Chapter 67: Conclusion

Summary

     Wow, time flies like an arrow (and fruit flies like a banana! Ha…ha.). It’s over! Last chapter, my lovelies. Well, there is an epilogue, but this is the last real chapter. It starts off with a melancholy tone. The Queen can hardly believe that the duke is dead and only Laporte’s arrival and story can convince her. She is devastated when she accepts the truth. The king, on the other hand, is overjoyed. Dingbat. He is not sensitive about it at all, and doesn’t even pretend to mourn. Poor, poor Queen Anne. I wish she could divorce him, pronto. The king is sad though, when he must return back to La Rochelle under the cardinal’s orders. The Fearsome Four are also lugubrious. They troop along silently, looking down and not joking with their companions. Athos, however, looks up every once in a while with a bitter smile. Creepy. So creepy. When they get to La Rochelle, guess who’s there to welcome them? My pal Rochefort! He greets d’Artagnan by name, quite cordially. Ha! I love this guy. He’s practically the only non-servant in this novel with a sense of humor. D’Artagnan starts to attack him, upon recognizing the letter thief, but Rochefort says that d’Artagnan must report to the cardinal, because he is under arrest. The Musketeers force Rochefort to leave, but not before cruelly implying that Milady isn’t available to talk to, and actually promising to go straight to the cardinal when they reach camp. Rochefort is concerned, and also heads back to camp to find out what happened to Milady.

     D’Artagnan then keeps his word and talks to the cardinal, who is outside his quarters waiting. The cardinal says that d’Artagnan has been accused of a lengthy list of crimes, including treachery. D’Artagnan derails the conversation by casually saying the Milady is dead and was branded with a fleur-de-lis. The cardinal is apparently a huge traitor, because after thinking about the whole situation for a while, he decides that Milady’s death is a positive development. He actually promotes d’Artagnan to a lieutenant in the Musketeers. Say what? D’Artagnan and the cardinal now part as allies, and he tells d’Artagnan to go make nice with Rochefort. Rochefort and d’Artagnan exchange stiff greetings but leave immediately. I don’t blame Rochefort for being angry – he must be quite distraught over his BFF’s death. D’Artagnan then proceeds to try offering his promotion to all of his comrades, but each one refuses. Athos says that it is ‘too much for Athos, but too little for the Comte de la Fere.’ Excuse me, but he does realize that he is speaking in third person about himself as if he is two people? Porthos says that M. Coquenard died during the La Rochelle campaign, so he will marry Madame Coquenard for her money. Porthos, alas – what have you become? Aramis refuses the offer, and says that he is going to really become an abbe this time. He sounds like a little kid: “No, I mean it! This time I’m really going to run away! *Cue violent sobbing.*” D’Artagnan then has no choice but to accept the promotion himself. He feels as if this accomplishment has been bittersweet though, and cries a bit. Athos comforts him in his odd, overdramatic way.   

Reaction

     Well, I feel a bit deprived! I can see that the epilogue is quite short, and I’m not sure how it will satisfy all my questions and all the plotlines. Firstly, I cannot believe that the Musketeers have switched allegiances to the cardinal’s side! What about poor Queen Anne? She will continue to be victimized by the cardinal. Also, what about the cardinal himself? Why in the world does he not ‘dispose of’ the Musketeers? Not that I want him to, but I supposed that they would have to fight a bit harder to reach safety. The implications of the cardinal’s change of heart make me kind of uncomfortable. It’s almost as if Dumas is saying that Milady’s influence made the cardinal a ‘bad guy’ and since she is dead, he is free of evil influences. This is unfair and unpleasantly reminiscent of the sexist ‘siren’ or ‘evil temptress lady’ characters – they seem to be blaming Milady for an awful lot. The splitting up of the Musketeers also makes me kind of sad. I hope they all visit often and stay friends. I also hope that the Hungry Quadruplets of Joy are happy and also stay friends. The loss of Rochefort and Milady’s beautiful friendship also is quite depressing. However, I am happy that all the heroes and most of the people we care about are alive, healthy, and relatively happy.