The Vicomte de Bragelonne · Chapter
Wherein May Be Seen That a Bargain Which Cannot Be Made with One Person, Can Be Carried Out with Another explained
Madame de Chevreuse visits Colbert at his residence to sell compromising letters from Cardinal Mazarin that incriminate Fouquet.
What happens
Madame de Chevreuse visits Colbert at his residence to sell compromising letters from Cardinal Mazarin that incriminate Fouquet. After bargaining, she sells the letters for a hundred thousand crowns and arranges to be admitted to the queen disguised as a Béguine.
Themes in this chapter
Court Intrigue and Deception
Madame de Chevreuse and Colbert engage in a secret bargain involving incriminating letters and a disguised audience with the queen.
Greed and Corruption
Colbert pays a large sum for letters that could ruin Fouquet, demonstrating the corrupt use of financial and political power.
Power and Ambition
Colbert's ambition to become superintendent drives him to purchase the letters and orchestrate Fouquet's downfall.
Characters to notice
- Madame de Chevreuse
Sells Mazarin's letters to Colbert and negotiates a secret audience with the queen.
- Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Purchases the incriminating letters and arranges for Chevreuse's disguised entry to the queen.
- Nicolas Fouquet
Target of the conspiracy; the letters implicate him in embezzlement.
- Jules Mazarin
Deceased cardinal whose letters are used as evidence against Fouquet.
- Anne of Austria
The queen whom Chevreuse seeks to visit under disguise.
Key passages
“I mean, Monsieur, that holding this opportunity in my own hands, I will not allow it to be transferred to yours except for a sum of five hundred thousand francs.”
Madame de Chevreuse insists that the incriminating letters will only be sold for half a million francs.
Chevreuse sets a high price for the letters, initiating the bargaining.
“Here, Madame, then, is your letter of introduction.”
Colbert gives Chevreuse a letter to gain entry to the queen under the guise of a Béguine.
Colbert arranges Chevreuse's disguised audience with the queen to avoid being implicated.