Chapter 61: The Carmelite Convert at Bethune

Summary

     As the Fearsome Four ride along the road to Bethune, we come to Milady’s story. The blessedly lucky woman managed to make it across two ports without suspicion, and even was able to send the cardinal a quick note informing him that her mission was complete and that Buckingham is dead. She also informed the cardinal that she would be hiding out in the convent of the Carmelite in Bethune. So Milady finds herself in that convent, and as per the cardinal’s orders, is given a chamber to stay in. She wants to make that the abbess that is hosting her is on her side, so she acts very charming and sweet. Soon, the two chat daily. Milady tells the abbess amusing tales of the court. However, Milady cannot tell if the abbess is a cardinalist or royalist. So, she takes a risk by claiming that she is a victim of the evil cardinal. The woman accepts this readily, and thus Milady learns that she is a royalist. Furthermore, the woman says that she has another victim of the cardinal in the convent, sent to her by someone named Kitty. Milady is taken aback, and wonders if this Kitty is her Kitty. So, Milady asks to see the young lady held in the convent.

     The next day, the abbess brings the young woman to visit. Oh no. As I’m sure you have realized, this convent is the same one that Madame Bonacieux is in, because both places are described as being in Bethune. And this young woman sounds a lot like Madame Bonacieux! The two ladies survey each other, not unkindly. They are both beautiful, but in very different ways. They begin to talk, and Milady pretends to love the queen and to know M. de Treville. This makes Madame Bonacieux forget her suspicion and lose all prudence, explaining that she too knows both. She asks Milady if she knows the Fearsome Four. Milady claims that she does, and praises them convincingly. Milady suddenly realizes that the woman is Madame Bonacieux! She exclaims her revelation out loud, and says that she is delighted to find her. Milady pretends that she is friends with d’Artagnan, knows all about Madame Bonacieux, and is very happy to see her in one piece. Calling her Constance, she embraces the hapless woman.  To my disappointment, Madame Bonacieux is very much in love with d’Artagnan, and says that he is so amazing that he is going to rescue her soon.  She also says that suffering for him is not suffering, but actually happiness. Uh, who are you and what have you done with Madame Bonacieux?!? Suddenly, hoof beats are heard outside. Milady is for once terrified – she fears that it is Athos and the Fearsome Four. To her delight, it is the Comte de Rochefort! She tells Madame Bonacieux that she must speak to this man, and to wait for her inside. She lets out a cry of joy upon seeing him.

Reaction

     This reaction will be another in which I ramble. But first, let me talk about the actual chapter. I love the idea of Milady and Madame Bonacieux meeting – they are the two best women in the novel! However, I disliked the way that Dumas played up Madame Bonacieux’s innocence and gentleness in order for her to contrast with Milady. I would love for them to NOT contrast – it would be so much more powerful. I feel as if that choice of Dumas’s made Madame Bonacieux into a weak character, pining over a man and waiting for him to heroically save her. I really disliked that, since she showed no signs of ‘loving’ him so much before her kidnapping, and was a capable, sensible, and awesome spy. What happened to that? I feel cheated. I hope the two women have a duel, though – it would redeem this chapter. Or, they should team up. I actually would not mind if Milady switched sides. To be honest, I feel like Milady was never given a chance to be ‘good.’

    After having been given all the pieces of her life story, I have a better picture of how tragic her life was. I think that previously, I kind of ‘forgave’ Athos for trying to kill her since she is currently such an awful person. However, I realize that I was being unfair. Milady did not deserve death at the time that Athos tried to kill her. Her later actions do not justify Athos’s behavior in the least. Also, how awful is she really? I went back, and put together her life story so we can figure this out: First, as a young woman, she steals some pots from a sacred place. Shame on her, right? But her punishment does not fit the crime – she is permanently branded as a criminal. Wow, talk about ruining a life! Next, her life takes a turn for the happier when she marries a handsome, noble, kind man. Yay! But wait, his love for her is so shallow that when he sees the brand, he does not wait for an explanation – he tries to KILL her in cold blood. Luckily, the poor woman escapes from that madman. She then goes into hiding, and marries an Englishman. However, this Englishman dies soon after, leaving her a helpless widow. Now she cannot marry again without creating much scandal, and she is stuck with a sarcastic, mocking brother-in-law who has all the power in the family. So, she secretly wishes that this brother-in-law would die, because then at least she would be rich! Awful, but you must give her credit for not actually trying to kill him despite Athos trying to kill her. Milady is actually being the better person here in comparison to Athos.

