The Vicomte de Bragelonne · Chapter
The Friends of M. Fouquet explained
D'Artagnan returns to Paris after investigating Belle-Isle, learning of Porthos's death and Aramis's escape.
What happens
D'Artagnan returns to Paris after investigating Belle-Isle, learning of Porthos's death and Aramis's escape. He reports to King Louis XIV, who reveals he already knows the details. The king shows clemency by allowing Aramis to remain free. D'Artagnan then presents Fouquet's friends—Pélisson, Gourville, and La Fontaine—who plead for Madame Fouquet's financial support. The king, moved by their tears, grants permission for them to raise money for her.
Themes in this chapter
Friendship and Betrayal
D'Artagnan's loyalty to his friends Porthos and Aramis contrasts with the king's political betrayal of Fouquet.
Power and Ambition
Louis XIV demonstrates his absolute power by showing clemency, while Fouquet's fall illustrates the cost of ambition.
Greed and Corruption
Fouquet's corruption is implied, but the king's mercy highlights the tension between justice and compassion.
Characters to notice
- D'Artagnan
Returns to Paris, reports to the king about Belle-Isle, and presents Fouquet's friends to Louis XIV.
- Louis XIV
Receives d'Artagnan, shows clemency toward Aramis, and grants permission for Fouquet's friends to aid Madame Fouquet.
- Porthos
Reported dead, buried under the rocks of Locmaria at Belle-Isle.
- Aramis
Escaped to Bayonne via a royal vessel; the king allows him to remain free.
- Nicolas Fouquet
Imprisoned; his friends plead for his wife's financial support.
- Pélisson
Leads the delegation of Fouquet's friends, pleading for Madame Fouquet.
- Gourville
Part of the delegation, weeps before the king.
- Jean de La Fontaine
Part of the delegation, weeps and kneels before the king.
Key passages
“The king had returned to Paris, and with him d'Artagnan, who, in twenty-four hours, having made with greatest care all possible inquiries at Belle-Isle, succeeded in learning nothing of the secret so well kept by the heavy rock of Locmaria, which had fallen on the heroic Porthos.”
D'Artagnan returned to Paris with the king after investigating Belle-Isle but could not uncover the secret of the rock that killed Porthos.
D'Artagnan's investigation yields no information about Porthos's death.
“I knew that M. du Vallon had buried himself beneath the rocks of Locmaria; I knew that M. d'Herblay had taken one of my vessels with its crew, and had compelled it to convey him to Bayonne.”
The king reveals he already knows about Porthos's death and Aramis's escape to Bayonne.
Louis XIV demonstrates his intelligence network by knowing events before d'Artagnan reports them.
“Sire, we supplicate you, with clasped hands and bended knees, as a divinity is supplicated! Madame Fouquet has no longer any friends, no longer any means of support; she weeps in her deserted home, abandoned by all those who besieged its doors in the hour of prosperity; she has neither credit nor hope left.”
Pélisson begs the king for mercy, describing Madame Fouquet's destitution and abandonment.
The friends of Fouquet plead for financial aid for his wife.
