Cyrano de Bergerac Art and Culture Quotes
How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line)
Quote #1
The Hall or the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1640. A sort of Tennis Court, arranged and decorated for Theatrical productions. (I.stage directions)
Rostand opens his play in a real historical place known for running stage plays.
Quote #2
Farther along, toward the centre of our stage is the Entrance to the Hall; a great Double door which opens only slightly to admit the Audience. On one of the panels of this door, as also in other places about the Hall, and in particular just over the Sideboard, are Playbills in red, upon which we may read the title LA CLORISE. (I.stage directions)
Rostand provides readers with an accurate portrait of the theater, right down to the color of the playbills on the wall. La Clorise by Baro was a popular play several years before 1640 (the time Cyrano takes place).
Quote #3
FIRST CAVALIER
The play begins at two. Plenty of time—
And here’s the whole floor empty. Shall we try
Our exercise?
(They fence with the foils which they have brought.) (I.4-6)
Swordplay and dueling were common practices in the culture of 17th-century France. They were deemed a blatant show of courage from a man. So the fact that the two cavaliers bring their foils to a play and practice fighting beforehand shows their eagerness to develop a brave façade, a trait valued in this culture.
Quote #4
THE CITIZEN (Coming down with his son)
Great actors we shall see to-day—…
THE CITIZEN
Montfleury—
A VOICE (in the gallery)
Lights! Light the lights!
THE CITIZEN Bellerose, l’Êpy, Beaupré, Jodelet— (I.31-33)
The actors named were indeed real actors at the time, beloved for their comedy. The fact that the citizen pronounces these names with such eagerness and respect shows how deeply Rostand is invested in making this time period as accurate as possible.
Quote #5
THE BOY (To his father)
Are the Academy
All here?
THE CITIZEN
I see some of them…there’s Boudu—
Bolssat—Cureau—Porchères—Colomby—
Bourzeys—Bourdon—Arbaut—
Ah, those great names,
Never to be forgotten!
FIRST MARQUIS
Look—at last!
Our Intellectuals! Barthénoide,
Urimédonte, Félixérie…(I.60-66)
That even the laymen and his children know the names of the Academy show how prominent they were in society. All the names that the citizen and the marquis list refer to real historical figures—figures that would likely appear at such a prestigious and intellectual event (a play).
Quote #6
A MUSKETEER (Advances quickly to Cyrano, with outstretched hands.)
Monsieur, will you
Permit me?—It was altogether fine!
I think I may appreciate these things—
Moreover, I have been stamping for pure joy!
(He retires quickly.)
CYRANO (To Cuigy)
What was that gentleman’s name?
CUIGY
Oh…D’Artagnan. (I.487-491)
One of Rostand’s most explicit references to Dumas’s The Three Musketeers is this cameo by D’Artagnan, the hero of said novel.
Quote #7
ANOTHER COMEDIENNE (Jumps down, speaks to a Comedian costumed as an old man.)
You, Cassandre?
CYRANO Come all of you—the Doctor, Isabelle,
Léandre—the whole company—a swarm
Of murmuring, golden bees—we’ll parody
Italian farce and Tragedy-of-Blood;
Ribbons for banners, masks for blazonry,
And tambourines to be our rolling drums! (I.654-660)
These references to stock characters in Italian comedy places the time period of Rostand’s play firmly in 17th-century France and also give us insight into cultural differences.
Quote #8
RAGUENEAU (Raises his head; returns to mere earth.)
Over the coppers of my kitchen flows
The frosted-silver dawn. Silence awhile
The god who sings within thee, Ragueneau!
Lay down the lute—the oven calls for thee!
(Rises; goes to one of the cooks.)
Here’s a hiatus in your sauce; fill up
The measure.
THE COOK
How much?
RAGUENEAU (Measures on his finger.)
One more dactyl.
THE COOK
Huh?...
FIRST PASTRYCOOK
Rolls!
SECOND PASTRYCOOK
Roulades!
