Cyrano v. Roxanne

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that while these two stories are both about a witty man with an enormous nose who loves but fears to woo a beautiful woman, their construction differs significantly. The paper explains why Rostand's play is essentially tragic in its architecture whereas the film "Roxanne" is much gentler and funnier.

From the Paper:

"In contrast to the play, the film "Roxanne" suggests that the most overwhelming obstacle that the large-nosed hero faces is not his face, but his own, internal self-consciousness. The original presents the hero's nose as a much greater obstacle (if not necessarily as great a facial protuberance) and suggests that true love in the absence of beauty can only be enjoyed upon the brink of death. Thus, the ending of the movie is the most fundamental shift in plot from the original play, and in examining this ending the difference of the tone of the movie throughout becomes clear. In the original play, Roxane's beloved Christian dies while he is fighting in a battle. The woman lives on, in a nunnery, forever mourning her idealized dead lover, almost as if it were her holy obligation to do so. She lives until Cyrano reveals to her upon his own deathbed that it was he who penned all of the letters she read over and over, for many years, thinking they were from Christian."

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