Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Three Musketeers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Friendship and Loyalty
Honor
Class and Power
The Secrets of the Past
Seduction and Romance
Summary
Analysis
Unsurprisingly, the king is angry to hear that the Duke of Buckingham was in Paris. The cardinal knows this and intentionally tells the king this information to make him angry. He then lies and tells the king that the duke was likely only in town because of politics and not because of the queen. He assures the king that the queen would never be unfaithful to him, knowing that his saying so will only enrage the king further.
Although he acts like he is the king’s friend, the cardinal purposely manipulates the king’s emotions to get what he wants. The king is aware that the cardinal has motivations of his own, but he is angered by his wife’s infidelity, nonetheless.
Themes
The king responds by saying that he is sure that the queen is having an affair. At this point, the cardinal begins to drop the façade; he tells the king that the queen has been writing a lot lately and implies that her letters could be going to a lover. This is exactly what the king expected to hear, and it sends him into a rage. He demands to know why someone didn’t arrest the duke while he was in Paris. The cardinal reminds him that doing so would be political suicide; after all, the duke is the leader of England.
Although the king is correct, he acts like a petulant child, which makes him hard to sympathize with. Meanwhile, the cardinal continues to play him like a fiddle; each of the cardinal’s statements provokes the exact reaction he was hoping for.
Themes
The king once again asks the cardinal if he thinks the duke met up with the queen. The cardinal says that he thinks the queen would never do such a thing, all while knowing perfectly well that she did. Still not satisfied, the king demands to see the queen’s letters. The cardinal tells him that he should send Monsieur de Sequier to fetch them on the king’s behalf. The king does as the cardinal suggests.
The cardinal is not above directly lying, even to the king, if it allows him to get his way. Meanwhile, the king appears to have no problem with violating the queen’s privacy. Even though the king’s anger is understandable, it is difficult to see him as a sympathetic character because he acts so childishly.
Themes
Meanwhile, the queen is in her room, surrounded by her ladies in waiting. She is thinking about her terrible marriage and her lack of allies and friends. Before long, the king walks in and tells her that Monsieur de Sequier will be in to see her soon and that he will be acting under his orders. This confuses the queen, who wants to know why the king can’t just carry out the request by himself. The king doesn’t answer her and instead leaves the room, just as Monsieur de Sequier walks in.
The queen feels entirely isolated; the king sent her best friend away and she’s just severed herself from her lover for the good of their respective kingdoms. In addition, the king treats her callously and cannot even own up to his actions. He sends Monsieur de Sequier to obtain the letters in his stead.
Themes
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Monsieur de Sequier, who primarily works for the cardinal, tells the queen that he wants to see her letters. She is offended by the request, but eventually tells one of her ladies in waiting to open up her desk so Monsieur de Sequier can examine it. He does but does not find anything incriminating. Annoyed, he tells the queen that he’ll need to frisk her to make sure she doesn’t have a letter on her person. This suggestion is revolting to the queen, who insists that she won’t comply. Monsieur de Sequier does not like the situation himself but insists that he must carry out the orders of the king.
Even though she is the queen, Anne has no power over Monsieur de Sequier because he is acting in accordance with the king’s orders. Although Monsieur de Sequier is uncomfortable with his orders, he carries them out effectively; like the king, he knows the queen is hiding something and is right to assume that she’s kept a letter on her person.
Themes
Eventually, the queen gives in and hands over the letter that she does, in fact, have on her person. This satisfies Monsieur de Sequier who promptly delivers the letter to the king. The letter is addressed to the queen’s brother, the leader of Austria, and it asks him to declare war on France and get rid of the cardinal. However, because it does not mention anything about the duke, the letter makes the king happy. He tells the cardinal that he believes his wife is still faithful to him.
After an upsetting scene in the queen’s chambers, the moment when the king reads the letter provides a nice bit of comic relief. Although the queen is plotting against some of France’s political goals, the king doesn’t care because he doesn’t think she is having an affair. This is a humorous moment, and it also reveals that the king, like the Duke of Buckingham, cares more about his personal life than he does his kingdom.
Themes
The king also tells the cardinal that the letter contains some disparaging comments about him. The king says he will punish the queen for the cardinal, but the cardinal responds by telling him to let it go. Instead, the cardinal suggests that the king should throw a ball on the queen’s behalf to win back her favor after the incident with the letter. He also suggests that the king tell the queen to wear her diamond tags.
Of course, the cardinal is not actually interested in the reparation of the royal marriage. In fact, if anything, he is trying to make their marriage fall apart. He knows the queen doesn’t have her diamond tags and therefore will not be able to wear them to the ball.
Themes
