Thursday, 10 January 2013

Character Thursday: Cyrano de Bergerac


Imagine D'Artagnan. Now imagine Pablo Neruda. Now imagine Japanese tengu or Petruk puppet doll. Combine them all together. That's how Edmond Rostand made his Cyrano.

Gerard Depardieu as
Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano is a Gascon, a brave and honourable soldier, but at the same time reckless and proud. He's as skilled in swordmanship as well as in words. Yes, this terrible soldier is also a poet. He has one weakness, however: his nose. His nose is so big that he feels very much ugly. He feels that nobody will ever be able to love him.

I have mixed feelings towards this character. I love his courage and valour. Fighting a duel while finishing a poem, fighting against outnumbering enemies, taking a scarf from the enemies. He gains praise even from D'Artagnan himself. It's something to be boast about, right?

Placido Domingo as
Cyrano de Bergerac
Yet, in the matter of love, I think I must pity him. A friend has shown him that even with his looks he can win still woman's affection. But he has so little confidence in himself. He should know that the thing within is more interesting than the outward look. He must learn it bitterly in the end, when everything is too late.

One more thing about him. When he writes those poems and letters for Roxane, borrowing Christian's name, he truly does it with all his heart. Doing that thing, he feels that at least a part of him is beloved by Roxane. Christian, however, points out to him that it's better to be loved fully for what we really are.

Cyrano's story really reminds me of Placido Domingo's video clip, Paloma Querida. When you watch it, you will understand what the drama is all about. It actually resembles the play so much I start to think that Domingo borrowed the concept from thence. Enjoy.


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Character Thursday
Adalah book blog hop di mana setiap blog memposting tokoh pilihan dalam buku yang sedang atau telah dibaca selama seminggu terakhir (judul atau genre buku bebas).
- Kalian bisa menjelaskan mengapa kalian suka/benci tokoh itu, sekilas kepribadian si tokoh, atau peranannya dalam keseluruhan kisah.
- Jangan lupa mencantumkan juga cover buku yang tokohnya kalian ambil.
- Kalau buku itu sudah difilmkan, kalian juga bisa mencantumkan foto si tokoh dalam film, atau foto aktor/aktris yang kalian anggap cocok dengan kepribadian si tokoh.
Syarat Mengikuti :
1. Follow blog Fanda Classiclit sebagai host, bisa lewat Google Friend Connect (GFC) atau sign up via e-mail (ada di sidebar paling kanan). Dengan follow blog ini, kalian akan selalu tahu setiap kali blog ini mengadakan Character Thursday Blog Hop.
2. Letakkan button Character Thursday Blog Hop di posting kalian atau di sidebar blog, supaya follower kalian juga bisa menemukan blog hop ini. Kodenya bisa diambil di kotak di button.
3. Buat posting dengan menyertakan copy-paste “Character Thursday” dan “Syarat Mengikuti” ke dalam postingmu.
3. Isikan link (URL) posting kalian ke Linky di bawah ini. Cantumkan nama dengan format: Nama blogger @ nama blog, misalnya: Fanda @ Fanda Classiclit.
4. Jangan lupa kunjungi blog-blog peserta lain, dan temukan tokoh-tokoh pilihan mereka. Dengan begini, wawasan kita akan bertambah juga dengan buku-buku baru yang menarik

2 comments:

  1. You know, despite reading this play in my least favorite literature class in high school (I really disliked the way the teacher condescended to us about her interpretations vs. ours), I have really fond memories of this story. And I loved Gerard Depardieu's movie.

    It is tragic that he thinks so lowly of himself, but a lot of people ARE very conscious of physical appearance in their potential husbands...Though he really ought to have TRIED to make her love him for him earlier. *sigh*

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    Replies
    1. That's right. He should have at least told her that he loved her.

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