Le Cid (Criticism)

Criticism

Joyce Hart

Hart is a freelance writer and author of several books. In this essay, Hart studies the act of sacrifice as portrayed in Corneille's Le Cid.

Pierre Corneille's Le Cid focuses on a legendary hero of eleventh-century Spain and his feats of heroism, chivalry, and honor. But a more pervading element of this play, one that is acted out by not only the protagonist but many other characters is that of sacrifice. A sense of sacrifice lies beneath the surface of many of the events of this play, whether it is portrayed through a deed of love, honor, or respect.

The first sacrifice, which is not the noblest of them all but rather one that sets off the motions of Corneille's play is the willingness of Don Diegue to forfeit the life of his son, Le Cid, in order to restore honor to the family name. Of course, if Don Rodrigue were to lose his duel with Don Gomes, the pain would be great for Don Diegue, but it is one thing to sacrifice another person's life and another to offer up one's own. So although this sacrifice is great, it lacks a noble edge. Don Diegue not only is offering up his son's life, he is doing so without there being a substantial reason behind his efforts. Yes, one's honor was of immense purpose in the past, but the consequences were relative only to a limited number of family members. And cost to that family could be measured maybe in a diminished livelihood but not in serious punishment. Don Diegue might have lost his honor if he had not potentially sacrificed his son, but he still could have gone on living and probably living well. So the significance of this sacrifice was not great in itself except for the fact that because of it, the rest of the actions of the play fall into place.

Don Gomes is the next victim of sacrifice, and his sacrifice was much greater. He lost his life. The reasons for losing his life were not insignificant but they were rather trivial. Could he have refused to fight Don Rodrigue? Probably. One of the main reasons he gave in was because Don Gomes thought the whole thing was a joke. Who was this young man who dared to challenge the great warrior? Don Gomes thought he could wipe Don Rodrigue out as easily as swatting a fly. And the consequences for his actions would not have mattered much. If he killed Don Rodrigue, Don Diegue would have mourned the loss of his son, and Don Gomes's daughter, Chimene, would have mourned the loss of her lover. And that would have been it. The kingdom would have hypothetically gone on as before. But that is not how events unfolded. As it turned out, the duel was very significant because Don Gomes sacrificed (albeit unknowingly) his life and therefore greatly affected the kingdom.

Because of Don Gomes's sacrifice, Don Diegue's honor was restored, the love between Don Rodrigue and Chimene was compromised, and the whole legend of Le Cid was born. If Don Rodrigue had not killed Don Gomes, he would not have gone off and stopped the Moors from coming ashore in the kingdom in an attempt to take over the land. He would not have been renamed Le Cid. Don Rodrigue might not have been ready for such a remarkable feat as that. He was propelled, one could argue, because of Don Gomes's death to prove that he was a fearless warrior even greater than the warrior that he defeated in the duel. As Don Rodrigue outdid the older warrior in a one-on-one fight, so too would he outshine him on the battlefield. And he did.

But in killing Don Gomes, Don Rodrigue sacrifices the chances of winning Chimene as his wife. He relinquishes his deep love for her not in fact but in theory. His love for her remains in his heart, but because of what he has done, his love may never be returned. He goes into the duel with Don Gomes knowing this but also knowing that there was no way to avoid the consequences. Because of his father's and Don Gomes's argument and brief assault, Don Rodrigue stood to lose Chimene no matter what he did. And then to underscore the breadth of the price he must pay, Don Rodrigue offers his life — the ultimate sacrifice. What better way could Corneille have demonstrated how much Don Rodrigue loved Chimene? It is as if Don Rodrigue was saying that if he could not have Chimene there was no reason to go on living. He offered her his life so that she could find peace with her father's death.

When Chimene is not willing to kill him, Don Rodrigue volunteers to go fight the Moors. Against all odds, he is victorious in leading his men against the enemies of the kingdom. When he returns a hero, Le Cid's offer to Chimene to take his life has taken on even greater meaning because he is now not just a young man who has killed one brave soldier, he is a young champion who has saved his country. In some metaphoric way, he is not only sacrificing his life but the lives of all those whom he has saved.

