Summary
Leaving d’Artagnan sleeping, full of hope, the chapter dives into who M. de Treville is, and finally introduces the Musketeers! M. de Treville, like d’Artagnan, originally hailed from Gascony. His dad was a poor man, but made up in audacity and aggressiveness for what he lacked in wealth. M. de Treville inherited nothing but this audacity and his father’s motto, Fidelis et Fortis, which means ‘loyal and strong.’ M. de Treville would have preferred money, I am sure, but to be certain, a motto and audacity is better to live by than an oddly yellow horse. And indeed, M. de Treville soon attained great success as he was absorbed into the king’s court, and soon became a great favorite of the king, Louis XIII. To stay in the king’s favor, M. de Treville put together a band of fine swordsmen, called the Musketeers, and showed them off vaingloriously to the cardinal. The cardinal was much disturbed by this, and his splendid mustache did “curl with ire” when he laid eyes on the Musketeers. Not one to let himself or his mustache get cowed down by anyone, the cardinal put together his own Musketeers, and the two groups of Musketeers competed fiercely for…something. Just competed fiercely. M. de Treville’s Musketeers were a rowdy lot, but paid him the utmost respect. In fact, M. de Treville was loved, feared, and respected by all. M. de Treville spent much of his time in an office, where he heard complaints and comments, and issued orders. The antechamber of said office was indeed the title antechamber, and it is this antechamber that d’Artagnan will find himself in.
Back to the aforementioned young man! After making an appointment with M. de Treville, d’Artagnan walks into the antechamber. As he watches the mad skills of the Musketeers, his supreme confidence is shaken for the first time, and he ends up feeling awkward and embarrassed like the provincial lad he is as he makes his way through the intimidating masses of chattering and jousting Musketeers. He is horrified and scandalized to hear the Musketeers cracking jokes about the cardinal and his bandy legs, and guiltily imagines what dad’Artagnan would think of such rude talk. He eventually finds himself near a particularly boisterous group of Musketeers, and settles down to listen in on their conversation.
A lavishly dressed man named Porthos brags languidly, twirling his mustache, about his amazingly fabulous outfit. He’s wearing a brilliant blue jacket, a plush scarlet cape, and a sparkly gold sash that carries his sword (called a baldric). He and his friends argue for a while about whether Porthos bought the baldric or it was given to him by a lady, until Porthos settles the matter by asking his buddy Aramis. Aramis is a laconic, mild, neat, delicate-featured little guy, whose words seem to carry much weight among his friends. When he affirms that Porthos indeed bought the baldric, all his friends stop bothering Porthos about the matter. Aramis and Porthos end up bickering about whether or not they should discuss a scandal. It turns out that Aramis wants to someday be an abbe (a lower clergyman) and studies theology in his spare time. The pair gets quite heated in their argument, further revealing that they have a third friend, Athos, who is the only person they do not mind moralizing from. This interesting quarrel is interrupted by someone calling d’Artagnan – M. de Treville has summoned him. The whole antechamber gets quiet as d’Artagnan makes his way to the office.
Reaction
The novel just keeps getting better! In it, Dumas’s character descriptions are actually amazing – you can just picture each character in your head. Also, I must say, there were a lot of epic mustaches in this chapter. Porthos is ridiculously vain and I love it, and his interaction with Aramis is hilarious. I also want Porthos’s clothes. And sword skills. Where do we sign up to be a Musketeer? Favorite line: “‘Oh, the Red Duke! Bravo! Bravo! The Red Duke!’ cried Porthos, clapping his hands and nodding his head. ‘The Red Duke is capital. I'll circulate that saying, be assured, my dear fellow. Who says this Aramis is not a wit? What a misfortune it is you did not follow your first vocation; what a delicious abbe you would have made!’” Delicious abbe?! I like Porthos.
1 comment:
And we finally meet the Musketeers! Hurrah! Again, insightful and hilarious commentary. I approve of your decision to like Porthos - I'm inclined to like him too. The friendship between the Musketeers sounds great and I can't wait to see how it develops.
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