     During this time, she also enters the service of the cardinal, who sends her on exciting and awesome spy missions. Yes, she is working for the ‘bad side,’ but could she work on the good side with a past like hers? Everyone on the royalist side seems very judgmental towards women and Milady’s fleur-de-lis brand, so it is unlikely that she would have been accepted. In her spy missions, she indirectly causes the death of at least a few people. I would say that is wrong, and inexcusable for obvious reasons. However, the Fearsome Four also kill numerous cardinalists just because of the queen/cardinal tension. How are they any better than Milady?  Next, Milady falls in love with the Comte de Wardes. We never know how he feels about her, but she seems to adore him. Soon, love-struck d’Artagnan shows up. As I have discussed before, he treats her awfully by impersonating de Wardes, taking her ring, and sadistically breaking her heart with that letter. Milady decides to have de Wardes killed for this transgression. I thought that proved her cruelty when I read it. However, thinking about it in the context of the novel, where pride is everything and the Fearsome Four duel with and kill people who offend their pride and I do not criticize them at all (think: the duels with guards, the goat-field, etc.), I was again being unfair. Milady is using the same dubious morals that I have accepted for the Musketeers, so I accept them for her also. She uses d’Artagnan as a tool to get her revenge. Clearly, that is manipulative and wrong. But it’s true that d’Artagnan absolutely does the same to Kitty. We must also remember that she knew that d’Artagnan ruined her spy mission and is on the queen’s side, so they are already enemies. In contrast, d’Artagnan has no reason to manipulate Kitty.

     Then, d’Artagnan reveals his cruelty towards Milady. She is rightfully furious. He also sees her fleur-de-lis, putting her in great danger. Milady tries very hard to kill him after that, even hiring assassins to stalk him. Keep in mind that d’Artagnan himself admits that his behavior towards Milady “bore a strong resemblance to treachery.” Then, the stovepipe eavesdropping incident happens, and Milady and Athos confront each other. He almost kills her and takes her paper. Then, at the meeting of the Musketeers, they all want to kill her except for noble Aramis, who refuses to allow them to kill a woman. Indeed, condescending, but it’s good of him. Then, Milady is kidnapped by Lord de Winter, and sentenced to exile. Lord de Winter mocks her and threatens her during her imprisonment. He also knows about her shoulder brand and lets her know that he knows. She manipulates and lies to Felton to escape. Mr. Felton falls for her tricks, and of his own volition, decides to kill the duke. Milady is glad that the duke is dead. Here is where I really began to dislike Milady again. She genuinely seemed thrilled to hurt people. Looking at the big picture, I realize that this was her job – to make sure the duke is killed. So these assassinations are part of her job description. What a terrible job! But her job is one place where she feels safe. The cardinal himself mused that Milady is very loyal to him only because she wants to keep her secret (the fleur-de-lis) safe and the cardinal is the only person powerful enough to protect her.

     I honestly think that Milady is the most fascinating character in the novel. Mistreated at a young age, she has turned into a monster. Basically the whole point of this rant is that Milady is a complex and multi-dimensional character, and it kind of sucks to see that I never noticed – I thought she was evil the whole time, whereas she deserved far more sympathy than I gave her (I was on her side during the whole de Wardes/d’Artagnan/Kitty fiasco though). If Athos hadn’t tried to kill her, and if she hadn’t been branded, how awesome of a ‘good guy’ would she have made? The whole story is very tragic. I’m also upset because I really love her spirit and how she attacks life and how professional and intelligent and skilled she is, and it personally kind of hurts my heart to see how she is making a gradual descent into evilness. And I’m afraid that she will do worse after this chapter. I will conclude my Milady ramble with this: Dumas’s biggest accomplishment in this entire novel is the character of Milady. I really am impressed.