An author can adopt a critical tone toward his character while still remaining completely sympathetic to her. Just as a parent can fully disapprove of his child’s actions and still love her, an author can disapprove of his character’s actions, while displaying pity for her and what she has gone through. In Cyrano de Bergerac, Rostand exhibited a sympathetic tone toward Cyrano, yet still remained critical. Cyrano’s dealing with Roxane and Christian illustrates a positive moral tone, such as risking his life to fulfil his promise to Roxane, or assisting Christian in his relationship with her and setting his own desires aside. However, it also illustrates a negative moral tone. For example, he lies to Roxane several times to cover for himself,
