Cyrano De Bergerac Is A Romantic Hero

What exactly defines a romantic hero? A romantic hero is someone who is against most of the standards of society, and they break away from the norm of things. They are quite dark and act as if they have a larger than life personality. Romantic heroes have no boss and are usually able to do their own thing. A Romantic hero must face some sort of connection with their inner-self and inner-emotions. It is as if they wish to be able to understand their own feelings in a way of emotions. A romantic hero will mostly likely have young popularity and have already completed big life goals set for them. This is most likely happening to contrast with the fact that more romantic heroes die young. A romantic hero can be characterized by many things: arrogant,

secret, sophisticated, sometimes kindhearted, but sometimes cruel hearted. Romanticism is a journey that goes away from society where anyone can have an open mind and a peaceful mindset. A romantic hero wishes to go to a way of thinking that is so much different than the normal way of thinking. Romantic literature is characterized by several features. It emphasized the dream, or inner, world of the individual and visionary, fantastic, or drug-induced imagery. There was a growing suspicion of the established church and a turn toward pantheism (the belief that God is a part of the created world rather than separate from it). Romantic literature emphasized the individual self and the value of the individual's experience. (Romanticism, Page 705) In general, romantic heroes value the worth of the self person than the society as a whole, and sometimes, has to be their own passion of self worth. Not only is the romantic hero the main character of her novel, but when a romantic hero is a protagonist, they focus on their thoughts more than her actions. Since the romantic hero is outside of society, they represent some sort of physical nature that society has impoverished itself by constantly rejecting this power. Another big trait for the romantic hero is the fact that they have regret for this actions. They also self-criticize themselves to the point where there is a philanthropy, and the hero is stopped from ending in a terrible way. The romantic hero is shown throughout a variety of famous works of literature very distinct from one another, such as Cyrano de Bergerac, Dante’s Inferno, and Federigo’s Falcon.
In Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano is in love with his cousin, Roxane; however, Roxane does not share feelings for him, but she does share feelings for a man named Christian.

Cyrano believes that Christian is handsome and he is not. Realizing Christian may have the hots but not the brains, the two of them team up to make the ultimate boyfriend for Roxane. Cyrano writes her letters with his very poetic voice, while Christian is used for the physicalness of being with Roxane. Roxane, however, does not know Cyrano is in on this, and she does not know that Cyrano loves her, and is not able to know until he reads one of “Christian's” letters out loud to Roxane fifteen years later. Cyrano de Bergerac is filled with themes of independence, sacrifice, love, and loyalty. Cyrano is defined as a romantic hero because he has courageousness, boastfulness, and flourishness, which are his happy symbols, but he is also a sad poet and very sensitive. Now, in the book, Cyrano has a problem that he has a gigantic nose. So big, that is used to define so many things. Cyrano’s nose is first, a symbol of his “larger than life” or very energetic and outgoing personality. Cyrano’s nose also represents his devotion for his cousin Roxane. His nose could also possibly be a symbol of his craziness and his nobility. People have renowned Cyrano’s story because of his heroic protagonist qualities and who stayed loyal to their beliefs. Cyrano de Bergerac is a story about fear, beauty, loyalty, friendship, love,

and difference. In Cyrano’s search for himself, the conflict between who he is and who he would like to be, he manages to both gain friends and make enemies. He simultaneously challenges those around him while entertaining others. (Cyrano de Bergerac, Page 48) Cyrano constantly wanted to quit trying to get to Roxane, but he had to keep believing that all this belief would pay off. At the end of the novel, this does happen, but it is too late and Cyrano dies soon after telling Roxane his feelings. Even though he dies at the end of the novel, he dies being in love with Roxane, and Roxane knew that Cyrano wanted to die after this. Dying for the love of someone is the most honorable and heroic act of these times. As James Henry states in the Critic, “It is the heroism and romanticism that saves Cyrano de Bergerac as a play and makes it a masterpiece. I would not, individually, part with an inch of Cyrano’s nose...The value of it in the plan, naturally, is that it is liberally symbolic...Cyrano, for a romantic use, had not only to be sensitive, to be conscious, but to be magnificent and imperial; and the brilliancy of the creation of the author’s expression of this.”
Dante’s Inferno is a story of a man named Dante who goes through his own personal hell. He goes through his personal hell accompanied by Virgil, a spirit who will guide him along the way. “Dante leaves behind the Guinizelli courtly love doctrines of his young manhood, so beautifully represented by Francesca; the values of his fellow Florentines Farinata, Guido Cavalcanti, and Brunetto Latini; and the higher commitments to energy and experience found in Ulysses.” (Commedia: Inferno 84) “He brings under review the great assumptions of the courtly love ethic of his day, one to which in his youth and in his poetry he evidently gave his full allegiance. Just as in the doctrine of courtly love it was the woman who set the tone, it is Francesca and not her lover who tells their story.” (Commedia: Inferno 84)
Federigo’s Falcon is a story of a man named Federigo absolutely in love with a married woman named Giovanna.

