John Bursey

“ D’Artagnan’s action ends up going against the values he would have prized, had he known the truth, and the events in the grotto cost Porthos his life.
But these differences in the times and the changes in our heroes as they age do not detract from the work, but rather enrich it. It is a more mature novel than its predecessors, richer in detail due to the slower pacing. The mood, too, is much darker, especially towards the end, when we know that impending doom is approaching for Raoul, as his love affair unravels, and for Aramis and Porthos as their plot is detected. ”

“ There are clear villains (Milady, De Wardes, Richelieu, Mordaunt, Mazarin) and clear heroes and heroines, great men destined for demise, despite our heroes’ efforts (Buckingham, Charles I) , and yet our four heroes must triumph against all odds, united until the end.
But the clearest difference in this third volume is that our heroes are no longer united. Though inseparable in their youth, now Aramis, with the unwitting Porthos in tow, is plotting against the king, who D’Artagnan has sworn with his life to defend. ”

“ Although he loses his one true love, Louise, as D’Artagnan did forty years ago, Constance, this loss kills the younger hero. He is more thoughtful, more sensitive, and thereby weaker. The villains, too, are watered down. De Wardes, certainly the most “evil” character in the novel, pales in comparison with the great villains D’Artagnan and his friends had to face. Colbert, though ugly, ill-humored, and set to ruin the kind, generous, affable Fouquet, is actually a blessing in disguise, and it is through his “great works” that France is ready to rise to ever-greater glory in the coming reign. ”

“ When he tames D’Artagnan, as Aramis and Porthos are fighting for their lives at Belle-Isle, he symbolically gains the Loyalty of his servants, which he would keep during his long reign. When Porthos meets his demise at Belle-Isle, Strength is no longer a virtue prized in France, as Industry (in the form of Colbert) and Cunning (in Aramis) now become the hallmarks of the time. ”

“ Porthos is a great baron, ever ready to help, ever seeking another title, ever seeking the noble airs that were not his birthright, but to which he came upon his wife’s death. And D’Artagnan is a hardened soldier, casting a cynical eye everywhere, still loyal, but somewhat embittered, trading in his customary “mordioux!” for the “bah!” more common to old men.
The character of D’Artagnan is, of course, the focus of the Romances. Dumas frequently admitted that D’Artagnan was the man he could never be. In The Vicomte de Bragelonne, the character expands even further. ”

“ He’s a sort of Everyman, superior in every respect, and the only man that can tame him is Louis, the greatest French monarch of them all. The scene in which D’Artagnan goes to the scene of the duel between De Wardes and De Guiche, and from the forensic evidence manages to piece together the details exactly, predates the classic detective fiction that was becoming popular in the States with Edgar Allen Poe’s murders in the Rue Morgue. He has learned to maneuver in royal circles with infinite grace and delicacy, and until the end he boasts that he can always make the king do what he wants. ”

“ Athos, once the most upright defender of nobility, is now forced to break his sword before his monarch, and renounce the sacred vow he pledged with his son in Twenty Years After to respect royalty in all its forms. Never, even, do the four come face to face in the course of the entire novel. Time has sent them in different directions, and managed to separate them when constant villains in the course of forty years have failed. ”

“ The Duchesse de Chevreuse, once Aramis’s close friend and contact at court, the mother of Raoul, now schemes against Aramis, hoping to bring about his downfall. Queen Anne of Austria, once the beautiful, helpless heroine, is now the ailing, sometimes imperial, matriarch of the royal household, tortured by the son she was forced to forsake. In other words, they are human. The refinement of the four principles, as age steals upon them, adds an element that is somehow lacking from the former books. ”

“ Thence I would turn again to that crowded and sunny field of life in which it was so easy to forget myself, my cares, and my surroundings: a place busy as a city, bright as a theatre, thronged with memorable faces, and sounding with delightful speech. ”

“ The swashbuckling exploits of the “four invincibles,” as they are referred to in the novels, have made them sell consistently for a century and a half, a feat not achieved by many authors. The popularity of the stories, first as magazine serials and then as novels, made Dumas the most famous Frenchman of the age. The heroes and villains are clearly defined, and it is never difficult for the readers to know who to cheer for as the drama unfolds in the theater of the mind. ”

“ The Vicomte de Bragelonne is a different sort of novel from the preceding volumes in the D’Artagnan Romances. In The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After, we find our four heroes battling against evil forces with a combination of stunning swordplay, unmatched bravado, unbelievable ingenuity, and several strokes of great fortune. ”

“ They now hail from different spheres, which lends richness to their portrayal. Aramis is the man of God, with a scheme always in the works. Athos is the dignified, retired nobleman, whose only concerns are debts left unpaid and the launching of his son into the world. ”

“ Charles Stuart fled to France in 1646, returned briefly to Scotland in 1651, where he was crowned, was routed by Cromwell in September, and returned to France until Mazarin signed a treaty with Cromwell in 1655 declaring the deposed monarch persona non grata in France. With Monk’s support, he finally returned to London as a king in 1661. During his reign there were two wars with the Dutch, the great plague occurred, the Habeas Corpus Act was passed, and the Great Fire swept London. ”

“ He’s found his way onto the stage, not only in Dumas’s own adaptations of the Musketeers saga, but as a walk-on character in Cyrano de Bergerac by Rostand, for example. Many talented authors, in many different ages, have lent their pens to continuations to the saga. Paul Feval and a M. Lassez wrote a series of eight novels based on the adventures of D’Artagnan with a young Cyrano de Bergerac. These are supposedly tales of Grimaud’s, Athos’s servant, related to Athos, and Aramis even makes an appearance. Roger Nimier’s last book was D’Artagnan amoureux, set shortly after The Three Musketeers. ”

“ Movies are still being made from the stories, they still appear in television commercials, they have their own candy bar, and some current authors have even lent their talents to filling in the gaps between the novels. ”

“ Disfigured by smallpox in his youth, his ugliness brought him a sort of fame. After Fouquet’s arrest, Pellisson wrote quite spiritedly in the defense of the former Superintendent of Finances. He was rewarded for his loyalty with five years in the Bastile. He subsequently regained the royal favor, and became the Historiographer Royal.
Richelieu: (1585–1642) Although he does not appear in The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Armand-Jean du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, is mentioned several times. He was an admirer of Machiavelli and, under the reign of Louis XIII, he became the most powerful man in France. ”

“ Aramis judged him as a man “void of courage and honesty,” a view shared by his contemporaries. The Cardinal de Retz said of him that he had “everything a gentleman should have, except courage.” His presence in the novel is entirely fictional; he died in February, 1660.
Orleans, Philippe d’: (1640–71) Philippe, called Philip by Dumas, was the second son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, and Louis XIV’s younger brother. He was Duc d’Anjou until 1660 when his uncle, Gaston d’Orleans died, leaving the title of Duc d’Orleans and the court title of “Monsieur” to him. ”

“ He married, in 1665, not Montalais, but a daughter from the first marriage of Saint-Remy, Louise de la Valliere’s step-father.
Mancini: (1640–1715) Marie de Mancini captured the young Louis XIV’s heart in 1658, but he was forced to abandon her in favor of a political marriage to the Spanish Infanta Maria-Theresa. Her sister, Olympe (1639–1708) , later became one of Louis’s mistresses. Dumas misplaces the chronology slightly; Mazarin’s nieces were removed from court in 1659. ”