How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line)
Quote #1
A VOICE
Wretch! Have I not forbade you these three weeks?
(Sensation. Every one turns to look. Murmurs)
SEVERAL VOICES
What?... Where?... Who is it?...
CUIGY
Cyrano! (I.16-17)
Cyrano enters the play as only a voice. This is appropriate since his voice is his distinguishing trait and is so closely tied to his identity.
Quote #2
LE BRET
Well then! Roxane herself, watching your duel,
Paler than—
CYRANO
Pale?—
LE BRET
Her lips parted, her hand
Thus at her breast—I saw it! Speak to her
Speak, man! (I.602-604)
Le Bret knows the power of Cyrano’s words, so he urges the man to make himself known to Roxane. He realizes the close relationship between voice and identity.
Quote #3
ROXANE
A big boy who loves me too,
And is afraid of me, and keeps away.
And never says one word.
CYRANO
Ah!...
ROXANE
Let me have
Your hand a moment—why how hot it is!—
I know. I see him trying…
CYRANO
Ah!...
ROXANE
There now!
Is that better?—
(She finishes bandaging the hand with her handkerchief.)
Besides—only to think—
(This is a secret.) He is a soldier too,
In your own regiment—
CYRANO:
Ah!...
ROXANE:
Yes, in the Guards,
Your company too.
CYRANO
Ah!...
ROXANE
And such a man!—
He is proud— noble—young—brave—beautiful—
CYRANO (Turns pale; rises.)
Beautiful?—
ROXANE
What’s the matter?
CYRANO (Smiling)
Nothing—this—
My sore hand! (II.194-204)
Cyrano, in hearing Roxane’s words about the man she loves, confuses himself with Christian. In this scene of dramatic irony, the audience realizes whom Roxane is talking about while Cyrano does not. This scene reminds us that there are very few virtues that separate these two men—in fact, appearance is the only distinguishing trait.
Quote #4
CYRANO
To sing, to laugh, to dream,
To walk in my own way and be alone,
Free, with an eye to see things as they are,
A voice that means manhood – to cock my hat
Where I choose—At a word, a Yes, a No,
To fight—or write. To travel any road
Under the sun, under the stars, nor doubt
If fame or fortune lie beyond the bourne—
Never to make a line I have not heard
In my own heart; yet, with all modest
To say: "My soul, be satisfied with flowers,
With fruit, with weeds even; but gather them
In the one garden you may call your own." (II.416-427)
Cyrano has a strong sense of self and the virtues he embodies. He is a man dedicated to freedom and to integrity. He is uncompromising in his devotion to feeding these virtues and to making himself "in all things admirable."
Quote #5
CHRISTIAN
Oh, if I had words
To say what I have here!
CYRANO
If I could be
A handsome little Musketeer with eyes!—
CHRISTIAN
Besides—you know Roxane—how sensitive—
One rough word, and the sweet illusion—gone!
CYRANO
I wish you might be my interpreter.
CHRISTIAN
I wish I had your wit—
CYRANO
Borrow it, then!
Your beautiful young manhood—lend me that,
And we two make one hero of romance! (II.552-560)
Both men name distinct, characterizing aspects of the other’s identity that are enviable. Cyrano, realizing that Roxane wants both of these qualities—looks and wit—proposes that the two men merge their identities in her eyes and try to win her love together.
Quote #6
ROXANE
You do not love me any more—
CHRISTIAN (to whom CYRANO whispers his words)
No—no—
Not any more—I love you… evermore…
And ever… more and more!
ROXANE (about to close the window—pauses.)
A little better…
CHRISTIAN (same business)
Love grows and struggles like… an angry child…
Breaking my heart… his cradle…
ROXANE (coming out on the balcony)
Better still—
But… such a babe is dangerous; why not
Have smothered it new-born?
CHRISTIAN (same business)
And so I do…
And yet he lives… I found… as you shall find…
This new-born babe…an infant… Hercules!
ROXANE (further forward)
Good!—
CHRISTIAN (same business)
Strong enough… at birth… to strangle those
Two serpents—Doubt and… Pride.
ROXANE (leans over balcony.)
Why, very well!
Tell me now why you speak so haltingly—
Has your imagination gone lame?
CYRANO (thrusts CHRISTAN under the balcony, and stands in his place.)
Here—
This grows too difficult!
ROXANE
Your words to-night
Hesitate. Why?
CYRANO (in a low tone, imitating CHRISTIAN)
Through the warm summer gloom
They grope in darkness toward the light of you.
Roxane: My words, well aimed, find you more readily. (III.215-330)
Roxane clearly values words above all else in a man.
Quote #7
DE GUICHE
That voice…
(The door of Roxane’s house opens; lackeys appear, bearing lighted candles. Lights up. Cyrano removes his hat.)
And that nose!—Cyrano! (III.554)
Cyrano’s identity is primarily defined by two traits: his voice and his nose. Notice which one comes first.
Quote #8
ROXANE
You do not altogether know me… Dear,
There is more of me than there was—with this
I can love more of you—more of what makes
You your own self—Truly!... If you were less
Lovable—
CHRISTIAN
No!
ROXANE
—Less charming—ugly even—
I should love you still.
CHRISTIAN
You mean that?
ROXANE
I do
Mean that!
CHRISTIAN
Ugly?...
ROXANE
Yes. Even then! (IV.456-464)
Roxane is no longer the shallow girl we saw before; in redefining her ideas of what identity means, she has significantly altered her own.
Quote #9
CHRISTIAN
Let her choose between us!—
Tell her everything!