RAGUENEAU (Before the fireplace)
Veil, O Muse, thy virgin eyes
From the lewd gleam of these terrestrial fires!
(To First Pastrycook)
Your rolls lack balance. Here’s the proper form—
An equal hemistich on either side,
And the caesura in between.
(To another, pointing out an unfinished pie)
Your house
Of crust should have a roof upon it.
(To another, who is seated on the hearth, placing poultry on a spit)
And you—
Along the interminable spit, arrange
The modest pullet and the lordly Turk
Alternately, my son—as great Malherbe
Alternates male and female rimes. Remember,
A couplet, or a roast, should be well turned. (II.3-19)
Ragueneau reminds us that 17th-century French writers had a great respect for the Greco-Roman classics and often drew from them to inform and enrich their own works.
Quote #9
LE BRET (Astounded)
Why, what
The devil?—
CYRANO
Hush!
A MAN OF LETTERS (With a portfolio)
May I have the details?...
CYRANO You may not.
LE BRET (Plucking Cyrano’s sleeve)
Theophraste Renaudot!—Editor
Of the Gazette – your reputation!...
CYRANO
No!
A POET (advances)
Monsieur—
CYRANO
Well?
THE POET
Your full name? I will compose
A pentacrostic—
ANOTHER
Monsieur—
CYRANO
That will do!
(Movement. The crowd arranges itself. De Guiche appears, escorted by Cuigy, Brissaille, and the other officers who were with Cyrano at the close of the First Act.)
CUIGY (Goes to Cyrano.)
Monsieur de Guiche!—
(Murmur. Everyone moves.)
A message from the Marshal
De Gassion—
DE GUICHE (Saluting Cyrano)
Who wishes to express
Through me his admiration. He has heard
Of your affair—
THE CROWD
Bravo!
CYRANO (Bowing)
The Marshal speaks
As an authority. (II.275-285)
Rostand inserts the name of two well-known figures during 17th-century France—Renaudot and Marshal de Gassion—both highly respected individuals in their fields. By having such celebrated names acclaim his fictional Cyrano, Rostand boosts Cyrano’s image in the audience’s eyes.
Quote #10
DE GUICHE (Who has recovered his self-control; smiling)
Have you read Don Quixote?
CYRANO
I have—and found myself the hero.
A PORTER (Appears at the door.)
Chair
Ready!
DE GUICHE
Be so good as to read once more
The chapter of the windmills.
CYRANO (Gravely)
Chapter Thirteen.
DE GUICHE
Windmills, remember, if you fight with them—
CYRANO
My enemies change, then, with every wind?
DE GUICHE
—May swing round their huge arms and cast you down
Into the mire.
CYRANO
Or up—among the stars! (II.361-368)
By comparing Cyrano to Don Quixote, Rostand is emphasizing both his positive and negative qualities. Like Don Quixote, Cyrano is very proud and uncompromising (to the point of folly) in his morals. It is his pride, of course, that has just offended Comte de Guiche. De Guiche insinuates here that those in power (i.e., with "their huge arms") have the ability to "cast [Cyrano] down" if he continues to insult them. But Cyrano reminds de Guiche that Don Quixote was eventually recognized and glorified for his upstanding morality in Cervantes’s novel; so, Cyrano suggests, can he.
Quote #11
A little square in the old Marais: old houses, and a glimpse of narrow streets. (III.stage directions)
Roxane lives in the Marais—a very fashionable quarter in 17th-century Paris. This tells us much about Roxane’s reputation and wealth.
Quote #12
FIRST PAGE (Ironically)
No doubt your honor knows F natural
When he hears—
CYRANO
I am a musician, infant!—
A pupil of Gassendi. (III.19-21)
The historical Cyrano de Bergerac really was a pupil of Gassendi, a French philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. At one point, he was considered the greatest philosopher of literature of his time, and it is suggested that his astronomical theories influenced de Bergerac’s writings about the moon (which are reflected later in Act III). That Cyrano is able to call him a teacher here makes his education more legitimate in the eyes of the French audience.
