The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion
This topic is about
Twenty Years After
Musketeers Project
>
Twenty Years After - Week 1
date
newest »
newest »
It is interesting how Dumas links this novel to the events of the previous one with mentioning the characters and events and even reintroducing the characters. I was quite surprised for Planchet to show up this way exactly when D’Artagnan was wondering about the whereabouts of his former friends. I was also a little astonished that D’Artagnan seemed to have been defined so much by his friends and that by the loss of them he got a little “lost”, too. In The 3 Musketeers I always thought that he was the more driving personality compared to his companions despite being the youngest. I also think that he is not so very kind to the other sex as you, Robin, already mentioned. He seems to have some commitment issues, but at the same time expects it from the other. I was rather annoyed with his quick changing flirtations in The three Musketeers and was reminded of Madame Bonacieux. It seems to be a little pattern to start a relationship with the landladies while dreaming of an heiress and setting up an estate.
Louis XIV is currently 10 years old, his mother 46. I think he sees in Mazarin a competitor for the attentions of his mother. Furthermore, he is being raised to be king, and being “bossed” around by a person, who theoretically is a subordinate to him, does not suit him.
I read The Secret Garden a few weeks ago, in which the spoilt child Colin bossed around everyone as he thought himself the master of the house. His cousin compared him directly with a raja or Pascha. - just a short analogy.
Overall, I think I am getting a better start to this novel than to the Three Musketeers, but this might be the translation. In my Oxford World’s Classics edition I am having a lot of annotations, especially regarding the historical background, ut also the links to the previous novel, which I had read just before the group started it.
In my opinion Mazarin is (ab)using D’Artagnan and we do not yet know what for.He misleads him with regards to the money and does not fulfill the wish of the queen to forward the diamond ring back into D’Artagnan’s possession.
In my translation he is called “phantom” of Richelieu and he might have the ambition to excel him.
In my memory, Comte de Rochefort was not so principled as he seems to be here. He does not want to escape while D’Artagnan, whom he considers a friend, is in charge of him, and he does not want to become the head of the prison where his friend Beaufort is kept.
Mod
I think many of us can identify with d'Artagnan in the "Groundhog Day" experience of his current life, that is every day is pretty much the same. I started out very excited about teaching and got somewhat burned out and bored with it over time.
I do know that feeling myself 😉, being now of the age of Queen Anne in chapter IV, but D’Artagnan seemed so motivated and goal-oriented that I assumed he would have done more instead of settling. It might be nice to see that even such a “hero” and “warrior” can get into such a state of mind - this happens to everyone at some point. I hope the possible reunion with his old friends will make him more vivid again with some adventures on the way. 😊
D’Aragnan’ life hasn’t turned out exactly the way he imagined it. He was so bold and driven when he first arrived in Paris and he immediately made an impression - he quickly got a king’s guard position, joined the musketeers in about a year and got to be a lieutenant at 20. After that stellar success he must have thought he could do anything he set his mind to. But 20 years after he is right where he was at 20.
I guess that is a midlife crisis. I do feel bad for him and I can relate to a certain extent.
His relationship with Madlen is very similar to the one he had with Kitty - he has the upper hand because he is not in love. I think he has put Constance on a pedestal as ‘the one that got away’ and has chosen to stay away from such strong feelings and stick to more practical arrangements.
I agree it’s a little arrogant to chase away the Swiss willing to marry Madlen, since he refuses to marry her himself. But that’s D’Artagnan - his pride is hurt and he reacts as he did when he was 18.
I actually like Rochefort in this book. He wasn’t as bad as Milady in the first book - he simply followed orders, while she instigated evil 😈 deeds.
Mazarin is definitely portrayed a shadow of the man Richelieu was. I hate how he keeps the ring from D’Artagnan - but that shows his true colors. It’s clear that no one likes or respects him.
It is true that D'Artagnan is where he was twenty years before, but he has dreams, he wants to buy the lands around his father's castle and marry and live there... even if perhaps these are a younger man's dreams.I do not like Mazarino, as I did not like Richelieu, and I cannot understand the Queen's involvement with him.