CYRANO
No—you torture me—
CHRISTIAN
Shall I ruin your happiness, because
I have a cursed pretty face? That seems
Too unfair!
CYRANO
And am I to ruin yours
Because I happen to be born with a power
To say what you—perhaps—feel?
CHRISTIAN
Tell her!
CYRANO
Man—
Do not try me too far!
CHRISTIAN
I am tired of being
My own rival! (IV.481-490)
The last line here shows just how conflicted Christian has been about letting Cyrano do the talking. At last, he works up the nerve to tell Roxane the truth, to speak with his own voice and be known for who he is. He wants Roxane to love his own identity and his own soul.
Quote #10
ROXANE (sinks down upon the breast of CHRISTIAN.)
He is dead now…
CYRANO (aside; draws his sword.)
Why, so am I—
For I am dead, and my love mourns for me
And does not know…
ROXANE
On his letter—blood… and tears….
ROXANE
His blood… his tears… (IV.539-542)
Roxane mixes the late Christian’s identity with some attributes from Cyrano’s, like his role as an "unknown poet." She does, however, name traits that do indeed identify Christian, like his having a "deep heart" and a "magnificently tender soul." Cyrano, full of guilt, identifies with poor Christian, specifically his need to be acknowledged for who he is; thus he considers himself as "dead" as Christian. The mingling of their identities is finalized with the mingling of their blood and tears, two of the most vital and selfless things a man can give in this play.
Quote #11
(She comes near him, softly, without his seeing her; passes the chair, leans over silently, looking at the letter. The darkness increases.)
CYRANO
"—I am never away from you. Even now,
I shall not leave you. In another world,
I shall be still that one who loves you, loves you
Beyond measure, beyond—"
ROXANE (lays her hand on his shoulder.)
How can you read
Now? It is dark…
(He starts, turns, and sees her there close to him. A little movement of surprise, almost of fear; then he bows his head. A long pause; then in the twilight now completely fallen, she says very softly, clasping her hands.)
And all these fourteen years,
He has been the old friend, who came to me
To be amusing.
CYRANO
Roxane!—
ROXANE
It was you. (V.244-250)
This is the first time Cyrano presents his identity to Roxane without guise; he reads the letter—his own words—in his own voice and to her face.
Quote #12
CYRANO
I never loved you—
ROXANE
Yes,
You loved me.
CYRANO (desperately)
No—He loved you—
ROXANE
Even now,
You love me!
CYRANO (His voice weakens.)
No!
ROXANE (smiling)
And why… so great a "No"?
CYRANO
No, no, my own dear love, I love you not!...
(Pause)
ROXANE
How many things have died… and are newborn!...
Why were you silent for so many years,
All the while, every night and every day,
He gave me nothing—you knew that—You knew
Here, in this letter lying on my breast,
Your tears—You knew they were your tears—
CYRANO (holds the letter out to her.)
The blood
Was his. (V.258-268)
Still guilt-ridden over Christian’s death, Cyrano denies being the man who loved Roxane. For the first time, she acknowledges the truth while Cyrano denies it. He feels as if Christian, by making the sacrifice of his own life, has won the right to be Roxane’s sole love.
Quote #13
RAGUENEAU
Yesterday they played "Scapin"—
He has stolen your scene—
LE BRET
The whole scene—word for word!
RAGUENEAU
Yes: "What the devil was he doing there"—
That one!
LE BRET (Furious)
And Molière stole it all from you—
Bodily!— (V.290-294)
In this scene, Molière does the same thing Christian did—he takes Cyrano’s words and tries to attribute them to his own creation. In a sense, they both cheated Cyrano as a poet and a man by plagiarizing these aspects of his identity.
Quote #14
CYRANO (To Ragueneau)
The Scene
Went well?...
RAGUENEAU
Ah, monsieur, they laughed—and laughed—
How they did laugh!
CYRANO
Yes—that has been my life…
Do you remember that night Christian spoke
Under your window? It was always so!
While I stood in the darkness underneath,
Others climbed up to win the applause—the kiss!—
Well—that seems only justice—I still say,
Even now, on the threshold of my tomb—
"Molière has genius—Christian had good looks—" (V.295-303)
Cyrano vacillates between his pride at having won Roxane over and frustration that he doesn’t get to have her.
Quote #15
ROXANE
I never loved but one man in my life,
And I have lost him—twice. (V.324-325)
The idea Roxane has of her lover being "one man" instead of both Christian and Cyrano not only combines both men’s identities, but also resigns them to the same fate—death.
Quote #16
CYRANO
Ah, you too, Vanity!
I knew you would overthrow me in the end—
No! I fight on! I fight on!
(He swings the blade in great circles, then pauses, gasping. When he speaks again, it is in another tone.)
Yes, all my laurels you have riven away
And all my roses; yet in spite of you,
There is one crown I bear away with me
And to-night, when I enter before God,
My salute shall sweep all the stars away
From the blue threshold! One thing without stain,
Unspotted from the world, in spite of doom
Mine own!
(He springs forward, his sword lifted aloft.)
And that is…
(The sword escapes his hand; he totters, and falls into the arms of Le Bret and Ragueneau.)
ROXANE (Bends over him and kisses him on the forehead.)
—That is…
CYRANO (Opens his eyes and smiles up at her.)
My white plume… (V.374-384)
In the end, the white plume symbolizes everything Cyrano has stood for: courage, integrity, honor, and uncompromising virtue. His last thought is not of Roxane, nor Christian, nor his nose, but of the one item that represents his sense of personal identity.