Cyrano de Bergerac
A Gascon, cadet, swordsman, poet, and lover, Cyrano is a complicated man. Ashamed of his grotesquely large nose, he nonetheless is confident, brash, prideful, witty, and completely committed to living a life of freedom and autonomy. He loves his cousin Roxane, but is too embarrassed to admit this to her; through Christian, he is able to have his eloquent and passionate words of love read and written to her. His fierce independence creates many enemies for him, though, and he is eventually killed by one of them. He insists on dying standing, swinging his sword, and asserting his spirit and "panache" to the very end.
Christian de Neuvillette
A young man newly arrived in Paris to join the cadets, Christian is handsome but not very smart or poetic. He colludes with Cyrano, pretending to write letters and speak the words to win over his beloved Roxane. He eventually becomes disillusioned with Roxane loving him for someone he is not. He dies bravely in the siege.
Comte de Guiche
An aristocrat and a Gascon, he is married to the Cardinal's niece; however, he loves Roxane and tries to pursue her. He is mocked by the cadets for his pretense, but he shows great bravery at the siege and reconciles with his enemies. By the end of the play he has increased in rank and is now a Duc, but he feels a sense of unease about all of the trappings of power.
Ragueneau
At the beginning of the play he is a beloved pastry-cook, but his predilection for poetry, in combination with his cheating wife, leaves him bankrupt. He takes odd jobs, and is at one point appointed by Cyrano to be Roxane's steward. He travels to war with her and helps feed the troops. He is kind-hearted, well-intentioned, and a little bumbling.
Le Bret
Cyrano's closest friend and confidant.
Captain Carbon de Castel-Jaloux
The captain of the cadets. He is wounded at Arras.
Ligniere
A young nobleman who is very drunk at the play and gets in trouble for writing a critical song about an important person. Cyrano defends him.
Valvert
The man whom De Guiche wants Roxane to marry. He is hotheaded and prideful, and gets into verbal spats with Cyrano, whom he clearly envies for being smarter than him, yet condemns for middling social status. Cyrano duels and stabs him.
Montfleury
An actor that Cyrano despises and picks a fight with.
Bellerose
With Jodelet, the co-head of the theater troupe/company.
Jodelet
With Bellerose, the co-head of the theater troupe/company.
Cuigy
A young nobleman.
Brissaille
A young nobleman.
Busybody
A man who provokes Cyrano at the play and is subjected to an uncomfortable encounter with him in which Cyrano accuses him of staring at his nose.
Roxane
Beautiful and beguiling, Roxane is a precieuse and the cousin of Cyrano. She is romantic and a lover of poetry, falling for Christian when Cyrano's words touch her sensibility. She marries Christian and travels to the siege to be with him, but after his death joins a convent to live out the rest of her years. She discovers Cyrano is her true love, but not in time to truly be with him. She is haughty, charming, and intelligent.
Orange-girl
A young woman who sells sweets at the play.
Duenna
Roxane's chaperone.
Lise
Ragueneau's wife, who is annoyed by his poetic habits and leaves him for a musketeer, taking all his money.
Monk
He is sent to bring Roxane a note from De Guiche. He is later tricked into wedding Christian with Roxane.
