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Chapter 33
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
Because d’Artagnan and his musketeer friends have been busy finding ways to obtain equipment, they haven’t spent as much time with one another as of late. When they finally do get together, only Porthos and d’Artagnan seem happy. Meanwhile, Aramis is concerned, and Athos appears entirely indifferent to their current circumstances. While the four friends are conversing together, Mousqueton fetches Porthos and tells him to come and look at his new equipment. Right after, Bazin enters and tells Aramis that there is a beggar at his door who claims to hail from Tours. Upon hearing this, Aramis gets excited and leaves. D’Artagnan is left alone with Aramis and tells him about his plan to rescue Madame Bonacieux.
Porthos and d’Artagnan are happy because of their relationships with Madame Coquenard and Milady, respectively. Meanwhile, Aramis’s distress indicates that he is having relationship trouble, while Athos’s indifference indicates that there is no woman in his life at all. Aramis’s reaction to the news about the beggar suggests the beggar is not who he or she claims to be.
Themes
Meanwhile, Aramis heads home to the beggar who summoned him. When he arrives, the beggar tells him to show him a handkerchief. Aramis does as he asks and is rewarded with a large sum of money and a letter from his mistress. Aramis is ecstatic. As he is jumping with joy, d’Artagnan comes in and asks him what all the fuss is about. Aramis lies and says he just received a great deal of money because one of his poems was recently published. D’Artagnan doesn’t believe his friend’s story but decides to let it go. Together, the two of them head to Athos’s place to eat.
Once again, a handkerchief is used to communicate a message—one that Athos apparently understands. Clearly, Aramis’s mistress is rich, as she’s sent him a lot of money without apparent difficulty. Despite d’Artagnan’s suspicions, Aramis refuses to tell him the truth about the origin of the money. He trusts d'Artagnan, but not enough to tell him the identity of his mistress.
Themes
On their way to Athos’s residence, d’Artagnan and Aramis run into Porthos, who has a mule and d’Artagnan’s old horse that he used to travel to Paris after leaving home for the first time. Porthos is furious because these are the animals that Madame Coquenard sent to him. Mousqueton thinks the animals might just be some form of a joke. Regardless, Porthos has them returned to Madame Coquenard’s home. He then yells at Madame Coquenard and tells her he will find a mistress who is less stingy. This hurts Madame Coquenard, who promises to talk to him about his circumstances later that night.
Predictably, Porthos’s deal with Madame Coquenard did not go as planned. As such, the end of the chapter sees Porthos and Aramis switch places—the former is now upset, while the latter is overjoyed. Porthos takes his anger out on Madame Coquenard and is particularly unkind. Of course, in his mind, this is the second time in a matter of weeks that Madame Coquenard has failed him, despite her promises to the contrary.
Themes
