Roxane at the Pastry Shop. They begin to talk and after awhile Roxane says she has fallen in love. She then begins to describe the one she loves, “…He is proud, noble, young, intrepid, fair—.” (pg. 398) Cyrano asks to see if she knows that the one she loves has wit. She replies saying, “No, his bright locks, like d’Urfe’s heroes—,” and “I guess—I feel—his words are fair!” (pg. 399) This shows Roxane’s character and what she thinks love is. She only looks at the looks and not the inside. She hasn’t even seen the one she thinks she loves and has already made assumptions about him just coming from his looks, “I guess—I feel....” (pg. 399) But at the end of the story, through the love letters she gets from Christian that Cyrano writes, she changes her view on love, “O Christian, my true lord, I come—I come to crave your pardon…For the insult done to you when, frivolous, At first I loved you only for your face!” (pg. 493) Through this statement you see that Roxane’s view on what love is has clearly changed! She now looks on the inside, showing what true love is, “…And now, I love you only for your soul!” (pg. 484) This change that Roxane makes shows again that true love is from within.
Another thing that this story shows is true love’s selflessness and oddly enough this story shows this part of love in its irony. Cyrano shows this quality when he gives away the person he loves to marriage. Christian, the one Cyrano has been helping write for, marries the girl they both love. Cyrano shows selflessness when he distracts de Guiche long enough for Christian and Roxane to get married. He could have just let de Guiche crash the wedding but he gives himself, “What time need you to tie the marriage-not?”(pg. 445) to help someone else marry the one he loves. This is all irony because we think that Cyrano wouldn’t let a thing like that happen. He does this showing selflessness because he loves her so much that he’ll help give away the person she thinks she loves to marriage. This irony of Cyrano giving up himself shows the characteristic of true love’s selflessness.
As you can see all of these come together to a central theme: Love is not about how you look on the outside, it’s about how you are inside. You see Cyrano hiding himself behind a disguise showing the idea of love is about looks. Also you see the conflict Cyrano has with himself showing this also. The change Roxane makes from being a person only looking at looks to someone who is about the inside again shows that love is within. Lastly the selflessness Cyrano shows in giving up himself shows the quality of true love of selflessness. This world shows love to us needing to be ‘perfect’ on the outside. We have this idea in our mind because of that. True love though is about the inside; how you love, how you care, who you are. No one can be perfect it’s just not possible. Also love is not about loving others to get something from them, true love shows selflessness. So let us not judge others by their looks, let us look to the inside and love everyone, for everyone needs love.
Works Cited
Edmond Rostand. “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Fundaments of Literature Donnalynn Hess, M.A., June Cates, and David J. Lohnes, M.A.. United States: BJU Press Greenville, South Carolina. 1988, 2002. 348-514
The True Love in Cyrano de Bergerac
The world shows many ideas of what true love is and this story, Cyrano de Bergerac, shows these conflicts. Written by Edmond Rostand, this story is a love story. It’s about a guy named Cyrano who thinks no one can love him because of his nose. His nose is long and big, and even though he tells others that his nose shows him to be witty, he hates the way he looks. Cyrano loves a girl named Roxane, but doesn’t have the courage to tell her that he loves her because he is afraid that he will be rejected by her with the way he looks. There is another person that loves her though, Christian who is very handsome. The two team up to make the perfect person, which has good looks and great wit, by having Christian to be the body and Cyrano to be the words. The setting, irony, conflict, and how characters change in this story show that even though many think love is about looks, true love isn’t;love is selfless and looks at the inside of a person.
First off, a setting in this story is used as a disguise for Cyrano, which shows the thinking that looks are the only way for someone to love you. That setting, which is set outside Roxane’s house, uses the height of the balcony as a disguise for Cyrano when he takes Christian’s place. Because of the height and because it is probably dark Roxane doesn’t really notice Cyrano is speaking and thinks it’s still Christian. Since Roxane doesn’t really notice the change, Cyrano uses this opportunity to freely open himself to her. He uses Christian’s body, with his good looks, and speaks to her, “Stay awhile! ‘Tis sweet—The rare occasion, when our hearts can speak, Ourselves unseeing!” (pg. 436) This shows Cyrano’s thinking that Roxane won’t love him because of his looks. Because of that mindset, Cyrano combines himself with someone else that is good looking instead of going to her as himself. This mindset that Cyrano shows the idea that true love is about looks and not within.
