The Vicomte de Bragelonne · Chapter
The Second Floor of La Bertaudière explained
Aramis and Baisemeaux visit the Bastille, where Aramis examines a prisoner's register and secures a debt acknowledgment.
What happens
Aramis and Baisemeaux visit the Bastille, where Aramis examines a prisoner's register and secures a debt acknowledgment. They then ascend to the third floor to see a young prisoner who desperately begs for his mother and freedom, causing Aramis distress. Finally, they visit a second prisoner on the second floor, a calm, resigned young man who has been imprisoned for seven years, knows not his name or age, and whose presence deeply unsettles Aramis.
Themes in this chapter
Court Intrigue and Deception
Aramis disguises his true purpose as an architect to gain access to the Bastille and manipulate Baisemeaux.
Fate and Tragedy
The young prisoners' fates are sealed by forces beyond their control; Seldon's tragic plea and Marchiali's resigned acceptance highlight the tragedy of unjust imprisonment.
The Nature of Kingship
The hinted resemblance of Marchiali to Louis XIV raises questions about legitimacy, identity, and the dark secrets of the monarchy.
Characters to notice
- Aramis
Visits the Bastille under the guise of an architect; examines prisoner records, secures a financial acknowledgment from Baisemeaux, and is deeply affected by the prisoners he encounters.
- Baisemeaux de Montlezun
Governor of the Bastille; shows Aramis the prisoner register, writes a debt acknowledgment, and accompanies him on the prison visit.
- Seldon
Young prisoner on the third floor; pleads desperately for his mother and freedom, having been imprisoned for writing a distich.
- Marchiali
Mysterious prisoner on the second floor; calm, resigned, and unaware of his identity or the reason for his seven-year imprisonment; his resemblance to the king is hinted at.
Key passages
“No books at any time; all linen and clothes of the finest and best quality to be procured; no exercise; always the same jailer; no communications with anyone. Musical instruments; every liberty and every indulgence which his welfare may require; to be boarded at fifteen francs.”
The prisoner is to have no books, only the finest clothes and linens, no exercise, a single jailer, no contact with others, but musical instruments and all indulgences for his comfort, at a boarding cost of fifteen francs.
Aramis reads the special instructions for the mysterious prisoner, indicating privileged treatment.
“Oh, Monsieur! keep me in solitude for a year, let me have nothing but bread and water for a year, but tell me that at the end of a year I shall leave this place, tell me that at the end of a year I shall see my mother again.”
The young prisoner begs to be allowed to leave after a year of harsh conditions, just to see his mother again.
Seldon's desperate plea highlights his suffering and longing for freedom.
“I felt that as I had committed no crime, Heaven could not punish me.”
The prisoner reasoned that since he was innocent, divine justice would not allow him to suffer.
Marchiali explains his philosophical resignation to imprisonment.