Twenty Years After · Chapter
LXIV: Whitehall explained
Charles I is condemned to death.
What happens
Charles I is condemned to death. The four musketeers devise a plan to rescue him: D'Artagnan aims to eliminate the executioner, Aramis disguises himself as Bishop Juxon to enter the prison and inform the king, and Athos secures a boat for escape. Aramis successfully meets Charles, reassures him of the rescue attempt, and warns him to be alert. Meanwhile, the scaffold is being built outside the window. The chapter ends with the friends regrouping at the hotel.
Themes in this chapter
Friendship and Loyalty
The four musketeers risk their lives to rescue King Charles I, demonstrating unwavering loyalty and camaraderie.
Revenge and Justice
The political condemnation of Charles I is portrayed as a formalistic act of revolutionary justice, with the musketeers seeking to subvert it.
Revolution and Rebellion
The chapter depicts the aftermath of the English Civil War and the revolutionary forces that condemned the king.
Characters to notice
- D'Artagnan
Swears to prevent the execution by making the executioner disappear.
- Aramis
Disguises as Bishop Juxon to enter Whitehall and inform the king of the rescue plan.
- Athos
Arranges a cedar wherry at Greenwich for escape.
- Porthos
Guards Aramis during his mission.
- Charles Stuart
Condemned king, awaiting execution; receives Aramis disguised as Juxon and learns of the rescue plan.
- Parry
Faithful servant weeping for the king; present during Aramis's visit.
- Mordaunt
Apprises Bishop Juxon of the king's request for confession and Cromwell's permission.
- Bishop Juxon
The real bishop; Aramis impersonates him to visit the king.
Key passages
“The parliament condemned Charles to death, as might have been foreseen. Political judgments are generally vain formalities, for the same passions which give rise to the accusation ordain to the condemnation. Such is the atrocious logic of revolutions.”
As expected, Parliament sentenced Charles to death. Political verdicts are often empty rituals, driven by the same passions that fuel the accusations—this is the brutal nature of revolutions.
Narrator's reflection on the inevitability and hypocrisy of political trials.
“The only way of doing that was to cause the disappearance of the London executioner. The headsman out of the way, the sentence could not be executed.”
The sole method to delay the execution was to remove the executioner; without him, the sentence could not be carried out.
D'Artagnan's plan to thwart the execution by eliminating the headsman.
“I mean that at this hour the headsman has been got out of the way by force or persuasion. The scaffold will be ready by tomorrow, but the headsman will be wanting and they will put it off till the day after tomorrow.”
The executioner has already been removed, either by force or persuasion. The scaffold will be built, but without him, the execution will be postponed until the day after tomorrow.
Aramis explains to the king that the executioner's absence will delay the beheading.