Quote #13
The Post occupied by the Company of Carbon de Castel-Jaloux at the Siege of Arras. (IV.stage directions)
Again, Rostand gets his facts correct. The historical Cyrano really did fight at the siege of Arras in 1640.
Quote #14
DE GUICHE (To the Cadets)
I can afford
Your little hates. My conduct under fire
Is well known. It was only yesterday
I drove the Count de Bucquoi from Bapaume,
Pouring my men down like an avalanche,
I myself led the charge—
CYRANO (Without looking up from his book.)
And your white scarf?
DE GUICHE (Surprised and gratified)
You heard that episode? Yes—rallying
My men for the third time, I found myself
Carried among a crowd of fugitives
Into the enemy’s lines. I was in danger
Of being shot or captured; but I thought
Quickly – took off and flung away the scarf
That marked my military rank—and so
Being inconspicuous, escaped among
My own force, rallied them, returned again
And won the day!... (IV.139-154)
This episode about Comte de Guiche’s white scarf is a true story and his victory earned him fame throughout the French army. Rostand, however, twists it so that de Guiche’s act can be read as cowardly—as Cyrano interprets it.
Quote #15
CYRANO
But how
Did you come through?
ROXANE
Why, through the Spanish lines
Of course!
THE FIRST CADET
They let you pass?—
DE GUICHE
What did you say?
How did you manage?
LE BRET
Yes, that must have been
Difficult!
ROXANE
No—I simply drove along.
Now and then some hidalgo scowled at me
And I smiled back—my best smile; whereupon,
The Spaniards being (without prejudice
To the French) the most polished gentleman
In the world—I passed!
CARBON
Certainly that smile
Should be a passport? Did they never ask
Your errand or your destination?
ROXANE
Oh,
Frequently! Then I drooped my eyes and said:
"I have a lover…" Whereupon, the Spaniard
With an air of ferocious dignity
Would close the carriage door—with such a gesture
As any king might envy, wave aside
The muskets that were leveled at my breast,
Fall back three paces, equally superb
In grace and gloom, draw himself up, thrust forth
A spur under his cloak, sweeping the air
With his long plumes, bow very low, and say:
"Pass, Senorita!" (IV.250-272)
The Spaniards’ gallant attitude toward Roxane is in keeping with the chivalrous spirit of medieval romances. Thus, it seems that the French drew from such chivalrous works to enrich their own literature. Depicting the Spaniards in such a favorable light is also in Rostand’s favor, since he was himself one-quarter Spanish and admired Spain all his life.
Quote #16
CYRANO (More and more pale, struggling against pain)
Saturday, the nineteenth: The King fell ill,
After eight helpings of grape marmalade.
His malady was brought before the court,
Found guilty of high treason; whereupon
His Majesty revived. The royal pulse
Is now normal. Sunday, the twentieth:
The Queen gave a grand ball, at which they burned
Seven hundred and sixty-three wax candles. Note:
They say our troops have been victorious
In Austria. Later: Three sorcerers
Have been hung. Special post: The little dog
Of Madame d’Athis was obliged to take
Four pills before—
ROXANE
Monsieur de Bergerac,
Will be kindly be quiet!
CYRANO
Monday… nothing.
Lygdamire has a new lover.
ROXANE
Oh!
CYRANO (His face more and more altered)
Tuesday, The Twenty-second: All the court has gone
To Fountainbleau. Wednesday: The Comte de Fiesque
Spoke to Madame de Montglat; she said No.
Thursday: Mancini was the Queen of France
Or—very nearly! Friday: La Montglat
Said Yes. Saturday, twenty-sixth… (V.195-215)
All the names mentioned here are true historical figures and Rostand captures the spirit and reputation of each one in Cyrano’s brief mentions of them to Roxane. Here, history serves as mere background to the characters’ plights and adds a touch of humor and frivolity to the action of the play.