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Chapter 23
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
At 9 p.m., d’Artagnan and Planchet head to the bungalow where d’Artagnan expects to meet Madame Bonacieux. Although he is excited, d’Artagnan is still cautious and he arms himself with two pistols and a sword. During their ride, Planchet repeatedly expresses his nervousness at their current situation. Eventually, they come to a spot where d’Artagnan thinks it is safe to leave Planchet behind. He tells his servant to find an inn where he can eat, drink, and stay warm. Planchet does as he is told, and the two men plan to meet again at 6 a.m. the following day.
Although he is excited, d’Artagnan still exercises some caution. He has not completely lost his wits. Nonetheless, his actions are dangerous. He goes to meet Madame Bonacieux on his own after leaving Planchet behind. If he is accosted by the cardinal’s men, he will have no one to back him up. Acting without his friends’ backup is a risky step for a musketeer.
Themes
D’Artagnan continues on to the pavilion where he expects to meet Madame Bonacieux. However, she does not show up. After an hour, d’Artagnan is convinced that something is wrong. He sees that there is a window that is lit up nearby and decides to climb a tree and look into it. The room is trashed and it looks like a violent struggle took place. He climbs into the room and finds a torn glove that belonged to a woman.
Unsurprisingly, d’Artagnan’s meeting does not go as he hoped. Although it seems like Madame Bonacieux may have come to their meeting place at some point, she is not there any longer. It seems d’Artagnan’s dreams of romance must once again be delayed.
Themes
D’Artagnan scouts out the area around the building with the lit window. He eventually finds a ferryman who tells him that he transported Madame Bonacieux at 7 p.m. Now, d’Artagnan knows for sure that something is wrong. He heads to a nearby cottage and asks the old man who lives there about what happened. At first, the old man is hesitant to say anything. However, eventually he reveals to d’Artagnan that the woman he is looking for was kidnapped by a group of men. This upsets d’Artagnan so the old man tries to cheer him up by assuring him that the woman was still alive when the men left.
Just as d’Artagnan feared, Madame Bonacieux was kidnapped again, presumably by the cardinal’s men. Although Madame Bonacieux is still alive, d’Artagnan has no way of getting her and he worries for her safety.
Themes
D’Artagnan asks what the men who kidnapped Madame Bonacieux looked like. The old man describes their leader, who d’Artagnan immediately recognizes as his man from Meung (Rochefort). Additionally, another one of the men has an appearance that closely matches Monsieur Bonacieux’s, although d’Artagnan has yet to figure that out. It is now midnight so d’Artagnan tries to find Planchet but has no luck. Instead, he goes to an inn and sleeps until morning. At 6 a.m. the next morning, he quickly locates Planchet.
Indeed, it looks as though the cardinal was involved in Madame Bonacieux’s kidnapping, although it is unclear how he knew where she was going to be. Most likely, Monsieur Bonacieux ratted out his wife to the cardinal and then helped the cardinal’s men capture her. Although Monsieur Bonacieux was never a likeable character, this is a new low even for him.
Themes
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