The play “Cyrano de Bergerac” was written by Edmond Rostand in 1897. It’s a classic French play set in the 17th century. It tells the story of Cyrano, a talented but insecure poet and swordsman who helps his love interest (and cousin) Roxane win another man's heart by writing love letters on his behalf.
Cyrano is brilliant at everything. He’s a French polymath. However, his one curse is his unpleasantly large nose. His nose could be seen as a source of insecurity for him, and it is frequently the target of insults. If someone insults his nose, Cyrano is quick to defend himself and will not hesitate to challenge the person to a duel. As a poet, Cyrano quickly creates clever insults against himself when he finds an opponent struggling to be creative. This makes me think he considers his nose a symbol of wit and courage.
This review will contain spoilers. If you want to experience “Cyrano de Bergerac” the way I did (and don’t regret it!) I advise reading the play first.
Romance
Cyrano writes love poems for Roxane, admiring her from a distance. He can never get the courage to talk to her because he believes he will be rejected based on his appearance. When he finally does gain courage, she reveals she’s romantically interested in another cadet, Christian, and asks Cyrano to protect him. Christian is the opposite of Cyrano; he is handsome but lacks the eloquence to put love into words. Cyrano decides to write love letters on Christian’s behalf to Roxane to provide an outlet for his passionate expressions for her. Cyrano’s unrequited love for Roxane is confirmed when Christian and her kiss for the first time. At the same time, he cares deeply for them and is glad he brought them together.
The love Cyrano has for Roxane is incredibly passionate and acts as a source of inspiration for his love poems toward her. His affection is portrayed in a platonic and innocent way in the play. His desire comes from his appreciation of her beauty and character. I wish I could think of another literary hero who shares this motivation with a love interest!
His decision to help Christian pursue Roxane comes from a selfish position. It brings him joy to see Roxane happy, and his romantic poetry sparks that in her. He acknowledges her desires without significant resentment or anger. In one scene, Cyrano humorously tries to distract de Guiche from spoiling Christian and Roxane’s wedding by pretending to be a drunkard and explaining the seven ways Cyrano supposedly got to the moon, summarized:
Trapping morning dew and using it to rise as the sun appeared
Using the mirrors and the sun’s heat to generate wind
A powerful, mechanical grasshopper
A helium balloon
Smearing himself with bull marrow (because it dries quickly?)
Sitting on an iron platform and continually throwing a giant magnet into the air
Absorbing sea water with his hair and using the tidal pulls
Rivalry
Count de Guiche is a nobleman. The distinction between de Guiche and Cyrano is that both are in love with Roxane and are rejected. However, the way they deal with it is entirely different and acts as a way of showing what love truly is. De Guiche, Cyrano’s rival, seeks to break apart Christian and Roxane by sending the Cadets of Gascogne to besiege Arras. This successfully separates Roxane from Cyrano and Christian until de Guiche’s plan extravagantly backfires as Roxane travels to the battlefield before a raid.
At Arras, de Guiche leads the Cadets into battle against the Spaniards and manages to disguise himself by removing the white plume on his hat to blend in and avoid being spotted as an officer. At camp, he brags about his trick. To Cyrano, the white plume means much more. It’s a symbol of one’s self. He proclaims that a courageous man would never have flung away the white plume and offers to wear it during the next battle. De Guiche says Cyrano is volunteering for that only because he knows the plume is on the battlefield, but to his astonishment, Cyrano had rescued it earlier.
De Guiche wakes up to reality the moment Roxane appears on the battlefield. The Cadets’ goal is now to protect Roxane valiantly. De Guiche acknowledges his grave mistake by putting her life in danger and has a slight redemption as he succeeds. Christian, however, loses his life. As he lay dying, he wanted to admit to Roxane that Cyrano was who she was in love with the entire time, but Cyrano kept his word, and the secret was kept.
Loyalty
With Christian gone, the play's final act is 15 years after the siege of Arras. Roxane becomes a nun after her husband, Christian, dies. Cyrano continues to visit Roxane to entertain and bring her the little joy she can experience to deal with the ongoing grief. His promptness demonstrates his loyalty—he never misses a day visiting her. When Cyrano’s friends realize he has been ambushed on a street and barely hangs on to life, they rush to visit him in his home. Unbeknownst to Roxane, Cyrano soon appears and keeps his promise, although he is close to death.
Roxane eventually figures out Cyrano was behind the letters the entire time with the final letter. She admits that now the love of her life will die twice. Delirious, Cyrano uses his sword to fight invisible vices: Lies, Prejudice, Cowardice, Stupidity, and Compromise. He announces that the enemies may beat him, but when he dies, there’s something they can’t take from him: his white plume. He stayed true to himself and lived a value-oriented life which granted him success and the opportunity to care for his friends whom he loved.
In the face of death, can we say we’ve stayed true to ourselves?
My White Plume
This play was written with such life! The wordplay and humor kept me wanting more. The displays of virtue were heartfelt and inspiring. Cyrano’s final speech is emotional and passionate. We all have white plumes, but too many will consider parting with them.
This play must’ve inspired a Netflix K-Drama I love called Start-Up. There are some parallels, but it’s an original and fresh show worth watching!
Are you interested in following my reading list? I’m updating my Goodreads for 2023, so let’s be friends on the platform. Let’s see how many books I can finish in 365 days!