Cyrano de Bergerac

Hector Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French dramatist and duelist who is now best remembered for the many works of fiction which have been woven around his life story. In these fictional works he is featured with an overly large nose; portraits suggest that he did have a big nose, though not nearly as large as described in Edmond Rostand's  pièce and the subsequent works about him. A statue of him stands in la ville of Bergerac, Dordogne.

The Play:

Cyrano de Bergerac is a Parisian poète and swashbuckler with a large nez of which he is self-conscious, but which he pretends to be proud of. He is madly in love with his "friendly cousin" (they were not actually related as cousins), la belle Roxane, however, he does not believe she will requite his love because he considers himself physically unattractive. Soon he finds that Roxane has become infatuated with Christian de Neuvillette, a dashing new recruit to the Cadets of Gascogne, the military unit of which Cyrano is the captain. Christian however, despite his good looks, is tongue-tied when speaking with women. Seeing an opportunity to vicariously declare his love for Roxane, he decides to aid Christian, who does not know how to court une femme and gain her love. Cyrano aids Christian, writing love letters and poems describing the very emotions thatCyrano himself feels for Roxane. Roxane begins to appreciates Christian not only for his good looks but now his apparent eloquence. She eventually falls in love with him and they have a secret marriage. However, right after the wedding ceremony, Christian has been called off to fight in the war against the Spanish. The War is harsh and brutal, the Cadets of Gascogne are suffering through the lack of food. Cyrano escapes over enemy lines each matin to deliver a love letter written from Cyrano himself but signed with Christian's name, sent to Roxane. Christian at this time, is completely unaware of Cyrano's doings. The love letters Cyrano writes eventually draw Roxane out from the city of Paris to the war front. She had come to visit Christian, the supposed romantic poet. However, during the battle which follows during Roxane's visit, Christian is wounded and dies in battle. Cyrano fights off the attackers and the French win. Cyrano keeps his love for Roxane a secret for fourteen years, during which time he becomes unpopular because of his raucous behavior. However, during this time, Cyrano faithfully visits Roxane until a fateful attempt on his life leaves him on death's door. Only then does he reveal to Roxane his feelings towards her. As Cyrano dies, Roxane realizes that it was he, and not Christian, that she really loved all along.

pièce (pee ess) -play         la ville (lah veel) -the town               

poète (poe eht) -poet         nez (neh) -nose             

 la belle (lah bell) -the beautiful           une femme (oon fehm) -a woman

matin (mah tahn) -morning