Twenty Years After · Chapter
Cardinal Mazarin as King explained
Mazarin manipulates Anne of Austria, refusing to abdicate despite the deputies' demands, and asserts his quasi-royal power.
What happens
Mazarin manipulates Anne of Austria, refusing to abdicate despite the deputies' demands, and asserts his quasi-royal power. Anne reflects on past humiliations and the imprisonment of Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, while Mazarin plans to temporize and keep them confined.
Themes in this chapter
Power and Corruption
Mazarin's manipulation of Anne and his refusal to abdicate highlight his corrupt hold on power, treating the state as his personal domain.
Class and Ambition
Mazarin's ambition to be 'almost a king' and the deputies' demands reflect class tensions and the struggle for political influence.
Honor and Duty
Anne's sense of duty conflicts with her personal humiliation, while Mazarin's duty is subverted by his self-interest.
Characters to notice
- Mazarin
Mazarin asserts his quasi-royal authority, manipulates Anne, and refuses to abdicate, planning to temporize and keep the musketeers imprisoned.
- Anne of Austria
Anne is humiliated by Mazarin's reminders of her past loves and her powerlessness, yet she reluctantly agrees to let him decide his own course.
- Aramis
Aramis is present at the audience and suggests that Mazarin should be sent to the frontier, showing his rebellious intent.
- Athos
Athos is recalled in Anne's thoughts for his fearless deportment and his allusion to Buckingham and Chevreuse, which humiliated her.
- Porthos
Porthos is mentioned as one of the two intractable musketeers Mazarin has shut up at Rueil.
- D'Artagnan
D'Artagnan is referenced as the third musketeer Mazarin plans to imprison at Rueil.
- Buckingham
Buckingham is alluded to by Mazarin as a past love of Anne, used to humiliate her.
- Madame de Chevreuse
Chevreuse is mentioned as one of the figures from Anne's past that Mazarin uses to reproach her.
Key passages
“I am thinking, Madame, of the allusion made by that insolent gentleman, whom you have caused to be arrested, to the Duke of Buckingham—to him whom you allowed to be assassinated—to the Duchess de Chevreuse, whom you suffered to be exiled—to the Duc de Beaufort, whom you imprisoned; but if he made allusion to me it was because he is ignorant of the relation in which I stand to you.”
Mazarin reminds Anne of her past loves and failures, using them to humiliate her and assert his own dominance.
Mazarin's manipulation of Anne's past to control her present actions.
“An abdication? repeated Anne; I thought, sir, that it was kings alone who abdicated! Well, replied Mazarin, and am I not almost a king—king, indeed, of France?”
Anne questions whether a cardinal can abdicate, and Mazarin claims he is virtually a king.
Mazarin's assertion of quasi-royal authority over France.