Roxane refuses to leave Arras

Roxane refuses to leave Arras at a moment when military danger and physical deprivation converge. When Christian is about to fight, she declares that she will stay; when Count de Guiche explains that the position is one of mortal danger, she refuses again. Her choice is at once intimate and public: she throws herself into Christian’s arms and insists that, if death comes, they will face it together. The episode makes her attachment visible not as a plea for safety but as a decision to remain exposed beside her husband.

Siege Conditions and the Pressure to Withdraw

The refusal takes place in a camp already strained by the contradiction of the siege. The French are besieging Arras, yet, as Le Bret observes, they have themselves been trapped and besieged by the Cardinal Infante of Spain. Carbon calls it disgraceful that the besiegers should be starving. Hunger is therefore not incidental discomfort: it is one measure of how precarious the French position has become, even before the immediate danger to Roxane is spelled out.

The military situation is further weakened by an attempt to bring provisions into the camp. Count de Guiche reports that the Marshal made a secret final effort the previous evening to victual the French and took a considerable force with him. The result is that half the army is absent from camp. Carbon recognizes the danger of this disposition if the Spanish forces learn of it. Against that background, the question of whether Roxane should leave is bound to a broader uncertainty: the camp is short of food and, for the moment, depleted of troops.

Roxane’s Refusal and Her Bond with Christian

Roxane answers the prospect of Christian going to fight with a compact declaration: she will stay. When those around her protest, she identifies the reason that governs her choice—Christian is her husband—and throws herself into his arms. She then says that they will be killed together rather than separated. The gesture gives physical form to her words: instead of accepting protection at a distance, she clings to the person whose danger has made departure seem necessary.

Count de Guiche names the danger plainly, calling the post one of mortal peril. Roxane turns toward him and repeats the idea of mortal danger, then insists that she will not go. She describes herself as reckless and says that she will not stir from the camp; she adds, with startling levity, that the situation is amusing. The contrast is not evidence that the danger is unreal. It shows how little the warning alters her decision. Her language moves from recognition of the risk to refusal, while her appeal to amusement refuses the solemn terms on which others try to persuade her.

Military Warnings and Material Need

Count de Guiche does not treat her first answer as final. He says the danger cannot be tolerated, announces that he is going to inspect the cannon, and tells her that there is still time to reconsider. His response links Roxane’s personal decision to practical military command: he must attend to the camp’s weapons while continuing to urge her departure. The scene does not present danger as an abstraction. It is associated with a threatened position, the absent half of the army, and the need to inspect the available artillery.

The scarcity of food sharpens the same contrast between risk and staying. Roxane says that the camp air has made her hungry and asks for pasties, cold fricassee, and old wines. Her request comes after the soldiers’ hunger has been established, and the list of dishes gives the need for food a specific, material form. The stage direction records consternation at her demand. The episode does not establish that the meal is served or that it relieves the camp’s shortage; it shows Roxane ordering provisions while refusing to leave the endangered place where they are needed.

The Remaining Cannon and the Meaning of the Choice

Later, Count de Guiche points out that he has one cannon left and has had it carried to a corner, where Roxane’s men can use it if necessary. The detail places her refusal within the camp’s continuing preparations: even as she insists on remaining, the defensive position is being assessed and its remaining weapon assigned for possible use. The cannon does not cancel the danger that prompted the warning; its limited availability makes the urgency more concrete.

Roxane’s decision thus alters the scene’s terms without resolving the military crisis. Count de Guiche can identify mortal danger, inspect the cannon, and urge her to reconsider, but he cannot make her accept safety through departure. Her husband’s presence is the decisive reason she gives, while her refusal also unfolds amid hunger and an exposed, understrength camp. The scene holds together these scales of peril—the couple’s threatened lives and the besieged army’s practical weakness—and defines Roxane’s answer through action: she stays.