Ø The Cid Conflict between Love and Duty:-
v INTRODUCTION:-
“Corneille was the beaux, Espirit and
bel-espirit of The 17th century France.”
Indeed, no other man was
responsible for the rise of French tragedy as Corneille. Pierre Corneille has
dominated the French arena of literature in general and plays in particular. He
was one of the greatest seventeen century French tragedians who revised the
classical convention of the tragedy. His works have a touch of sublimity. His
characters are always drawn on grand scale. They are all heroic personalities. He wrote as many as 34 plays, 3 less than
Shakespeare, comedies, tragic-comedies heroic comedies, tragic ballet etc. Most
of the plays have secured a place in the
entire oeuvres of French literature. Dryden
preferred him to Racine because his drams are very human, living and real. For
this reason, He has rightly been called…“
the French Shakespeare”
v Conflict between Love and Duty in His plays:-
In
all his important plays, Corneille shows the conflict between love and duty. He
subordinates everything to the voice of heart. He is the first French dramatist
to introduce psychological action on the stage. Through the character, he show
the conflict between will and feeling. In his plays, the physical action always
takes place of the stage.
In
“Horace” (1640), he presents the conflict between domestic love and devotion to
the country. In “Chinna” the conflict is between the choice of a lower or a
higher cocpetion of political expediency. In “Polyeutce” (1643) the conflict is
shows between the attment to a creature and the exclusive claim of Heaven. Son
also in the play “The Cid” (1636) the conflict is between love and duty.
v Background of “The Cid”:-
Corneille, between 1630-1636,
wrote seven plays. During this period, he started taking interest in Spanish
literature because of the contact with the colonies around him. He read the
contemporary drama of Guillen de Castro’s, “The youthful Adventure of Cid.”
This Spanish play inspired him to write. ‘The
Cid’, which came out in the year 1636-37.
It
is a tragic-comedy-Romantic tragedy, depicting two young lovers in tension
between love and duty. For some critics it is a non- academic work, which
partially observes the classical dramatic rules. The play was directed to the
general public rather than the learned elite class. But this no way diminishes
Corneille’s place in French literature. The play has all its freshness and
beauty like “Romeo and Juliet. “
v Conflict between love and duty
:-
Love in Corneille’s plays is
frequently based on mutual reason and when linked to owner is related to the
ideals of medieval chivalry. Consequently, love plays a lesser role in
Corneille’s drama then in that of Racine. Corneille himself admits that, tragic
conflict must put, “impetuousness
of passion against the laws of duty” In almost all his plays, Corneille
depicts the dilemma between duty and love.
Like his other plays ‘The Cid’
too carries the conflict between love and duty in the minds and hearts of the
hero and heroine. Rodrigue and Chimene resemble the Homeric heroes and heroines
in their passion for personal honor and
fame. Both are ready to sacrifice their love to the beauty .Other than these
two characters, Infant, the daughter of the king has the same problem, to chose
Rodrigue cavalier as her husband or to be faithful to the honor of the king and
his family, In fact, the whole play has an underlying thread of conflict
between love and honor or duty.
v Dilemma of hero Or Theme of
conflict between Pride and Honour :-
Rodrigue the son of Don Diegue
is in love with Chimene, daughter of count de Gomes -the captain of Spain. One
day the King of Spain appoints Don Diegue to give proper training to the
Prince. Gomes feels jealous of him and says, “I am valiant now. On my strong
arm this Kingdom rests secure.” He then strikes him across his fame and disarms
him. In a bitter quarrel Don Gomes
unjustly accuses Don Diegue of gaining the kings favor through flattery and
deceit. Moreover, he slaps his elder rival. Don Diegue feels insulted and calls
upon, Rodrigue to uphold his families honor. Don Diegue has pride on the
bravery of his son. He in the very beginning makes it clear that he wants
revenge. He advises his son thus:
“go my son, my true son, Bolt out my shame,
Avenge
me, show that, Thou art thy father’s
Worthy
son.”
Rodrigue
is torn between love and duty. His friction of mind is clearly revealed in his
very long speech of act 1 scene 4, where he says,
“And to leave an insult unpayed?
Am I to slay the father of Chimene?
Father or loved one; honour or love”
Thus,
Rodrigue is an ideal lover. He refers to die rather than to bring sorrow to
Chimene. At same time, he is a brave warrior. He can not bear the wrong done to
his father, He says,
“What! die, and leave redress
engrained?
Such
a dire conflict goes on his mind between love and honour. At last he submits to
the idea of preserving the honour of his family. He wants to suppress his love
for Chimene. Now he comes to a conclusion. He is ready to avenge his father’s
honour. It becomes clear when he utters…
“come, let me save my honor!
