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
After a year-long siege, La Rochelle surrenders on October 28th, 1628. When the siege ends, the king returns to Paris and D’Artagnan accepts his promotion in the musketeers. One year later, Porthos leaves the musketeers, marries Madame Coquenard, and finally gets his hand on her strongbox, which contains a great sum of money. Meanwhile, Aramis leaves the musketeers to become a monk and Bazin becomes a lay brother. Athos continues on as a musketeer until 1633, only retiring after receiving an inheritance.
The novel’s epilogue quickly moves around to all of the major players in the novel and explains their circumstances in the years following the main narrative’s conclusion. Although they remain friends, the musketeers slowly disband as each of the members move on to different stages of their life. By 1633, only d’Artagnan remains in the service of the king.
Themes
D’Artagnan and Rochefort go on to duel one another three times, though both men are always left standing at the end. Eventually, they become genuine friends and Rochefort even makes Planchet a sergeant in the guards. Meanwhile, Monsieur Bonacieux never figures out what happened to his wife, nor does he plan to. One day, he writes to the cardinal to remind him of their friendship. The next day, he is invited to the Louvre, but never returns.
Surprisingly, d’Artagnan and Rochefort are eventually able to let go of the past and become friends. Additionally, despite its somber closing chapters, the novel does end on a comical note, as Monsieur Bonacieux finally gets the punishment he deserves.
Themes
