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 asks the musketeers what he should do with his money. Athos suggests that they spend some of it on a good meal, and d’Artagnan agrees. Someone also recommends that d’Artagnan use his money to buy a servant. D’Artagnan, through Porthos, hires a man named Planchet to be his servant. Planchet assumes that d’Artagnan is quite wealthy and is happy to take the position. All three of d’Artagnan’s friends also have servants. Athos’s servant is named Grimaud, and like Athos he is a quiet man. Porthos’s servant is called Mousqueton and he, too, is similar to his master. Although he is not as loud as Porthos, he dresses elaborately and is not afraid to stick up for himself. Meanwhile, Aramis’s servant is named Bazin. Bazin is a churchman who dresses all in black and is incredibly loyal to his master.
The strict social hierarchy of 17th-century Paris is on display throughout the novel, with the musketeers’ servants sitting on the bottom. All of the servants share characteristics with their respective masters. In some cases, this is by design (as with Bazin) and in others it is due to forced assimilation (as with Mousqueton). For the most part, the servants hang out in the background of the novel, but they are occasionally called upon to play an important role. This is especially true of Planchet, who becomes the most vocal of the servants.
Themes
Both Athos and Porthos live in rather elaborate apartments, while Aramis lives in a relatively modest space on the ground-floor. D’Artagnan knows that his friends are all aristocrats and that Athos, Porthos, and Aramis aren’t their real names. In particular, he is sure that Athos is a great nobleman. He tries to ask each of the musketeers about the other members of the group to learn more about their respective backgrounds. Porthos tells him that Athos “had suffered great afflictions in his love affairs and that a monstrous betrayal had poisoned his life forever.” However, he doesn’t know any details. Meanwhile, Porthos himself isn’t too hard to read. Everything he tries to hide is quite obvious to his friends. In sharp contrast, Aramis is a complete mystery to everyone.
For the most part, people who become musketeers are born into high class families, which means d’Artagnan’s path is an unusual one. Although all three musketeers keep their identities secret, only Athos’s true identity is important to the plot of the novel. The “monstrous betrayal” that Porthos mentions is the dramatic lynchpin for the second half of the novel. It also provides this otherwise straightforward swashbuckling adventure novel with a gothic flair.
Themes
Wanting to learn more about Aramis, d’Artagnan asks him about himself. Aramis refuses to give up any information and so d’Artagnan brings up the handkerchief incident. Aramis insists that the handkerchief belonged to a friend of his and not his mistress. He then reiterates that he hopes to become a man of the church one day and therefore has no mistress. Realizing he isn’t going to get anything more out of his friend, d’Artagnan leave him alone.
D’Artagnan knows that Aramis is not telling him the full truth. Aramis is better at hiding his personal matters from the other musketeers, although d’Artagnan will eventually discover the significance of the handkerchief.
Themes
In the following days, d’Artagnan and his three new friends enjoy spending time together. Porthos and Athos also spend time gambling. Athos always loses but doesn’t seem to mind. Meanwhile, Porthos’s mood is entirely dependent on whether he wins or loses. Aramis doesn’t gamble at all and is not very social. Often, in the middle of dinner, he will suddenly get up and leave, insisting that he has an appointment with a theologian.
Gambling is a recurring activity in the story. Because of its nature, gambling will both help and harm the musketeers as the novel continues. Additionally, this passage includes some odd behavior from Aramis. His abrupt departures from dinner suggests that he is lying about who he is going to meet.
Themes
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In the meantime, Planchet enjoys being d’Artagnan’s servant; that is, he does until d’Artagnan’s money starts to run out. When there is no money involved, Planchet starts to act disrespectfully toward d’Artagnan, and it is clear he is not happy. The other musketeers tell d’Artagnan that he needs to set Planchet straight if he wants to keep him in the long run. D’Artagnan thinks about it and then decides to give his servant “a thrashing” to keep him in line. This stops Planchet from complaining. Shortly after this incident, d’Artagnan is put into Monsieur des Essart’s company of guards because of the influence of M. de Tréville. This is d’Artagnan’s first real step toward becoming a musketeer. Whenever they can, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis spend their time with d'Artagnan while he is on guard duty, making Monsieur des Essart feel as though he gained four guards for the price of one.
There are a few sequences in the novel where the musketeers are cruel but effective and Planchet’s “thrashing” is the first example. Although Planchet was likely born into a similar social class as d’Artagnan, d’Artagnan already feels superior to him. Evidently, the trashing is not off-putting to the musketeers, but it is the first moment in the novel where one of the four friends behaves in a manner that is far from heroic or noble. Although it is never in doubt that the musketeers and d'Artagnan are the heroes of the story, they occasionally display reprehensible behavior.
Themes
