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Motifs
Definition of Parody
A parody is a work that mimics the style of another work, artist, or genre in an exaggerated way, usually for comic effect. Parodies can take many forms, including fiction... read full definition
A parody is a work that mimics the style of another work, artist, or genre in an exaggerated way, usually for comic effect. Parodies can... read full definition
A parody is a work that mimics the style of another work, artist, or genre in an exaggerated way, usually... read full definition
Chapter 27
Explanation and Analysis—Devastation and Death:
In Chapter 27, d'Artagnan returns to the inn where he last saw Athos. When he finally gets Athos and Grimaud to come out of the basement where they have barricaded themselves this whole time, Dumas uses a simile and some lighthearted parody to describe the damage they have done:
The image of devastation and death, as an ancient poet said, reigned there as on a battlefield.
Athos and Grimaud have drunk a huge amount of wine from the cellar. They have smashed empty wine barrels and piled them up with planks, beams, and firewood to make a great barricade in front of the door. They have eaten hams and sausages the innkeeper has preserved in the cellar, and they have left a mess of olive oil, wine, ham bones, and broken bottles all over the floor. Dumas compares the scene to "the image of devastation and death" that some "ancient poet" used to describe a battlefield. The ancient poet in question is likely Homer, the attributed author of the epic poem The Iliad, which tells the story of the Trojan War. The comparison emphasizes the extreme damage Athos and Grimaud have wrought on the innkeeper's property. At the same time, no lives have been lost. To describe a mess of food and drink in the same way as a bloody battlefield is to make light of that very "image of devastation and death."
While Dumas is joking about the Iliad and epic poetry like it, the parody in this instance serves mainly to inject humor into the scene within the novel. The innkeeper sees a bloody battlefield because Athos and Grimaud have surely cost him a massive amount of profit by destroying the stores in his basement. D'Artagnan, on the other hand, sees a funny scene of comeuppance for the innkeeper's betrayal when he and Athos passed through the inn chapters earlier. Athos and Grimaud may have been stuck in a cellar, but it looks as though they thoroughly enjoyed themselves and got revenge on the innkeeper. The "blood" running across the floor is only wine, and the innkeeper's horror only makes the revenge all the more satisfying.
