Le Cid

Chimène makes for a complex heroine. At the beginning of the play, everything is going right for her and she seems destined to marry her true love. Then, all of a sudden, her father dies in a duel, killed by none other than Rodrigo. This turn of events proves a nightmare for Chimène. Her hopes for a happy, peaceful relationship with Rodrigo are shattered, and she is torn by her continued love for him and her love for and sense of duty to her father.

Based on the prevailing code of justice, Chimène feels she has no choice but to have Rodrigo prosecuted with the death penalty. She accepts that, after this is carried out, she must in turn die so as to restore complete moral balance. In all of this, Chimène puts a sense of justice and honor above her personal happiness. However, Chimène takes her sense of righteous vengeance to an extreme. In several scenes her pursuit of justice is volatile, even violent-minded. For example, she urges the King “blood for blood!” (21) and “I demand his death […] on a scaffold; let his name be attainted and his memory blighted” (24). At times Chimène is unwilling to listen to others and overly ready to accuse—particularly at the beginning of Act III, Scene 4, when Rodrigo appears to her after the duel in which her father dies.

Chimène’s actions and words often seem contradictory. For example, one moment she says she is obliged to “hate” Rodrigo; yet the next moment she says “I adore him! My passion opposed itself to my resentment” (24). She tells Rodrigo that she must punish him, yet in the same breath she hopes that the punishment will not take place (28). Even on the final page of the play, Chimène still doubts whether her union with Rodrigo is morally acceptable, despite her conviction to mourn him forever in a convent when she believed he was dead. Corneille presents Chimène as truly ambivalent; she holds two equally strong convictions which are in total conflict. Unlike Rodrigo, she is unable to determine any course of action that might serve as a compromise, and relies upon the King to provide an alternative path to honorable action by allowing her a year to mourn before marrying Rodrigo. When the moral dilemma is resolved at the end, the audience experiences relief and joy along with Chimène, knowing that she will be able to be united to Rodrigo and that she truly loves him.

A respected nobleman, the Count is an active military man of great

accomplishment and the King’s most valued warrior. However, the audience’s firsthand impression of the Count is of an arrogant, jealous, and rash man. He harasses Diego over appointment as the prince’s tutor, saying that he deserved the job instead, and engages in one-upmanship with Diego, stirring up anger between them and inciting the events that will lead to his death at Rodrigo’s hand, which in turn creates the moral dilemma at the heart of the play. Although he approved of Rodrigo and Chimène’s relationship, the Count shows little concern for them by recklessly insulting Rodrigo’s father.

The Count’s arrogance continues as he refuses to apologize for insulting Diego and scoffs at the idea that the King could demote him. The Count acts in an equally overbearing manner with Rodrigo, but Rodrigo finally proves to be his match. After the Count’s death, the King laments his loss but admits that he “seems to have deserved this just punishment of rashness” (20); he later acknowledges that the Count was the aggressor in the conflict (38). Although Corneille resists casting any character in absolute terms, the Count can be viewed as the chief antagonist of the play because his actions directly lead to the play’s primary conflict, despite the fact that the majority of the action takes place after the Count’s death.

The relationship between the Count and Chimène is never shown in scene, but can be presumed to be close because of Chimène’s passionate pursuit of avenging his honor. The Count’s character illustrates the fact that there are no clear-cut heroes or villains in this play. Despite his domineering behavior, Chimène’s defense of the Count is presented as sympathetic, and the King legitimately mourns losing the Count as a warrior.

The elderly Diego is presented at first as a more humble and decent man than the Count. Instead of bragging about his appointment, he compliments the King and urges the Count to put aside their differences and be friends, for the sake of Rodrigo and Chimène’s relationship. The audience is led to sympathize with Diego’s physical weakness and inability to defend himself.

However, Diego shows domineering tendencies toward Rodrigo as he urges him to duel with the Count and, later, to go to war: “Avenge me, avenge thyself!” (11). He does not let Rodrigo to state his own views but instead practically commands him to fight, claiming a right to his son’s protection since he Is unable to defend himself. Moreover, Diego contributes to the escalation between him and the Count, telling the Count, “He who has not been able to obtain [the court appointment] did not deserve it” (9), indicating that he thinks the Count unworthy.

Yet later, Diego shows fine moral character again in offering to die in place of Rodrigo as punishment for the Count’s death. In a sense, Rodrigo shows himself the true son of Diego by becoming a great warrior and self-sacrificing individual like him. Like the Count, Diego illustrates the moral complexity of the play’s characters and the lack of obvious heroes or villains.

Sancho serves a subsidiary function in the play yet plays a key role toward the end. He is nobleman and warrior like Rodrigo, and also a competing suitor for Chimène. It is implied that Sancho himself wants to marry Chimène because he offers to avenge Chimène and later fights Rodrigo on her behalf. At the end, much like the Infanta, Sancho puts aside his desires because he sees that Rodrigo and Chimène have a “perfect love” for one another and thus deserve to be together. A decent and chivalrous man, Sancho serves to illustrate the bonds of honor that tie together the play’s characters. In a sense, he serves as an instrument to bring Rodrigo and Chimène together.

Don Fernando is the King of Castile. The characters address him as “Sire,” yet they have seemingly easy access to him and express themselves freely in his presence, which suggests that he is seen as a friendly and just ruler and indicates the high social status of the other characters. The King serves as a moral arbiter in the play. The characters depend on him to mete out justice and decide various disputes, notably that between Rodrigo and Chimène. In addition to settling these personal disputes, the King must also secure his country’s safety against the Moors. Thus, the King’s power and responsibility are extensive. The King presides over the conclusion of the play and speaks its final lines, showing the importance of hierarchy and social order in the world of the play.