Biological Precursors of Lust and Love

The premiere of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac in 1897 introduced a love affair that would be remembered for years to come; Baron Christian de Neuvillette and Cyrano de Bergerac’s yearning for Lady Roxane’s love inspires them to collaborate in earning her love. However, research shows that the female body physiologically desires different traits in males across the cycle of menstruation. It can be argued that Christian and Cyrano cannot create a single, ideal persona for Roxane to pursue a relationship with, given their personalities evoke functionally separate responses and will seem appealing to Roxane during different times within her menstruation cycle.

The Menstrual Cycle

A woman’s 28-day span of menstruation is a time to prepare for the conception of a child. Various hormones have been found to continuously occur in correspondence to a woman’s certain stage of menstruation (Puts, 2006, p. 117). The fluctuation of these chemicals exhibits varying responses throughout the body that influence “romantic, sexual emotions” and intentions behind a female’s preferences in a male partner (Crenshaw, 1996, p. 3). Around the 14th day of a woman’s menstruation cycle, for example, the hormone progesterone has been found to be low in concentration (Puts, 2006, p. 125). Within the same 24-48 hour timespan, “prolactin levels peak” (Puts, 2006, p. 125). From this point until the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle, also known as the luteal phase, her progesterone levels begin to rise as prolactin levels fall. The effects of these hormones on the female body reveal a link between the chemical content of a woman during menstruation and her preferences in male partners.

Probable, Hormonal Causes to Roxane’s Lust for Christian

The 24-48 h...

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Rostand, E., & Fry, C. (2008). Cyrano de Bergerac: A heroic comedy in five acts. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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