Summary — Act III, scene v
Roxane and the duenna return. Roxane and Christian
sit outdoors, and Roxane asks Christian to tell her how he loves
her. He tries, but all he can say is “I love you,” “I adore you,”
“I love you very much,” and other simple variations. Angry, Roxane
goes into the house. Cyrano returns, ironically congratulating Christian
on his great success.
Summary — Act III, scene vi
Seeing a light in Roxane’s window, Christian
asks Cyrano for help. In the dark, Cyrano hides underneath Roxane’s
balcony while Christian stands in front of it. He throws gravel
at Roxane’s window, and when she comes out, Cyrano whispers words for
Christian to recite.
Summary — Act III, scene vii
Moved by Christian’s words, Roxane then asks why he speaks
so haltingly. Impatient, Cyrano thrusts Christian under the balcony and
takes his place, still hidden in darkness. Speaking in a low voice, he
confides in Roxane the things he has always longed to tell her.
As Roxane becomes more and more hypnotized by Cyrano’s poetry, Christian
cries out from beneath the balcony that he wants one kiss. At
first, Cyrano tries to dissuade him, but he decides that he cannot
prevent the inevitable and that, at the very least, he would like
to be the one to win the kiss. Thus, Cyrano stands beneath Roxane’s
balcony and persuades her to kiss him. Christian climbs up to receive
the kiss.
Summary — Act III, scene viii
A Capuchin priest enters, having found his way to Roxane’s
house. He presents a letter from de Guiche. The letter says that
de Guiche has escaped his military service by hiding in a convent.
Pretending to read it aloud, Roxane says that de Guiche desires
the Capuchin to marry Roxane and Christian on the spot. The Capuchin
hesitates, but Roxane pretends to discover a postscript that promises
a great deal of money to the convent in exchange. Suddenly, the
Capuchin’s reservations evaporate, and he goes inside to marry them.
Summary — Act III, scene ix
Cyrano waits outside to prevent de Guiche from disrupting
the impromptu wedding.
Summary — Act III, scene x
De Guiche appears. Covering his face with his
hat, Cyrano leaps onto de Guiche from a tree. Pretending to be a
person who has just fallen from the moon, he distracts de Guiche
with an insane speech about his experiences in space. At last he
removes his hat, reveals himself as Cyrano, and announces that Roxane
and Christian are now married.
