Cyrano Posting #2- TOP 5 THEMES CHK CHK CHK

1. Shadows- Most explicitly cited in the balcony scene, but implicit throughout, shadows play a major role in the play's progression. Cyrano himself is repeatedly hiding in the shadow of Christian's, willingly, although he never suspects that his nose is too large to be contained by the darkness. The idea is that his image is never truly faked- Cyrano has two blazing sides to his personality, those of which are reckless courage (his panache) and his hopeless romanticism- and he chooses to express the latter vicariously through means of Christian. I believe that he denies his love until the very end for Roxanne because he was merely satisfied with expressing that side of him, even if it were in the shadows.

2. Hopeless Romanticism (to be given a paragraph of its own...)- Cyrano is gem among men because he does not indulge nor even imply or ensure that he be given pleasures of the flesh. He has the capabilities of a bona-fide hero but chooses not to reap the benefits for the sake of carrying out his words of love unfettered and untainted. He is more in love with the idea of Roxanne and her unsurpassed beauty than anything else. It would not be an exaggeration to think that his fear of her rejecting his love may have also been his fear that his love may not be so strong once in the position of a relationship with Roxanne.

3. Insecurity- The entire Cyrano/Christian dynamic is built upon working against each other's weaknesses and overcoming the insecurities that both men face. They become one because they feel it is the only way to rise to a sufficient level; the level of perfection; the level that they perceive Roxanne is sturdily resting upon. They believe this can be achieved by combining the impeccable physical appearance of Christian (opposing his awkward verbal speech and his one-dimensional plane of thought) with the suave poetic heart of Cyrano (opposing his, for a lack of a better description, honking large nose).

4. Bravery- Most likely the simplest of these due to its largely physical nature, Cyrano De Bergerac makes an effort to showcase his vastly superior bravery at any junction in time for the sake of inflating his hampered ego as well as winning the approval of his beloved Roxanne. He goes about this in myriad ways- fighting through the ambush set up for him after exiting the theater, forging through the battle lines and forgoing the impending danger to send love letters, and even stalling De Guiche from witnessing the wed of Christian and Roxanne (which may have led to much worse consequences). Although not all bravery is physical- it certainly must have taken an emotional strain on our ill-fated hero to refuse his involvement in the written affection for Roxanne.

5. Injustice- The tragedy in "Cyrano De Bergerac" lies in the fact that none of the main characters are given what they truly deserve, or what they really want. Cyrano forever forbids himself from accepting the potential love that Roxanne has in store for him despite his large nose, Christian is shot and dies with only a brief taste of the connection he so sought after, and Roxanne must suffer and survive the two deaths of the man she loved. But it is important to notice that most of these injustices were brought on themselves; if they had been more honest and straightforward with their emotions, the tragic outcome may have been dodged.