Wishing for her to notice Federigo, he dedicated her life to her, spending almost every penny on her, but she ignored him. Federigo soon is poor and has to retire to his farm to work. He states his most prized possession at his farm house is his amazing falcon. Back to Giovanna, her husband goes down with a big sickness. He soon dies, giving Giovanna all of the inheritance, making her super rich. Some time later, her son also becomes ill. Not wanting to lose her son too, she spends every minute with him, doing everything she can to make him feel better. Her son states that he would feel better if he had something, and that something was Federigo’s falcon. Knowing that Federigo loved her so, Giovanna is aware of what Federigo has sacrificed, of how highly he regards her, of how much Federigo's Falcon means to him, and she knows it would be cruel to try to take it from him. but not wanting to lose her son, she accepts and will get the falcon. Giovanna and her friend leave for Federigo’s house. They arrive and Giovanna apologizes for ignoring him all that time. Giovanna wishes for dinner at Federigo’s household. Federigo, overcome with excitement, gladly lets them enter. Federigo, however, was worried what he was going to make for a meal as great as Giovanna. He looked around until he stumbled upon his falcon. Thinking that the falcon would make a suitable meal for her,

he cooked up the falcon and they all ate it for dinner, without Giovanna and her friend realizing. At the end of dinner, Giovanna asks for the falcon. Federigo, overcome with shame and guilt, admits that the falcon is what they ate since he had nothing else to make for a meal for them. Giovanna, however, was not angry, but amazed how someone would give up such a valuable possession in order to satisfy a woman. Giovanna, instead, thanks Federigo for the meal. Sadly, her boy dies after this, but in the end, Giovanna remarries to Federigo. One of the main themes in this story is the theme of courtly love. In a Gale article about Federigo’s Falcon, “In medieval tradition, the notion of courtly love was a chaste and idealized version of love in which individuals who desired one another demonstrated their affection through noble deeds and self-sacrifice. Courtly love was believed to be ennobling, yet at the same time it was most often expressed between individuals not married to one another and usually married to someone else.” The traditions of courtly love are shown by the fact that Giovanna does not even slightly recognize Federigo for all the deeds he did for her. In the same Gale article about Federigo’s Falcon, “While Boccaccio initially sets up ‘Federigo's Falcon’ as a tale of courtly love, Giovanna's utter nonresponsiveness and Federigo's talent for overt, rather than covert, displays of honor and love undercut the courtly love tradition.” So, while this story sets up to be the key courtly love story of sacrifice, but keeping these things open make it a little bit different unique to the traditional courtly love. Another difference to the courtly love tradition is that it would typically end with the two love birds consummating their relationship; however, Federigo’s story turns into a love story with a very happy ending or marriage. One of the last symbols in this story is the symbol of Federigo’s falcon being his noble passion. Federigo has done everything, but not completely everything until he kills his last taste of valuable possessions, as they have now all gone to Giovanna. Giovanna knows this and would not eat the falcon if she knew it was, in fact, the falcon.
As shown, all three stories show the main character struggling for love, but the love is satisfied as they all get what they want in the end. All three stories, in their own way, show a man not caring about society, wanting something that first seems impossible, but in the end is able to complete their tasks. As it says in an article about American Romanticism, “Romanticism is a journey away from the corruption of civilization and the limits of rational thought and toward the integrity of nature and the freedom of the imagination.”, which you are able to see in all three stories. It is crazy to think how with just one archetype, you can make so many unique and different stories. It makes people think how many stories can be made from even simpler archetypes.