We already said a lot about men's behaviour towards women in these books. Here is another example, D'Artagnan sends away the Swiss man for pride and vendetta, not for love, and he leaves the woman without man and tenant.
Mod
I'm getting a late start on this book, but hopefully I can catch up with everyone soon. Like others, I find it a little strange that D'Artagnan hasn't progressed in his career as would be expected for someone who seemed so ambitious when we first met him. It's hard not to wonder if the loss of his first "love" contributed to this stagnation.
As always with Dumas, I must remember to not get hung up on the chronology or accuracy of the history since he uses them only as a rough framework for his tale. I also must remember that "willing suspension of disbelief" will be required repeatedly since coincidences and luck will be used to drive the plot.
I know I read this once before, but I don't remember it at all. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Mod
Like others, I find it a little strange that D'Artagnan hasn't progressed in his career as would be expecte..."
Great to have you, Anne, feel free to post in any threads as you come to them.
I have added some info to the Background section. After starting the book in English in a non-name Gutenberg translation, I found it so clunky that I gave in and bought the 2 Ellsworth volumes as ebooks. So I'll be referring to the Ellsworth for the English translation.
Here are some questions and comments:
We start with a diminished Cardinal, a "shadow" of the great Richelieu. Although he was the enemy in The Three Musketeers, there was always a respect for his intelligence and nobility. How is Mazarin hurt by the comparison?
We get a quick summary of the historical events just before this time. I think Dumas generally does a good job of filling in enough info to make the story clear without spending pages on background. Your edition may have notes explaining more about the various factions and personalities. It seems that Dumas has stuck to historical facts as much as he ever does.
We will see a number of reunions in this book, with the first one being quite unexpected. When Rochefort explains about his arrest, he describes getting up on the statue of Henri IV. That statue is still there, right near Notre Dame, and it has been used in numerous movies.
We are back in the world of a gentleman's word. Rochefort knows he could probably escape by calling out to the people in the streets, but he won't forsake his tie to d'Artagnan. D'Artagnan, who always seemed to have a flexible sense of morality, wonders if Rochefort is now the better man.
What do you think of the conversation between Rochefort and Mazarin? Rochefort is not particularly deferential. He refuses to justify himself or beg for help, he makes some pointed comments and then he turns down the position offered to him.
We briefly meet the child Louis XIV, who is shown as perceptive. He doesn't like Mazarin and he says, "I know better than to tell on those who answer my questions. If I tell, they'll stop answering and I won't learn anything." We have already heard that Mazarin is either the lover or the secret husband of Queen Anne. Again, Dumas' sympathies are against Mazarin and we are supposed to deplore the fact that Anne stooped so low.
We hear again about Buckingham, who never did get to totally win the Queen, his death, and d'Artagnan's reward of the ring, which has come back around to the Queen. What is the relationship between D'Artagnan and Mazarin at this point?
In the last part of this section, we learn about d'Artagnan's life. Were you surprised at the smallness of his current circumstances? Socially, he isn't accepted in high society, but as an officer, he can't easily befriend his men. He never had connections in Paris. So he seems lonely and bored and frustrated at his lack of advancement or fortune. Ellsworth describes it as a midlife crisis. So we have a reduced Cardinal, a reduced d'Artagnan and many absent friends.
When I first read this as a young and romantic person, I was quite miffed at d'Artagnan for having gone from a high-flown love of Constance Bonacieux to cohabiting with a tavern hostess. Reading it now I am more annoyed at his condescension in accepting her company and hospitality while she is married and using her husband's escape as an excuse not to marry her himself. He also treats her badly when he returns, since she wasn't really obligated to him. The Swiss is probably intended as a comic character, since Dumas gives him an accent. It was common for the French to portray the Swiss as large and stupid.
We learn a bit about where our hero has been in the last years by his memories of where his friends' few letters reached him. But he has no addresses for any of them Then, another old friend shows up to give him a lead. Were you surprised by this reunion?