Second, the main conflict in this story reveals what true love is in how it starts and is resolved. It shows that true love is about the inside and not about the outside. The main conflict starts when Cyrano is talking with his best friend Le Bret. He says, “The fond hope to be Beloved, e’en by some poor graceless lady, Is, by this nose of mine for aye bereft me—This lengthy nose which, go where’er I will…” (pg. 380) This again shows what Cyrano’s thinking is of love. He thinks that his looks hinder the chance of someone loving him. But his friend says otherwise, “Your courage and your wit! The little maid who offered you Refreshment even now, Her eyes did not abhor you—you saw well!” (pg. 381) Le Bret is saying look at your courage and your wit, your looks don’t matter, love is about who you are inside. The conflict Cyrano has inside shows again the thinking of love being outside and not in.The resolution also shows that true love is inside and is connected to the changes the character Roxane makes. After the talk Cyrano had with Le Bret he goes to meet Roxane at the Pastry Shop. They begin to talk and after awhile Roxane says she has fallen in love. She then begins to describe the one she loves, “…He is proud, noble, young, intrepid, fair—.” (pg. 398) Cyrano asks to see if she knows that the one she loves has wit. She replies saying, “No, his bright locks, like d’Urfe’s heroes—,” and “I guess—I feel—his words are fair!” (pg. 399) This shows Roxane’s character and what she thinks love is. She only looks at the looks and not the inside. She hasn’t even seen the one she thinks she loves and has already made assumptions about him just coming from his looks, “I guess—I feel....” (pg. 399) But at the end of the story, through the love letters she gets from Christian that Cyrano writes, she changes her view on love, “O Christian, my true lord, I come—I come to crave your pardon…For the insult done to you when, frivolous, At first I loved you only for your face!” (pg. 493) Through this statement you see that Roxane’s view on what love is has clearly changed! She now looks on the inside, showing what true love is, “…And now, I love you only for your soul!” (pg. 484) This change that Roxane makes shows again that true love is from within.
Another thing that this story shows is true love’s selflessness and oddly enough this story shows this part of love in its irony. Cyrano shows this quality when he gives away the person he loves to marriage. Christian, the one Cyrano has been helping write for, marries the girl they both love. Cyrano shows selflessness when he distracts de Guiche long enough for Christian and Roxane to get married. He could have just let de Guiche crash the wedding but he gives himself, “What time need you to tie the marriage-not?”(pg. 445) to help someone else marry the one he loves. This is all irony because we think that Cyrano wouldn’t let a thing like that happen. He does this showing selflessness because he loves her so much that he’ll help give away the person she thinks she loves to marriage. This irony of Cyrano giving up himself shows the characteristic of true love’s selflessness.
As you can see all of these come together to a central theme: Love is not about how you look on the outside, it’s about how you are inside. You see Cyrano hiding himself behind a disguise showing the idea of love is about looks. Also you see the conflict Cyrano has with himself showing this also. The change Roxane makes from being a person only looking at looks to someone who is about the inside again shows that love is within. Lastly the selflessness Cyrano shows in giving up himself shows the quality of true love of selflessness. This world shows love to us needing to be ‘perfect’ on the outside. We have this idea in our mind because of that. True love though is about the inside; how you love, how you care, who you are. No one can be perfect it’s just not possible. Also love is not about loving others to get something from them, true love shows selflessness. So let us not judge others by their looks, let us look to the inside and love everyone, for everyone needs love.
Works Cited
Edmond Rostand. “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Fundaments of Literature Donnalynn Hess, M.A., June Cates, and David J. Lohnes, M.A.. United States: BJU Press Greenville, South Carolina. 1988, 2002. 348-514