My father’s claim Stands first,
I’ll not
bring upon our ancient Name disgrace.”
He,
eventually, challenges Don Don Gomes, Chimene’s father for duel. They meet and
prepare to duel and in a combat Rodrigue kills Don Gome. Thus the revengeful
spirit is born from pride and honour of the two brave-men. It leads to Gomes.
v Chimene’s Dilemma Or Theme of
love and Duty:-
Chimene burst with tears when
she heard that her lover Rodrigue himself has killed her father. The unexpected
death of her father makes Chimene abhorrent. She instantaneously decides to
take revenge upon Rodrigue after hearing the news. But because of her love for
Rodrigue her mind wavers. She also undergoes the same conflict which Rodrigue
had faced. Don Fernand, the king, is forced to hear her plea as she seeks, for
justice…
“I plead for vengeance For him.
The death of one like Him, is harm to all
Avenge it by another’s Blood for
blood.”
Thus
she demands Redrigue’s life because she want to avenge her father’s death. But
at heart he she loves him still as before. She undergoes the same such between
love and filial duty. Corneille has excellently handled the situation and has
ably brought out the dreadful dilemma in the mind and heart of Chimene when she
says,
“I find my lover in my enemy,
Rodrigue is very dear to me…
But despite its struggle,
I forgot not that
I am my father’s daughter
And that he is dead.”
Her
suitor, Don Sancho feels deep sympathy for her and promises her to avenge here
father’s death. At this time also she feels conflict in here heat and says, “My
death is follow his, yet his I seek,
My honour is at state, I must have
vengeance.”
This
shows that she does no know what to do.
At
this time Rodrigue who hid himself in the adjoining room and overheard Chimene,
now presents himself before her and asks her to kill him he tells her that he
killed her father as part of his duty. And now as an ideal lover, it is his
duty to offer her his head. He tells her, “I did my duty, I still do my duty.”
Again she feels the same conflict but at last she says, “Nay, go, I do not hate
thee.”
She
once again goes to the king and requests him to hold a duel between her two
suitors, Rodrigue and Don Sancho and she would wed the conqueror. But in the
heart of her hearts she fell that she will not wed Rodrigue even if he triumphs
in the dual. The king gives his consent for the dual. Here also she says,
“Unhappy girl that ! am ! Undone ! I am Undone
In
the duel, Rodrigue defeats Don Sancho, but still she is not prepared to accept
him as her husband. Then the king persuades her to forget and forgive. Rodrigue
also give his consent to accept her hand. everything ends well. As it is said;
all’s well that ends well.
v Infanta’s note of love and duty:-
Other
than the two main characters Rodrigue and Chimene, Infanta too is torn between
love and duty. On the one hand, she loves Rodrigue who is a cavalier and on the
other hand she has to follow the tradition of her family by not marrying a
lower rank noble but one of her own rank. For that reason she wants Rodrigue
and Chimene to be married quickly so that her love for Rodrigue can be quenched she like all the characters places
duty higher in her heart than love.
Thus,
it can be said that the whole play is woven with the thread of love and duty
through the hearts of all the major characters in it.
v Theme of Ideal love:-
‘The
CID’ is tragic romance as well as a melodramatic play. First it neglects love
and sings the sprit of duty, but later on ideal love exercises supremely on the
minds of the love. In Chimene love turns into hatred for the lover. She asks
her suitor Don Sancho to help her in taking revenges of her father’s death. She
feels heart breaking feelings “My
honour is at stake, I must have vengeance pursue him to his death, hen die
myself.” Contrary to her ideal of duty Rodrigue overhears Chimney’s
agony and present himself before her asks for her kill him. He says that he
killed her father it is his duty of to offer her his head. But her prevents her
to murder him. “No, go I do not hate thee”.
v Theme
of Conflict between a lover and a suitor
Conflict
is the soul of drama comes true in the case of Rodrigue and Don Sancho. Chimene
request s he king to hold a duel between her two suitors. She would we the
conqueror t. This wish is granted Yet she is unhappy on the both side, she has
to face defeat she can not take revenge of her father’s death. In the duel
Rodrigue defeats Don Sancho but still Chimene is not prepared to accept him as
her husband. Then the king persuades her to forget and forgive. At last she
objects to the kings desire and Rodrigue also his consent to accept her hand.
v Summing up:-
Thus Corneille has presented a great conflict
between love and duty through Rodrigue and Chimene. “The Cid” is a story of the young lovers who firmly stick
to heir duty in spite of their deep love for each other. Such a theme has
always captured and will always capture the hearts of people everywhere. .
One
can conclude with what a well known praise for Corneille.
“No other man was Responsible for the Rise of French Tragedy as
Corneille. ”
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