How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line)
Quote #16
SISTER MARTHE (Looks up, smiling.)
You—
(She sees his face.)
Oh!—
CYRANO (Indicates Roxane.)
Sh!—Careful!
(Resumes his burlesque tone.)
Yesterday,
I ate meat again!
SISTER MARTHE
Yes, I know.
(Aside)
That is why
He looks so pale…
(V.170-174)
Even Sister Marthe is willing to help Cyrano deceive Roxane.
Quote #17
ROXANE
Cyrano!
CYRANO (Opens his eyes.)
What!... What is it?...
(He sees Roxane leaning over him, and quickly pulls his hat down over his head and leans back away from her in the chair.)
No—oh no—
It is nothing—truly!
ROXANE
But—
CYRANO
My old wound—
At Arras—sometimes—you know…
ROXANE
My poor friend!
CYRANO
Oh it is nothing; it will soon be gone… (V.216-220)
This scene exactly mirrors the earlier interaction (in Act II) when Cyrano tries to hide his injured hand from Roxane. Just as the severity of his injury has increased, so have the repercussions for what were once just petty deceptions.
Quote #18
(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.242-250)
The blindness is reversed here: in the dark, Cyrano cannot see Roxane, yet she finally realizes he was the man to woo her all those years ago.