Finally, d’Artagnan learns more about Athos’s background and it is shocking. Although Athos’s wife is not entirely innocent, Athos’s response is barbaric. The novel’s original readership may have been more sympathetic to Athos than the modern reader, but even from a contemporary perspective, his actions are excessive. This is a major shift in Athos’s character. Previously, although flawed, the musketeers were all likeable and generally moral people. However, Athos’s past adds layers of grey into the mix and the line between hero and villain becomes blurred.