The Three Musketeers Essay Questions

Compare and contrast the characters of Constance Bonacieux and Milady de Winter.

Constance is young, fairly innocent, and employed in the Queen's household. She overhears a great deal of plotting and is loyal to the Queen. But she is not wise in the ways of politics or intrigue, nor does she have any kind of personal weapons or manipulative skill that can get her out of trouble. For this reason, she is unable to escape her first capture and imprisonment.

Constance is loyal and willing to take risks. Although she and D'Artagnan are attracted to each other, the fascination is mostly on D'Artagnan's side and she has not done anything adulterous even though she and her husband appear to be mismatched.

Milady is older, smarter, and far more beautiful than Constance. She is well traveled and sophisticated, presenting herself as an Englishwoman. In the distant past, she was a con artist who stole from a church and left a young man who was in love with her to take the blame. She later married Athos, who discovered her past and was enraged by it. Athos thought he had succeeded in killing Milady, however she survived the hanging attempt and went on to marry (and, it is suggested, murder) the Englishman de Winter. She is an amoral person with loyalty to nobody but herself. Although she helps the Cardinal when their mutual interests align, she has no particular loyalty to any of the men she takes as lovers.

The fates of the two women imply that good does not always triumph over evil. Milady is eventually punished for all of her crimes, but despite her virtue and innocence, Constance still dies. In a cold and calculating world, Constance lacks the shrewdness to protect herself and survive.

Each of the musketeers has a servant, as does D'Artagnan. How do those servants adapt to the various habits of their masters? What is the role of servants in this novel?

Athos' servant Grimaud is quiet, taciturn, and accustomed to responding to hand signals. At times Athos appears to suffer from depression and does not wish to speak or be spoken to, which is what leads him to find a way to communicate non-verbally. When his dark past relationship with Milady is finally made clear, this information also helps to explain why he prevents himself from becoming close to anyone else.

Porthos' servant Mousqueton, like Porthos himself, has ambitions of grandeur. He eats well and is even more of a comic character than Porthos: during the various escapades in the novel, he is shot and wounded in the buttocks not once but twice.

Aramis' servant Bazin is a religious, intelligent man who constantly attempts to lure Aramis away from the Musketeer lifestyle and back to the Church.

D'Artagnan's servant Planchet is clever, proactive, and willing to take risks. He willingly lies to people who come looking for D'Artagnan, sensing that his master would not appreciate being found.

The four friends use their servants to carry messages and letters, and at times the men help them hide, fight, or escape. The servants willingly eat leftover food, sleep on the floor or in other less than ideal lodgings, and subsist on irregular pay or at times no pay at all. They do this because they not only meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter, but also believe they can obtain advancement in other areas of life through service to men whose careers are rising. The loyalty of the servants to their masters mirrors the loyalty of the musketeers to one another and to the French crown.

Why is the relationship between Queen Anne and Buckingham so upsetting to the Cardinal?

In the earlier portion of the novel, Cardinal Richelieu is obsessed with revealing the affair between Queen Anne and Buckingham and shaming her. He is embittered about the affair for a number of reasons.

First, at one point prior to the beginning of the novel, the Cardinal himself had desired the Queen, and she had rejected him. Queen Anne is described as a beautiful woman, and given the Cardinal's taste for power, the idea of seducing the Queen would likely be very appealing. It would be another way in which he could usurp some of the King's power and status for himself.

In addition to the Cardinal's jealous desire for revenge, Buckingham is a particularly threatening individual because he is English. He does not have the same loyalties to the crown which a French aristocrat might be expected to have. And, as later comes to pass when Buckingham blockades ports in an attempt to protect the Queen's reputation, the relationship between stands to have serious political consequences. The Cardinal knows that his hold on power could potentially be threatened by this relationship.

Is the execution of Milady de Winter justifiable?

At the end of the novel, D'Artagnan, Lord de Winter, Athos, and the executioner of Lille all accuse Milady of the various crimes she has committed. Porthos and Aramis act as the judges and pronounce her guilty, and then the executioner beheads her. Her death is carefully staged as a trial and execution, not simply a vengeful act of violence. This is important because while the musketeers live violent lives, their acts of violence are always governed by strict codes of honor. In situations such as duels and warfare, there are strict rules governing conduct and preventing total chaos. While the offense might sometimes seem exaggerated, it is important for a character to have a legitimate cause to justify fighting and potentially killing someone. In the case of Milady, her status as a woman makes the situation complicated because they cannot challenge her to fight the way they would if she were a man. The "trial" and execution creates a structure, and implies that the men are acting rationally, and not simply responding to a vengeful passion.

Additionally, because of the letter of pardon they have from the Cardinal, they can act without fear of legal consequences.

While all of these aspects lend some legitimacy to the way in which Milady is killed, none of the men actually have the legal authority to put her on trial and pass a death sentence. The killing is still rooted in a desire for revenge and moral retribution.

Why is the ending of the novel bittersweet?

At the end of the novel, D'Artagnan offers to take responsibility for all of his actions, and accept whatever punishment the Cardinal holds out. Instead, the Cardinal admits that D'Artagnan has won his respect, and offers him a coveted position as a lieutenant in the Musketeers. After spending the whole novel trying to prove himself worthy to be a Musketeer, it seems like D'Artagnan now has everything he has ever wanted. However, despite his success, D'Artagnan faces a somewhat lonely future. He has lost Constance, and there is no other potential love interest on the horizon for him. Moreover, it seems like he might be losing the support and companionship of his beloved friends. The other musketeers are growing older and tired of the difficult life they have led. While being a musketeer can be glorious, the novel also suggests that it is not a stage of life which can last forever. The novel ends with D'Artagnan weeping about the loss of his friends, which is a surprising and bittersweet conclusion to a tale of heroism and adventure.