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
D’Artagnan arrives home at 3 a.m. on the night of the ball. When he goes to his room, Planchet gives him a letter that mysteriously showed up when Planchet was in the other room. He does not know how the letter arrived because the door was locked, and the window was shut. Planchet is suspicious of the letter and believes it contains evil tidings. However, d’Artagnan completely ignores his servant and opens the letter as quickly as he can. Inside is a note asking him to go to a bungalow at 10 p.m. the next day. D’Artagnan is excited by the note, but Planchet is still nervous.
It is never revealed how Madame Bonacieux managed to get the letter into d’Artagnan’s room. However, she likely slid it in through the hole in d’Artagnan’s floor. Although Planchet is incorrect about the contents of the letter, his superstitions are not entirely without merit, as will be seen as the chapter progresses.
Themes
The next morning, d’Artagnan tells Planchet to ready two horses for when he returns in the evening. This makes Planchet even more nervous because he assumes d’Artagnan has another dangerous mission in mind. On his way out the door, d’Artagnan runs into Monsieur Bonacieux who immediately starts telling d’Artagnan about his time in jail. Additionally, D’Artagnan tells Monsieur Bonacieux that he will likely be out late so he should not worry if he comes back late or even not at all. When Monsieur Bonacieux receives this information, he looks shocked. However, he does not say why. Instead, he tells d’Artagnan that Madame Bonacieux is spending her night at the Louvre.
For the moment, d’Artagnan appears to have completely forgotten about his friends. Instead, all of his attention is aimed toward Madame Bonacieux. Additionally, d’Artagnan has let down his guard, as he doesn’t notice Monsieur Bonacieux’s look of shock. Presumably, Madame Bonacieux told her husband that she would be out all night and he’s just realized that she is going to meet d’Artagnan.
Themes
D’Artagnan is too distracted by thoughts of his planned meeting with Madame Bonacieux to even notice that something is wrong with Monsieur Bonacieux. As such, he continues on his way without thinking anything is wrong. Eventually, d’Artagnan arrives at M. de Tréville’s residence and they talk about the previous night, although d’Artagnan doesn’t go into detail. M. de Tréville is proud of d’Artagnan’s work but warns him to stay clear of the cardinal. He also warns d’Artagnan to stay away from women because they will likely betray him.
Signs of trouble continue to appear all around d’Artagnan, but he barely notices. Both M. de Tréville and Planchet offer him warnings, but they do nothing to stop his plans to meet Madame Bonacieux. This sequence of events suggests that romance is a dangerous distraction in the life of a would-be musketeer.
Themes
Additionally, M. de Tréville inquires after Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. D’Artagnan tells him that he isn’t sure what’s happened to his three friends. M. de Tréville recommends that d’Artagnan go and find them. This would get d’Artagnan out of the city and away from the cardinal. Plus, someone needs to find out what happened to the three musketeers. D’Artagnan promises M. de Tréville that he will go find his friends after his meeting in the evening.
Finally, d’Artagnan is reminded of his three friends who sacrificed themselves for the good of his mission. Although he does plan to go find them, d’Artagnan does not place the importance of this task higher than his meeting with Madame Bonacieux. At this moment in the novel, d’Artagnan is not following the musketeers’ motto. Instead, he is looking out for his own desires.
Themes
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D’Artagnan heads to the homes of his friends, hoping to find some hint of what’s happened to them. However, he ultimately learns nothing new. Eventually, he returns home to Planchet who once again warns him about the danger of their late-night meeting. Again, d’Artagnan ignores his servant and tells him to be ready by 9 p.m. Then, he goes to eat dinner with a priest because he worries that one of his enemies might come after him if he stays at home.
No matter how many warnings come d’Artagnan’s way, he still plans to meet Madame Bonacieux. At this point, enough foreshadowing has occurred in this chapter to alert the reader that their meeting will not go as smoothly as d’Artagnan hopes.
Themes
