Cyrano de Bergerac is the perfect French gentleman: romantic, witty, dashing, attractive - no. Not attractive. He is cursed with a nose of glaringly large proportions.
Because of this disfigurement, he does not reveal his love to his beautiful cousin Roxanne, but remains content to admire her from afar. When she falls in love with a handsome but tongue-tied soldier named Christian (who in turn is in love with her), Cyrano even stoops to write Christian's love letters to Roxanne. Soon he is courting his beloved in Christian's name, for Christian's benefit. How long can this masquerade last before Roxanne discovers the truth?
Morality
Cyrano does deceive Roxanne by placing his own words in Christian's mouth; but he does it out of love for her, and while the prudence may be questionable, the heart behind it is selfless.
The two "bad guys" are obviously despicable, and they are appropriately humbled by the end of the story. The other characters have their fair share of faults, but for the most part they have good intentions behind their decisions.
Spiritual Content
God is mentioned, but He doesn't have a prominent place in the story. One of the scenes takes place in a convent, and a character teases the nuns by acting lighthearted towards Catholicism.
Violence
Several duels are fought. A man is hit in the head with a block of wood. One man is killed in battle. None of that is graphic, though.
Drug and Alcohol Content
Wine is drunk, in both fashionable and...non-fashionable settings.
Sexual Content
A married man is in love with another woman and tries to marry her to his friend; it's implied that he wants to make her his mistress. A married woman flirts and eventually runs away with another man. Two characters share a chaste kiss.
Crude or Profane Language or Content
Only the occasional "My God".
Conclusion
This play is cheerful and lighthearted - particularly in the first couple scenes - but it soon reaches a depth of emotion masked by the witty comedy. Cyrano is a joy to read, but it's more than that. It's a deep study of human nature, a gorgeous display of French customs, and a delight to the lover of cultured puns.
This review is brought to you by Lady Meriwen.
