Up...Among the Stars!
Posted: Wednesday, November 10, 2010
by Donovan Baldwin
No Diet 4 Me
Antoine Comte de Guiche: As for you sir, have you read Don Quixote?
Cyrano de Bergerac: I have, and found myself the hero.
Antoine Comte de Guiche: Be so good as to read once more the chapter of the windmills... Windmills, remember, if you fight with them...
Cyrano de Bergerac: My enemies change, then, with every wind?
Cyrano de Bergerac: Or up, among the stars!
I love Cyrano de Bergerac. The best version I have seen is the one with Jose Ferrer as Cyrano.
Another quote from the play, if I may...
Cyrano de Bergerac: "All my laurels you have riven away... and my roses; yet in spite of you there is one crown I bear away with me. And tonight, when I enter before God, my salute shall sweep away all the stars from the blue threshold! One thing without stain, unspotted from the world in spite of doom mine own...
[he raises his hand high]
and that is... my white plume."
One identifying facet of Cyrano de Bergerac, is the white plume in his hat.
Many take this as simply an artistic way of showing the flamboyancy of his character.
However, in many other contexts, the white plume was the mark of the leader. The word used for the white plume is "panache" which means a reckless courage. In Cyrano, this reckless courage is combined with a commitment to honor which requires that what should be done is what must be done.
Without going into the entire story, one example from the play shows Cyrano's willingness to live his belief in honor and obligation.
Having assisted Christian in wooing Roxanne and winning her love, Cyrano daily crosses battle lines to carry letters from Christian to Roxanne...despite his own love for her.
Many of us profess our beliefs boldly when we have no fear of reprisal, but hide them away when the Inquisitors come.
Sometimes, we respond to the appearance of a potential enemy with a bravado fueled by fear that, should the intruder prove stronger than we are, the greatness we believe we aspire to will be taken from us. We rush forward, hoping to frighten the intruder into retreat, or to defeat them simply by the force of our attack and not necessarily by the right actually being on our side.
Cyrano would much prefer hand to hand combat with a noble opponent than to attack from hiding and defeat a foe from ambush.
I know that many believe that they are in the right and that winning is everything. I am willing to believe that I might be wrong, but will defend my belief in what I feel is true and right while allowing a noble foe to the same. Without a final arbiter, we will just have to take our stands based upon the honor of our souls.
It is nice to be able to follow the "white plume" of a leader of reckless courage and honor. Unfortunately, many of our "leaders" today remind me more of Comte de Guiche (read the play) than Cyrano (who had his faults as well, but who was an honorable man). I do not see many of them doing what they do out of a belief in the rightness of their beliefs and actions as much as in the rightness of themselves.
For that reason, I suppose, I often find myself identifying with the honorable rogue.
I can only do what I believe is right and treat all in an honorable and honest manner. But, when I have done that, perhaps I too can raise my hat with white plume fluttering and find myself, "up among the stars".
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Donovan Baldwin is a 65-year-old accountant, amateur bodybuilder, freelance writer, certified optician, and Internet marketer currently living in the Atlanta, Gerogia area. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he has been a member of Mensa and has been a Program Accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, the Business Manager of a community mental health center, and a multi-county Fiscal Consultant for an educational field office. He has also been a trainer for a major international corporation, and has managed various small businesses, including his own. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, with 21 years of service, he became interested in Internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes original articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. He has posted a series of articles on The Law of Attraction , and other self-improvement issues at xtramoney4me.net/internetmarketing/reviews/law_of_attraction_articles/index.html .
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)I'm sure you will find yourself up amongst the stars, Donovan. I saw the movie with Gerard Depardieu, I thought he was fabulous.Maybe because I'm a guy, Jose Ferrer's version still has to be my favorite.
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