The Conclusion or D'Artagnan's Goal Achieved

We now come to that time when the adventure of The Three Musketeers is resolved, and D'Artagnan achieves his life-long goal: to become a musketeer.

D'Artagnan finally meets the Man of Meung who takes him to the Cardinal. Upon having an interview with the Cardinal, D'Artagnan is told that he is under arrest on the accusation that he has been corresponding with enemies of the kingdom, and for having tried to defeat the plans of his General. D'Artagnan asks who imputes these crimes on him, and not surprisingly it is Milady. D'Artagnan then explains of Milady's ill-doings, and of her death. While D'Artagnan attempts to justify Milady's death, (as he and his companions were the ones who murdered her)the Cardinal points out that the friends would clearly have a bias towards Milady, and would thereby not be fairly constituted judges.

At this point, D'Artagnan is certain that the Cardinal will lock him up for decades yet surprisingly, something quite different occurs. The Cardinal tells D'Artagnan that he shall give him a *carte blanche, as D'Artagnan had given him one a while ago. The Cardinal then gives D'Artagnan a blank parchment to be filled in for a lieutenancy in the musketeers. D'Artagnan is absolutely euphoric, and graciously thanks the Cardinal.

After the interview, D'Artagnan explains all to his comrades, and offers each of them separately the lieutenancy. Each denies taking it for one reason or another, and so when lastly he offers Aramis the parchment musketeer replies 'Well, and they also have refused! It was because no one is more worthy than yourself, my dear friend' And he took up a pen, wrote D'Artagnan's name on the parchment, and handed it back to him. (Dumas, 553) If anything, D'Artagnan has exceeded his goal, for not only is he serving in the musketeers' regiment, he is also at a relatively high rank.

The theme of pride and vengeance still lingers, as D'Artagnan fights the Man of Meung on three occasions, injuring him severely in each. The letter that the Man of Meung initially stole was that of a recommendation from D'Artagnan's father to enter the musketeers (as he himself had been a musketeer).

It's hard to say whether the ways D'Artagnan maintains his esteem are just, but one can clearly determine that he is courageous, loyal, and perceptive. Never once did he question abandoning his comrades, nor once did one of Milady's intricate plots succeed against him. Being so young (only 19 or 20), D'Artagnan seems to have a feeling of invincibility; he is not afraid of death. Once again, this circles back to pride, and one with the heart of a musketeer would prefer dying in action, than while lying down.


* Carte Blanche: Complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best.

Milady's Captivity or A Cunningly Observant Woman

We resume the tale of The Three Musketeers once again by introducing another character to the mix. We shall address her as Milady whom we learn shortly after meeting shall be the cause of many of the musketeers' dilemmas; especially D'Artagnan's.

Currently, Milady is kept in captivity by her brother in-law, Lord de Winter. Milday, as we learn later on in the story, has multiple aliases, and multiple crimes on her slate. The reason she is imprisoned by her brother in-law is because D'Artagnan gives him a tip-off as to her manipulative nature. It is highly suspected that Milady killed her husband so that she could gain his fortune. She is now trying to kill her brother in-law, as well as D'Artagnan for sparing her brother in-law in a duel. Upon getting the warning, Lord de Winter reassures D'Artagnan that all shall be taken care of.

As Milady is a con woman of the Cardinal's, she is also attempting to reveal the relations between Lord Buckingham of England, and Anne of Austria, Louis XIII's wife. Since she is on a mission for the Cardinal regarding Buckingham, Milady sails over to England, where her brother in-law happens to live. Upon her arrival, she is directed by her soon-to-be jail guard, Felton to her brother in-law's castle, where she remains in captivity for six days.

This is a significant part of the plot, as it reveals Milady's mental processes over the six day span in which she manipulates Felton into setting her free. Lord de Winter has always had some idea of Milady's devious nature, and warns Felton of it many times. Close to the end of Milady's stay in the castle, Lord de Winter catches on that Felton has been corrupted by her and sends him away, but it is too late. With a plan already in mind for setting her free, Felton whisks Milady off to a sail boat, and the two agree to meet somewhere in France sometime later.

We learn from this incident, that Milady is a very intelligent, and observant woman. Over the six days she is captive, she examines Felton thoroughly for any sign of weakness. Milady by chance discovers that Felton is a devout Puritan, and thereby takes on the role of a fervent one herself; all of the other guards and Lord de Winter are Catholic. 'Lord de Winter, who is a Catholic like you, Madam, thinks that the privation of the rites and ceremonies of your religion may be painful to you; he therefore consents that you should read your mass, and here is a book which contains the ritual'--Owing to the manner in which Felton laid this book on the table near Milady, the tone in which he pronounced 'your mass,' and the smile of contempt with which the words were accompanied, Milady raised her head and looked attentively at the officer... (Dumas, 447) This makes Milady much more intimate with Felton, and he begins to believe everything she tells him. Milady's most significant lie is that Lord Buckingham has taken advantage of her good nature and severely abused her. Felton is enraged upon hearing this, as Milady seems to him the most virtuous Puritan he has ever laid eyes on. However, there is also the fact that Felton has fallen madly in love with her.

Once he releases Milady, Felton sets out to have revenge on Lord Buckingham for ruining Milady's supposed good name. Felton confronts Lord Buckingham, and at the end of their *tête-à-tête, although Buckingham denies all he is accused of, Felton kills him. Felton is then seized by Buckingham's alerted guards. As the guards take him away, Felton has the horrific epiphany that Milady has grossly deceived him.

