Bouke Edskes

March 7, 2013
MYP English Period 3
Mrs. Liles

A Man and His Motives

Self-perception affects everyones relationships and actions. This is shown with great
clarity in Edmond Rostands play Cyrano de Bergerac. In this play, Cyranos perception of
himself as ugly leads to his hiding of his true feelings in his relationships with Roxane and
Christian. Cyrano is self-conscious about his large nose, and covers it up by being flamboyant
and overly aggressive. Though he has great intellect, he does not express his love for Roxane,
lest he be made fun of. Due to this, he is forced to use Christian to express his love to Roxane,
and forced to hide his true motives from Christian.
Cyrano acts flamboyant and overly aggressive because of his insecurity about his nose.
For example, after humiliating a meddler, Cyrano reminds the rest of the crowd to, Let that be a
lesson to anyone else who may feel that the middle of my face is amusing.(37) He humiliated
the meddler for simply looking at his nose, showing that he is overly aggressive to cover up his
insecurity about his nose. He picks a fight with anyone that even looks at his nose. Also, when
Le Bret urges Cyrano to tell Roxane of his love of her, Cyrano, thinking of himself as ugly,
replies, Look at me and tell me what hope this protuberance might leave me!(50) He believes
that his looks ruin his chances to be loved by Roxane, and he will embarrass himself by making
his love known. Another time, one cadet, seemingly looking out for Christians life, warns him
that, The slightest allusion to that protuberance brings an untimely death. (95)Cyrano covers
up his insecurity about his nose with his overly aggressive nature, and since everyone fears him,
no one talks about his nose. Though Cyrano usually covers up his insecurity by being overly
aggressive, he is unable to do that in other relationships.

Bouke Edskes
March 7, 2013
MYP English Period 3
Mrs. Liles

One of such relationships is his relationship with Roxane. Cyrano believes that he cannot
be loved by Roxane because of his looks, up his insecurity by being overly aggressive. When Le
Bret urges Cyrano to tell Roxane of his love, he exclaims, This nose of mine, which precedes
me by a quarter of an hour wherever I go, forbids me to dream of being loved by even an ugly
woman.(49) Cyrano loves Roxane, but believes that his looks ruin any chance that he has to be
loved. He believes that no one is able to love him because of his nose. After Cyranos duel with
Valvert, Roxane seems impressed by Cyranos accomplishments. Realizing this, Cyrano says to
Roxane, Im glad that I fought not for my nose, but for your beautiful eyes.(74) Though
Cyrano realizes that Roxane was impressed, his true feelings and his love are trumped by his
insecurity about his nose. Another time, while Cyrano and Christian are grieving for their love of
Roxane, Cyrano moans, I have the feeling that if my features had been shaped more
harmoniously, I would have been one of those men who do know how to speak of love.(101)
Cyrano knows that he has great intellect, but does not believe that it makes up for his looks, and
that if a girl were to just talk to him, he could win their heart over. Due to this complex
relationship with Roxane, Cyrano is led into using Christian to express his love to Roxane, and
hiding his true feelings and motives from him.
Cyrano, thinking that he is unable to be loved by Roxane, instead looks to Christian for
help with his problems. Though it seems like he is merely helping him out of kindness, his true
motive is love. When first meeting Christian, Cyrano realizes that he cannot attack him, and so is
forced to hide and control his true feelings. He is telling a story when Christian interrupts, and
Cyrano is forced to continue his story, albeit with great difficulty, I... Very well... As I was
saying... Mordious! It was so dark that I couldnt see anything. I walked on... (96) Barely

Bouke Edskes
March 7, 2013
MYP English Period 3
Mrs. Liles

restraining himself, Cyrano has to control himself and not show his true emotions. He seems to
realize that he may have to do this more often, especially when dealing with Roxane. Later,
Cyrano is hiding his true motives and, comforting Christian, says, Your only fear is that youll
chill her heart when you speak to her, but if she hears my words from your lips, shell soon be
aflame!(102) He seems as if he is only trying to help Christian, though his true motive is to
express his love to Roxane. Near the end of the book, Cyrano begins to lose his will to keep the
facade going. He begins to betray his true feelings to Christian, and says, Yes, because... dying
is no great matter. Whats unbearable is the thought of never seeing her again. And its true: Ill
never see her... well never see her... Youll never... (166)Cyrano is starting to apply Christians
feelings to himself, and so is starting to show his true motives. He quickly tries to correct his
mistakes, though not in time, as Christian notices it. Cyrano helps Christian out of his love for
Roxane, though he does not express it until the end of the book.
Cyranos insecurity about his nose directly affects his relationships with Roxane and
Christian, as he has to hide his true feelings from them. This directly affects the plot of the play,
as he has to find different ways to express his true feelings without them being known. This is
true of many peoples lives, as they fear being reprimanded for expressing their true feelings.