Le Cid

The scene divisions in Le Cid reflect the tradition of the “French scene.” In contrast to English-language drama, where scene changes reflect change of setting, a scene change in 17th-century French plays indicates a change in the characters present onstage. Thus, a new scene begins whenever a character enters or exits. The act divisions, on the other hand, reflect the passage of time and mark significant events or turning points in the plot. For example, Act I ends with the Count and Diego’s quarrel and Rodrigo’s decision to take revenge, thus setting up the main conflict of the play.

The first two scenes introduce us to the main female characters of the play, Chimène and the Infanta, and their respective ladies-in-waiting, Elvira and Leonora. The ladies-in-waiting serve a function in the play as confidants, to whom Chimène and the Infanta express their feelings and relate important plot information. At times, the ladies-in-waiting also amplify, give advice, or present a counterargument to what Chimène or the Infanta have just said. The male characters Don Alonzo and Don Arias serve a similar function vis-à-vis the principal male characters.

The first scene establishes Chimène and Rodrigo as the play’s romantic couple and their love as the driving force of the plot. It also establishes Don Sancho as a rival to Rodrigo for Chimène’s hand, although Chimène declares her preference for Rodrigo. Elvira describes Rodrigo’s background as a valiant warrior, thus reinforcing for us that he is a worthy marriage candidate for Chimène.

In Scene 2 we meet the Infanta and her attendant, Leonora and learn that the love triangle of Chimène–Rodrigo–Infanta will be another complicating factor in the plot. The Infanta expresses the depth of her love for Rodrigo in this scene and reveals the pain of her conflicted loyalties to her social/political station and to her best friend, Chimène, especially in her monologue on Page 6 and her soliloquy in Scene 3. The Infanta’s profound love for Rodrigo despite his inferior social status further establishes Rodrigo’s heroic nature and good character.

In Scene 4 we meet the major antagonists of the play, the Count and Diego, who immediately launch into their quarrel. Diego tries to make peace with the Count, but the Count persists in a belligerent attitude of envy and resentment. We sense a strong and perhaps longstanding rivalry between these two men based on their respective exploits on the battlefield and standing in the court hierarchy. This is suggested by such lines as the Count’s “what, after all, has this great number of years done which one of my days cannot equal?” (8). The two men also exhibit different attitudes toward the King. Diego speaks of him with respect and deference, while the Count displays a superior attitude: He says that a king can make mistakes like anyone else and, later, implies that he himself is the power behind the King. The Count’s evident pride and temper in this scene legitimize Chimène’s apprehension that fate will intervene in her happiness with Rodrigo, which foreshadowed the main conflict of the play as Rodrigo and Chimène struggle to unite despite their mutual love and family support for their relationship.

Diego gives vent to his anger in the soliloquy that occupies Scene 5, which is intensified by his feeling of impotence. Diego’s profound humiliation at the hands of the Count is clear, as he depicts the Count’s offense as “an insult so cruel that it deals a deadly stroke against the honor of us both”; “it is only in blood that one can wash away such an insult; die or slay” (10). Diego babbles on and on, to the point where Rodrigo must say “Pray, finish” (10).

Diego might be seen here as bullying his son into taking vengeance, but is also shown to be helpless in defending his own honor—which is crucial to social and political standing in the time of the play—because of his infirmity. He appeals to Rodrigo’s sense of honor, claiming that the feud is a matter of life and death that affects both of them and that outweighs Rodrigo’s relationship with Chimène. Diego’s line “Show thyself a son worthy of a father such as I” (11) is ironic, since Diego’s obsession with honor will come to infect Rodrigo as well.

Scene 7 consists of a long soliloquy for Rodrigo. This is a pivotal scene where Rodrigo makes his fatal decision to take vengeance. Rodrigo is aware of the excruciating nature of his dilemma: “What fierce conflicts I experience! My love is engaged against my own honor. I must avenge a father and lose a mistress” (11). As he looks at his sword, Rodrigo even appears momentarily to contemplate suicide: “It is better to rush to death” (11). Rodrigo finally decides to avenge his father because, as a warrior, he needs honor and a good reputation: “To die without obtaining satisfaction! To seek a death so fatal to my fame!” (11). Rodrigo sees that the feud may make marriage with Chimène impossible anyway, and hence he might as well opt to defend his father. This decision is taken with reason and logic and thus makes Rodrigo a typical hero of the intellectual French dramas of this period.