While Milady's ways may seem foul and unjust, one must consider the time period this woman was born in. Women were still considered to be goods and chattel to some extent. For a woman to be truly successful in her lifetime, she had to manipulate men who had the power to change her situation, and achieve her goals. Milady is essentially doing just that, in an imperceptible fashion to her victims. The only person so far who seems to have outwitted Milady is D'Artagnan, which is partly why her sentiments toward him are so vehement. While I see that Milady's actions are loathsome, I also admire her character for achieving many of her goals, the only way a woman truly could in the seventeenth century.

* Tête-à-Tête: A private conversation or interview, usually between two people.

The Wife of Athos or Passion vs. the Rational

We return to the plot of The Three Musketeers, when Athos acquaints the readers with the tale of his former wife. At this point, D'Artagnan's paramour has been abducted, which makes him deeply distressed. When D'Artagnan meets up with Athos, he speaks of the tragedy, which Athos seems to think is very insignificant. D'Artagnan inturn accuses Athos of never having been in love, and so Athos tells D'Artagnan 'a real love story' which happened to a 'friend'.

This 'friend' of Athos' was a young nobleman who fell in love with an enchanting 16 year-old girl. As she seemed to be of a good family, the nobleman married her. One day when the couple were out hunting, the wife fell from her horse. Since she needed air, the husband riped open her clothes, only to find that she had been branded with a *fleur-de-lis. The husband, being enraged, hanged his wife upon inferring the betrayal. Once Athos has finished his tale, he forgets to continue on with his work of fiction and says "That cured me of handsome, poetical, loving women" (Dumas, 251).

In Athos' tale lies once again the theme of pride and vengeance; and neither D'Artagnan nor Athos himself seems troubled by the 'husband's' retaliation. Yet there is a hint of irony once again; the woman whom has been abducted, D'Artagnan's lover, is already married to another. The two men do not seem to have trouble with D'Artagnan having relations with her, which proves that Athos' act of murder was a matter of pride. Any misfortune unrelated to the musketeer or his comrades doesn't seem to sway him in the least.

What I have observed in many novels written in this era is that their characters feel passionately, but do not always think rationally. When love, adventure, and pride enter the scheme, nothing, and no one else seems to matter. As the seventeenth century was a passionate time period, gossip and secrets were constantly drifting in the atmosphere. There seemed to be a lack of trust and constant suspicion conveyed toward every acquaintance. It must have been difficult to uphold this constant distrust, and so what would occur when something or someone appealing, even lust-worthy was thrown one's way? All common sense would be disposed of, and one may very well have let down their guard at the most inept time.

This is where rationality should introduce itself. No one can be suspicious all the time, as they are bound to weary. However, they must consider when the most risky time is, and who is the most suspicious. Only in this way, can one in that time period reduce the risks of their passion. It is because D'Artagnan does just this, that he is the most perceptive in his group of comrades. D'Artagnan is of a noble heart, and rarely considers making blind accusations, and so only when someone subtly demonstrates their deceptive nature, does D'Artagnan commence an interrogation.



* Fleur-de-lis: While the symbol of the fleur-de-lis is often one of royalty, when it is branded on human skin, it is a standard mark of criminals and, in this case, prostitutes.

The Meeting or Pride and Vegeance

We begin the tale of The Three Musketeers by addressing when Athos, Porthos, and Aramis meet their soon-to-be-comrade, D'Artagnan. Astoundingly, on D'Artagnan's first encounter with each of the three musketeers, he unintentionally enrages all of them. D'Artagnan crashes into Athos upon descending some stairs, mocks Porthos' new sash,and offends Aramis by picking up a handkerchief the musketeer was trying to conceal. The three musketeers all feel that in some way or another, the young *Gascon has offended them, and each schedules a duel with him.

One can detect a hint of irony in what Dumas has written, as each characters' goal becomes to reap vengeance and regain their pride. D'Artagnan seeks 'the Man of Meung' who stole his letter, while the three musketeers end up seeking D'Artagnan during his quest. While pride is certainly still held priceless in today's society by many, it seems more defined in the seventeenth century's romanticism, as reactions during this time period are much more exaggerated. Pride and vengeance are both recurring themes throughout the plot for each of the four characters; it turns out to be what bonds them as comrades.

Although D'Artagnan schedules duels with each musketeer at a different time, the musketeers' arrivals overlap. Just as the four reach the unanimous decision that each man will take on D'Artagnan in the order they made their appointments, a troop of the cardinal's guards spots them. Dueling is against the law, so the troops declare they shall arrest the four men. The three musketeers protest ardently, and begin to fight the guards. D'Artagnan takes the side of the musketeers upon exclaiming: "Gentlemen,allow me to contradict you when you say you are but three; it appears to me that we are four"(Dumas,43). The three musketeers then observe him severely injure one of the guards. The confrontation ends with the three musketeers and D'Artagnan soundly defeating the guards, and a new admiration is held for the Gascon.

Following the incident with the Cardinal's guards, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis all become close comrades of D'Artagnan, as they admire the bravery of someone so young. The rest of the book encompasses the four's adventures, both full of prosperity and tribulation. Thus they went, arm-in-arm, taking up the whole breadth of the street, accosting every musketeer they met, until in the end their progress became a triumphal march. The heart of D'Artagnan was intoxicated with delight; he marched between Athos and Porthos, pressing them tenderly. (Dumas, 46)

* Gascon: a native of Gascony, France, the inhabitants of which were reputedly very boastful. D'Artagnan is referred to as a Gascon in the novel. In the beginning of the book this is highly stressed, as he is considered almost a complete foreigner when he arrives in Paris, where he meets the three musketeers.