Chimene, too, although not quite as chivalrous, offers an enormous sacrifice. She is a dutiful and loving daughter. Her father, a noble knight, has experienced a rather shameful death. He has not died on the battlefield, defending his king. Rather he has been killed in a common field by a young, untried nobody, the outcome of a petty argument. Chimene believes that her father's long years of battles won and the resultant honors that were bestowed on him will all be lost if his death is not avenged. And she is willing, though her heart is breaking, to sacrifice not her love but the life of the man she loves in order to protect her father's name and heritage. Chimene's sacrifice is noble because she does not, or cannot, rid herself of her love for Le Cid. That love is real and cannot be dismissed through a rational decision. She demands Le Cid's life in spite of her love for him. And that is what makes her sacrifice so momentous. She cannot measure her love for Le Cid against her love for her father. Both are weighty. But they come from different parts of her and must be dealt with in different ways. Of course, she does not really want Le Cid's death, but she feels compelled to ask for it because of her love for her father. If she does not respect her love of her father than how can Le Cid respect her love for him?

And then there is Infanta. Here is a woman who has a profound love for a man she cannot have. She cannot have him not because their love would be impossible but because their love would defame the unspoken laws of nobility. Infanta is in love with Le Cid. She was in love with him before his heroism, when he was merely a young and handsome man, the son of a once-brave warrior. But she is a princess, and the love between her and a commoner would show disrespect for her nobility. The kingdom would suffer because of it. So Infanta sacrifices her love for Le Cid by purposefully and actively making Chimene fall in love with him. If Infanta can make Chimene love Le Cid and see that the two of them are married, Infanta will lose all hope of marrying Le Cid herself. With this loss of hope, she believes that she will better be able to endure the loss of her love. Infanta makes this sacrifice of herself for the king as well as for the stability of her kingdom. She will, as all young princesses do, marry a man of high rank.

Even after Le Cid becomes a hero, meriting another look at his eligibility as the husband of a princess, Infanta resists. Not only does she resist, she goes to Chimene and asks Chimene to sacrifice her pride and her filial duty to avenge her father. Chimene must make this sacrifice, Infanta tells her, to save the country from ruin. The people need a hero, Infanta tells her, and Chimene must cease her bid to see Le Cid's death.

There is one more sacrificial act performed in the play. It is a small one but not immeasurable. Don Sanche promises to play out Chimene's wishes of avenging her father's death. Don Sanche is in love with Chimene, and he hopes this will win her hand. He challenges Le Cid to a duel. Don Sanche is no match for Le Cid either in love or in battle. But he is willing to sacrifice his life, or to at least potentially do so, in order to raise his stature in Chimene's eyes. It is in some ways a silly gesture, but one that must be done. Le Cid easily offsets Don Sanche's advances and in doing so, demonstrates his own high status as a righteous young man. He knows he is a far better warrior than Don Sanche, but he does not have to kill him to prove it. The fact that Don Sanche was willing to sacrifice his life is enough. It is as if Le Cid is saying that there have been enough sacrifices for one day. He sends Don Sanche back to Chimene, who mistakes the outcome and declares her everlasting love for Le Cid. So Don Sanche's ordeal produces the required effects without his having to shed his blood.

It is through these various acts of sacrifice that Corneille not only sets up the tension and dramatic impressions of this play but also adds complexities to his characters. The willingness to sacrifice marks a character as a person with a greater understanding of the truly noble qualities of life.

Source:

Joyce Hart, Critical Essay on Le Cid, in Drama for Students, Thomson Gale, 2005.

What do I read next?

• If you want to read the original text of the poem of the legend of El Cid, The Poem of the Cid (1985), by Ian Michael, Rita Hamilton, and Janet Perry, is a good place to go. This is a bilingual publication in ancient Spanish and easy-to-read English.
• Molière was a playwright contemporary with Corneille. He wrote what was called high comedy through which he criticized the social standards of his time. In his play La Tartuffe (1664), Molière examines the religious hypocrisy of his society. This was a very controversial play in seventeenth-century France.
• Although Molière would later top Corneille's prowess as a writer of comedy, Corneille's comic play Le Menteur (The Liar), produced in 1643, is considered his best in this genre. This comedy also has Spanish roots. It is a comedy of manners about on an eligible bachelor who tries to lie his way out of a match his father has arranged with a woman he does not love.
• In 1640, four years after Le Cid, Corneille wrote what is considered another masterpiece, Horace (1640). This play is also a tragedy. It is about patriotism and the conflict between families during a war between the ancient Romans and their Alban neighbors.
• Jean Racine, another contemporary of Corneille, wrote a very impressive tragedy called Phèdre (1677). The characters of this play are taken from Greek mythology. It is about a woman who falls in love with her stepson. It is considered one of Racine's best works.