"Cyrano de Bergerac"

Paper Summary:

The play "Cyrano de Bergerac", by Edmond Rostand, centers on a tragic comedy of errors, about a man who actually lived in France during the 1600s and was one of the first writers of science fiction. The paper shows that in the play, de Bergerac lives during a time where too much emphasis is put on both appearance and superficial behavior. De Bergerac has a comically ugly nose and, because of this physical flaw, cannot bring himself to tell his cousin, Roxane, that he loves her. The paper describes how, instead, he loves her by proxy, writing beautiful love letters and speeches for someone in his regiment who courts Roxane, wins her love based on de Bergerac's words and feelings, and eventually marries her. The paper discusses both the play and the movie version of the text.

From the Paper:

"The reader gets the feeling, however, that de Bergerac gets more than a little pleasure from being the center of attention, even if it is because of something he sees as grotesque about himself (staff writer, 1995). He repeatedly brings attention to his nose, and as he is very witty, he does it in extreme ways. One gets the feeling that he revels in his own suffering. When given the choice of sabotaging or enabling his friend's courtship of Roxane, the woman de Bergerac loves desperately, he makes it impossible for Roxane to do anything except fall in love with his rival. Perhaps de Bergerac prefers to love from afar: she cannot mock him for his nose."

More papers on "Cyrano de Bergerac":

• Essay # 68349 : "Roxanne" and "Cyrano de Bergerac"
• Analytical Essay # 23281 : "Cyrano de Bergerac" and Relationships"
• Analytical Essay # 9254 : "Cyrano de Bergerac"
• Comparison Essay # 62021 : "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "Roxanne"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: