Edmond Rostand's Cyrano De Bergerac

In Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand, there are two characters that help the audience understand the characterization of the main character, Cyrano. Two characters that help do this especially well are Le Bret and Carbon de Castel-Jaloux. Due to their close friendship, Cyrano often reveals his secrets and feelings to Le Bret that he shares with no other character in the story. When Cyrano is in the company of Carbon and the cadets, the audience sees best the side Cyrano shows to the world, that of a brave, daring, courageous hero.
There are several points in the play where the audience can see just how close Le Bret and Cyrano are. In Act I, after Cyrano duels Valvert, he and Le Bret discuss Cyrano’s reckless attitude and stunning ability …show more content…
And, presto! Heigh! The night was inky black, and all the quays were hidden in the murky dark. Gadsooks! One could see nothing further. . .’” (Act II scene IX) It is in scenes like this, when he is around the cadets, that Cyrano shows off the side that he shows to the world, in which he is courageous, an excellent swordsman, and a talented and witty poet/storyteller. Once again, in act IV, when the cadets are at risk of mutiny and Carbon needs help calming them down, he goes to Cyrano for help. “CARBON (continuing to speak under his breath at the opening of the tent): ‘Come to my aid, you, who have the art of quick retort and gay jest. Come, hearten them up.” (Act IV scene II) After being called by Carbon, Cyrano is able to use his wit and poetic abilities to remind the cadets of who they are and where they are from in order to get them back in line. He has a nearby flute player play a song from Gascoyne that reminds the cadets of their home, causing them to cease their mutiny and reflect back on their homeland. “Hark to the music, Gascons!. . .'Tis no longer the piercing fife of camp—but 'neath his fingers the flute of the woods! No more the call to combat,t is now the love-song of the wandering goat-herds!. . . Hark!. . .'tis the valley, the wet landes, the forest, the sunburnt shepherd-boy with scarlet beret, the dusk of evening on the Dordogne river,— 'Tis Gascony! Hark, Gascons, to the music! (The cadets sit with bowed heads; their eyes have a far-off look as if dreaming, and they surreptitiously wipe away their tears with their cuffs and the corner of their cloaks.)” (Act IV scene III) This shows the witty and quick thinking side of Cyrano, as he is able to quickly come up with a peaceful way to halt the mutiny of the Cadets. These examples show the times at which Cyrano shows the courageous,