Cyrano de Bergerac | Act III, Scene VI

Scene VI

CHRISTIAN, CYRANO, two PAGES

CHRISTIAN:
Help me!
CYRANO:
Not I!
CHRISTIAN:
But I shall die unless I win her respect back at once!
CYRANO:
And how, in the devil's name, do you expect me to teach you right this moment—
CHRISTIAN:
[seizing his arm] Oh, there she is!

[The window of the balcony is now lighted up.]

CYRANO:
[with great emotion] Her window!
CHRISTIAN:
Oh! I shall die!
CYRANO:
Shhh! Speak softly!
CHRISTIAN:
[in a whisper] I shall die!
CYRANO:
It's dark now…
CHRISTIAN:
So?
CYRANO:
We can repair the damage—although I'm not sure you deserve it! Stand there, in front of the balcony! I'll hide beneath it and tell you what to say.
CHRISTIAN:
But—
CYRANO:
Hold your tongue!
PAGES:
[reappearing at the back, and shouting to CYRANO] Ho there!
CYRANO:
Hush!

[He signs to them to speak softly.]

FIRST PAGE:
[in a low voice] We've played the serenade to Montfleury as you asked!
CYRANO:
[quickly, in a low voice] Go! Hide over there! One at this street corner and one at that one! And if a passer-by should intrude, play a tune for him!
SECOND PAGE:
What tune shall we play, oh great student of Gassendi?
CYRANO:
If a woman comes, play something happy. If a man, something sad! [The PAGES disappear, one at each street corner. CYRANO speaks to CHRISTIAN] Call her!
CHRISTIAN:
Roxane!
CYRANO:
[picking up stones and throwing them at the window] Some pebbles! Wait a while!
ROXANE
[half-opening the window] Who calls me?
CHRISTIAN:
It is I!
ROXANE:
Who's that?
CHRISTIAN:
Christian!
ROXANE:
[disdainfully] Oh, you?
CHRISTIAN:
I want to speak with you.
CYRANO:
[under the balcony, to CHRISTIAN] Good. Speak soft and low.
ROXANE:
No, you speak like a fool!
CHRISTIAN:
Oh, have pity on me!
ROXANE:
No! I don't think you love me anymore!
CHRISTIAN:
[prompted by CYRANO] You think I no longer love you? Oh, great heaven, but I love you more and more!
ROXANE:
[who was about to shut the window, pausing] That's a little better.
CHRISTIAN:
[prompted by CYRANO] My love for you grows and grows. It batters me like a cruel and restless child using my heart for a cradle.
ROXANE:
[coming out onto the balcony] That's better! But if you think that Cupid is so cruel, then you should have stifled this newborn love while it was still in its cradle!
CHRISTIAN:
[prompted again] Oh, Madame, I tried. But this love was as strong as Hercules from the moment it was born.
ROXANE:
Still better!
CHRISTIAN:
[prompted again] And this Hercules in my heart strangled the twin serpents of Pride and Doubt!
ROXANE:
[leaning over the balcony] Well said! But why do you halt so much? Has your ability for imagination weakened?
CYRANO:
[drawing CHRISTIAN under the balcony, and slipping into his place] Let me do it! This has become too critical!
ROXANE:
Why do you speak so hesitantly tonight?
CYRANO:
[imitating CHRISTIAN, in a whisper] It is so dark that my words must grope their way in the blackness to find your ear.
ROXANE:
But my words don't have the same difficulty.
CYRANO:
They find their way down to me at once? That's no surprise, then! It's because their home is in my heart, and my heart is so large that they cannot help but fall into the right place. Your ear, however, is small! And of course, your words come fast because they fall from such a height, while mine must climb up to you, and that takes time!
ROXANE:
It seems that your last words have learned to climb.
CYRANO:
They've become better at such exercise!
ROXANE:
It is true that I seem to speak from high above you.
CYRANO:
Yes, and so far above that a hard word from you would kill me if it were to fall on my heart.
ROXANE:
[moving] I'm coming down.
CYRANO:
[hastily] No!
ROXANE:
[showing him the bench under the balcony] Then won't you stand on the bench so I can see you?
CYRANO:
[starting back, alarmed] No!
ROXANE:
Why not?
CYRANO:
[overcome with emotion] Let us stay like this for a while. It's so sweet to have this rare occasion when our hearts can speak without our bodies seeing one another.
ROXANE:
But why should we want to speak without seeing one another?
CYRANO:
Oh, because it's so sweet! We are half-hidden and half-revealed. You see the dark folds of my cloak and I see the glimmering whiteness of your dress. I am but a shadow, and you are a bright shining light! Do you know what such a moment does to me? I may have been eloquent in the past but—
ROXANE:
Oh, you have been!
CYRANO:
Yet not until tonight has my speech sprung so directly from my heart!
ROXANE:
Why not?
CYRANO:
Up until now, I spoke uncertainly. I've been so intoxicated by your beauty. Your eyes radiate and make me dizzy. But tonight, I think I am able to find speech for the first time!
ROXANE:
’Tis true, your voice even sounds a little different.
CYRANO:
[coming nearer, passionately] Yes, I speak with a new tone! In the sheltering dusk, I dare to be myself for once—at last! [He stops, falters.] What have I said? Please pardon me. It's all so enchanting, and so sweet and new!
ROXANE:
New? How so?
CYRANO:
[deeply moved and trying to compose himself again] It's a new feeling for me to at last speak sincerely. Up until now, my heart feared that it would be mocked—
ROXANE:
But why?
CYRANO:
Because of its mad passion! My heart has masked itself with witty words to hide itself from curious eyes. I've aimed to bring stars down from the sky, but, fearing ridicule, I've stooped to pick wild flowers instead!
ROXANE:
Wild flowers are sweet!
CYRANO:
Yes, but not tonight. Tonight I aim for the star!
ROXANE:
Oh! You've never spoken quite like this before!
CYRANO:
Tonight I want to leave behind all of Cupid's arrows and quivers. I don't want to speak about the trite little symbols of love—the senti mental kinds of things that all lovers already speak about. Instead, I want to speak in a fresh, pure language—one that comes directly from my heart. For why should we sip little thimblefuls of dull fashionable waters, when, instead, we can quench our souls’ thirst by drinking from the great flooding river!
  • a hero in ancient Greek mythology known for his strength
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