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
As soon as he can, d’Artagnan meets up with his friends who notified him that they had something important to talk to him about. Athos suggests that the four of them head to the Parpaillot inn to have their discussion because their current lodgings have thin walls and he’s worried someone will overhear them. The four friends make their way to the inn, only to find it swarmed with soldiers. Hoping it will calm down later, Athos asks d’Artagnan to tell them about his night first. d’Artagnan begins talking about how he and some other men managed to take the Saint-Gervais bastion.
The world of The Three Musketeers is full of places where one’s secrets can be overheard, so the musketeers struggle to find a good place to talk. Even the inn does not prove useful and so they are forced to talk about d’Artagnan’s heroics in battle rather than the business at hand.
Themes
This conversation attracts the attention of other soldiers nearby who come over to hear the story. Realizing that they will never have time alone at this rate, Athos proposes a bet to the men who join in on the conversation. He bets the men that he and his companions will be able to have breakfast at the Saint-Gervais bastion without being killed by English soldiers (who are likely planning to take the spot back). The other men agree to the bet. When he is out of earshot of the other soldiers, Athos explains to his companions that he made the bet so they could have time to be alone and talk about their current situation.
Because the Saint-Gervais bastion was just taken by the French, Athos knows that no one will there. As such the musketeers and d’Artagnan will be able to have a conversation out of earshot from anyone who is a potential spy for the cardinal. Additionally, it is an opportunity for the musketeers and d’Artagnan to fight side by side for the first time during a war, should it come to that.
Themes
At first, everyone else is taken aback by Athos’s plan. They think that it is dangerous and that they will likely be attacked by enemy soldiers. Their concern doesn’t bother Athos. He thinks, if anything, they will be able to kill two birds with one stone; not only can they have their meeting, but they can also gain honor in battle in the process. He also points out that there are plenty of weapons and resources scattered around Saint-Gervais from the night before because no one has yet looted the battlefield. Eventually, everyone agrees to Athos’s plan, and they all make their way to the Saint-Gervais bastion.
Athos’s plan is somewhat absurd, but it sets up one of the most entertaining and famous sequences in the entire novel. Additionally, Athos knows that d'Artagnan has yet to prove himself in battle in a manner that would stand out to high-ranking officials. If a battle does take place at Saint-Gervais, Athos knows that it could be d’Artagnan’s chance to elevate himself to the rank of musketeer.
Themes
