Summary
When it is six
o’clock, the Fearsome Four and servants all head off to a goat field to have
the duel. Athos pays the goat-keeper to clear the goats away for battle (and
that just may win the prize for the most random sentence I have ever typed). The
goat-keeper complies and the duel can get on with, thank goodness. The
Englishmen insist on knowing Athos, Porthos, and Aramis’s full names, so they
whisper their names to their individual opponents. However, Athos slips back
into scary mode, telling his opponent that now he will have to kill him,
because Athos is believed to be dead and has reasons for not wanting his
existence discovered. Athos’s opponent is taken aback, and assumes that Athos
is joking. The man is dead wrong (I swear didn’t mean that pun), and Athos
kills him very quickly. Porthos is less over-confident after being defeated and
wounded at the inn, so he fights carefully yet skillfully, and defeats his
opponent by stabbing him in the leg. Amusingly, Porthos then kindly carries his
wounded opponent to his carriage. I will never understand their standards of morality.
Aramis is anxious to get back to writing
his poem, so he fights very viciously and aggressively, and his opponent
actually runs away amid taunting from all the watching servants. D’Artagnan
fights defensively, and pins his opponent, Lord de Winter, after a short
scuffle. Lord de Winter is so grateful to d’Artagnan for sparing his life that
he invites him to dinner at his and his sister’s place that very day. By the
way, he calls her “Milady Clarik.” D’Artagnan agrees happily – this was his
evil plan! He wanted to get an invitation to meet Milady. Wow. Color me
unimpressed.
The Englishmen,
still astounded by the French people’s generosity, give them a bag of money
taken from their dead comrade, advising them to distribute it among their
servants. Yay! I like these Englishmen. However, Athos decides that it would
somehow be nobler to give the money to the Englishmen’s
servants. Well, the English servants and coachmen are pleased, and everyone
applauds this act except, of course, for poor Planchet, Mousqueton, Bazin, and
Grimaud. They never seem to win, do they? Noble, indeed! Athos, you keep using
that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. (Yes, I did just go
there). After the duel, D’Artagnan yet again crashes at Athos’s place to primp
himself for his upcoming meal with Milady. Athos switches back to the voice of
reason, telling d’Artagnan that it is shameful that he has seemingly forgotten
his supposed love for Madam Bonacieux. D’Artagnan feels a prick of remorse, but
justifies it by saying that he is only curious about Milady because she is a
cardinal supporter, as suggested by her connection to Rochefort. He dismisses
Athos’s other warnings, and leaves to go have dinner at the de Winter adobe –
the Place Royale. Milady welcomes d’Artagnan kindly enough but as they discuss
the duel, she seems to be hiding rage. She seems agitated when she realizes
that d’Artagnan spared Lord de Winter’s life. In fact, d’Artagnan catches a
glimpse of her biting her lips furiously and even chomping on her handkerchief
to let out her anger when she thinks she is unobserved. Good grief. Then she
quickly composes herself and is once again the gracious hostess. Scary! The
rest of the evening is pleasant, and d’Artagnan goes over to the Place Royale
for dinner every day that week. Milady’s attractive young maid, named Kitty,
clearly is infatuated with d’Artagnan and keeps trying to get his attention in
a sweet and timid way. However, he really does seem to be in love with Milady, and
he is so focused on her that he never even notices Kitty. Chatting with Milady,
d’Artagnan learns that Lord de Winter is actually her brother-in-law, and that
if he does not marry, she will inherit his fortune. D’Artagnan feels slightly
suspicious of her because of all these proceedings, but cannot figure out why. Luckily,
he is prudent enough to pretend to be a cardinalist when she inquires about his
loyalties.
Reaction
First of all,
d’Artagnan really has fallen in love with Milady, and forgotten Madame
Bonacieux. What a fickle guy! Also, his failure to be a successful spy, despite
all the clues being thrown at him is again irritating. D’Artagnan has yet again
failed to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Let me elucidate. Milady tells
d’Artagnan that she will inherit Lord de Winter’s fortune if he does not marry.
The ‘and after he dies’ is implied there. So, keeping in mind her unsubtle scariness,
it not a stretch to assume that she would want him dead quickly, before he gets
married, in order to obtain his money. Putting that together, it is evident
that she wishes that d’Artagnan had indeed
killed Lord de Winter, and is furious that he did not do so. How else do you
explain her behavior at the first dinner party? Even d’Artagnan noticed
something chilling and frightening about her. He really should trust his
instincts and watch out! Because it is becoming clear that d’Artagnan is
completely smitten with Milady. On a side note, if d’Artagnan must pursue some other woman, he ought
to go for Kitty. At least she is interested, and actually a nice person. One
doubt I have about my theories due to this chapter is that we learn that
Milady’s surname is “Clarik,” according to her brother, unless he is lying on
her behalf. This confuses me, because isn’t her surname ‘de Winter?’ Maybe ‘de
Winter’ is her title, and ‘Clarik’ is her last name. Or do I just fail to
understand French naming customs? Either way, this does not contradict my
analysis so I will stick with those theories until we learn more.
My favorite line
occurs when d’Artagnan observed Milady’s secret rage, because it is so absurd:
“Now that she believed herself to be no longer observed, a sentiment resembling
ferocity animated her countenance. She bit her handkerchief with her beautiful
teeth.” Calm yourself, woman. Actually, don’t – my mental image of that scene is
priceless.
1 comment:
Oh my goodness. What an absolutely ridiculous duel. First the goats and then the terrifyingly violent Athos and the bizzarely gentlemanly Porthos and the bewilderingly threatening Aramis and then the weird friendship formed between d'Artagnan and Lord de Winter. D'Artagnan, I'm pretty sure you could have thought of a way to get invited to Lord de Winter's house without getting someone killed.
Regarding "Milady Clarik", "Milady" is probably her title, "Clarik" her first name, and "de Winters" her last name. So your theory is still intact!
I suppose the Englishmen are noble, but I'm a little confused by the apparent "generosity" of the Musketeers, and also by the fact that the Englishmen basically robbed their friend...
I'm glad Athos at least has noticed d'Artagnan's apparent betrayal of Madame Bonacieux! Too bad d'Artagnan won't pay his friend any attention!
Is d'Artagnan really such a catch? A lot of apparently attractive women seem interested in him...
I'm glad the plot with Milady is moving forwards! She's a fun antagonist, what with her acting and conniving and handkerchief biting. I only wish d'Artagnan would realize that she's an antagonist at all!
(In other news, I thought "handkerchief" was spelled "hankerchief" up until today!! Wow!!)
Post a Comment
Comment here...