Le Cid

In Act II the dramatic stakes of the play escalate as Rodrigo and the Count finally fight their fatal duel. Rodrigo has proven his valor and martial skill, but at the cost of opening a breach between him and Chimène which seems irreparable, and robbing the King of an experienced soldier just as the Moorish invaders arrive at the gates of Seville, which threatens the public peace and demands immediate action. Thus, the dramatic stakes are significantly higher by the end of Act II than at the start of the play, and the interpersonal conflict between Rodrigo and Chimène’s families has translated into intensified danger for all of Castile. The Count foreshadows the significance of his own death at the opening of Act II, acknowledging that the King cannot afford to lose him because of the war with the Moors. Corneille allows each character to be morally complex, comprising both admirable qualities, such as the Count’s valor and experience, and faults, such as the Count’s arrogance. Similarly, Diego was shown in Act I to possess both great honor and intelligence, but to also be proud and intemperate.

Before the Count and Rodrigo’s duel, the Infanta once again shows her devoted friendship to Chimène by offering to prevent the fight. Chimène presumably does not know that the Infanta loves Rodrigo, and the Infanta is careful not to reveal this to her. The Infanta’s internal struggle mirrors Rodrigo’s own; she is torn between duty to her family and social station and the desires of her heart. This specific conflict will be reproduced again in Chimène in Act III, as she struggles to do her duty in avenging her father because of her love for Rodrigo. Chimène’s prediction that fate would complicate the seemingly simple romance between herself and Rodrigo continues to bear out in more and more complicated ways.

In challenging the Count to a duel, Rodrigo is acting with considerable bravery; he knows that the Count is “unconquered” and has a great reputation as a fighter. The Count, like Diego, uses the concepts of filial duty and honor to goad Rodrigo to fight: “Come, thou art doing thy duty, and the son becomes degenerate who survives for one instant the honor of his father” (15). However, even as an adversary, the Count cannot deny Rodrigo’s valor, as Corneille endeavors to depict Rodrigo as the consummate hero. As was characteristic for dramas of the time, the actual duel and the attending violence of the Count’s death all take place offstage, and are described by Don Alonzo rather than shown in scene. In contrast to Corneille’s subversion of some expected dramatic norms of the time, which become especially obvious in Act IV, Corneille’s offstage violence upholds a classical dramatic tradition that began with the Greeks.

In the final scene of the act, Chimène describes to the King her horror at seeing her father dead. She explains that she is motivated by a desire for justice for her father. In demanding justice from the King, she uses reason to persuade him that killing Rodrigo would be vengeance for him as well. The Count was his best warrior, and “I demand vengeance more for your interest than for my consolation” (21). This is another example of characters in the play using rationalizations to persuade other people to do what they want, and Chimène’s argument seems particularly perceptive as it echoes the King’s own feeling that the Count insulted him personally via his affront to Diego.

Diego in turn defends himself and Rodrigo. On pages 21-22 he offers himself to be punished in Rodrigo’s place, thus showing himself willing to practice self-sacrifice just as his son did for him. This shows a nobility of soul in Diego to contrast with his earlier vindictiveness, as Corneille endeavors throughout Act II to complicate notions of villains and heroes in the play, with the exception of the consistently noble Rodrigo.