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Act 3, Scene 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Cyrano De Bergerac, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Appearances and Identity
The Many Kinds of Love
Panache
Social Hierarchy and the Romantic Ideal
Loyalty and Honor
Summary
Analysis
The Monk walks through the square, complaining that he’s still looking for Roxane’s home. He greets Cyrano, and then Roxane, Christian, and Ragueneau emerge from Roxane’s house. Roxane asks what’s going on, and the Monk explains that he’s come to deliver a letter from the Count de Guiche to Roxane. Roxane snatches the letter from the Monk’s hand and opens it. In the letter, which Roxane reads quietly to herself so that the Monk cannot hear, the Count explains to Roxane that he intends to visit her, disguised by a mask, that very night.
The Count de Guiche comes across as a less impressive version of Cyrano. Like Cyrano, he’s infatuated with Roxane and has some talent for deception and intrigue, but whereas Cyrano is both a more talented trickster and a more selfless human being (willing to sacrifice his happiness for Christian’s sake), de Guiche proves himself to be a selfish man and a fairly unoriginal deceiver.
Themes
Roxane reads aloud a different version of the letter, so that the Monk can hear her. Roxane claims the letter says that the Count de Guiche wants the Monk to marry Roxane to Christian on the spot. Roxane rushes the Monk and Christian inside her house so that they can be married at once. Roxane tells Cyrano to keep watch outside, since she now knows the Count will be visiting her that night.
For one of the first times in the play, we get a sense for Roxane’s own ingenuity and quick thinking. Like Cyrano, she uses her wit to get what she wants, here manipulating the gullible Monk into marrying her to Christian immediately. This reinforces the idea that Roxane probably leans more towards Cyrano’s part of her fictional “Christian.”
Themes
Cyrano stands outside, frustrated by Roxane and Christian’s marriage. Then he hears sad music playing—there is a man coming. Cyrano climbs up a nearby tree, ready to jump down at the right time.
Cyrano, in spite of his frustration, is always a fundamentally loyal and honorable man, and here he keeps guard over his beloved’s home—doing nothing while she marries another man.
Themes
