Twenty Years After · Chapter
In Which We Begin to Think That Porthos Will Be at Last a Baron, and d’Artagnan a Captain explained
The four musketeers, having freed Mazarin, transport him to Porthos's château at Pierrefonds.
What happens
The four musketeers, having freed Mazarin, transport him to Porthos's château at Pierrefonds. They plan to hold him there while negotiating terms. Aramis intercepts Mazarin's couriers and joins them. Raoul arrives, reuniting with Athos. Mazarin, realizing his predicament, agrees to hear their demands: Aramis seeks Normandy for Madame de Longueville and a papal exile for Mazarin; d'Artagnan wants a captaincy in the Musketeers; Porthos desires a barony. Mazarin negotiates, and the chapter ends with the friends pressing their conditions.
Themes in this chapter
Class and Ambition
Each musketeer pursues personal advancement: d'Artagnan seeks a captaincy, Porthos a barony, and Aramis political influence, reflecting their ambitions within the rigid class structure.
Power and Corruption
Mazarin's captivity and the friends' use of leverage to extract concessions illustrate the corrupting influence of power and the transactional nature of political negotiations.
Friendship and Loyalty
The four musketeers work together seamlessly, planning and executing their capture of Mazarin, demonstrating their enduring bond and mutual loyalty.
Characters to notice
- Athos
Consulting with d'Artagnan and Aramis; remains aloof from personal demands, stating he has nothing to ask for himself.
- D'Artagnan
Leads the group's strategy; proposes taking Mazarin to Pierrefonds; demands a captaincy in the Musketeers as his condition.
- Porthos
Hosts the group at his château; comments on the degeneracy of horses; demands his estate be made a barony.
- Aramis
Arrives with men after intercepting Mazarin's couriers; presents demands including Normandy for Madame de Longueville and Mazarin's exile to Rome.
- Mazarin
Captive of the four friends; negotiates from a position of weakness, listening to their conditions and trying to find a middle ground.
- Raoul
Arrives unexpectedly, embracing his father Athos; his presence adds emotional weight to the reunion.
- Grimaud
Sent to Dammartin to procure fresh horses for the group; acts as a messenger and aide.
- Mousqueton
Rides alongside d'Artagnan; expresses relief at returning to Pierrefonds and gallops ahead to announce their arrival.
Key passages
“Horses, nowadays, are not what they were formerly; everything degenerates.”
Porthos laments that modern horses are inferior to those of the past, reflecting a general decline.
Porthos's nostalgic comment underscores the theme of aging and change.
“We are four of us; we must relieve each other in mounting guard over my lord and each of us must watch three hours at a time.”
D'Artagnan organizes a rotating guard duty among the four friends to keep watch over Mazarin.
Shows their strategic planning and shared responsibility.
“I wish my lord cardinal, in order to do honor to my house, which gives him an asylum, would in remembrance of this adventure erect my estate into a barony.”
Porthos asks Mazarin to make his estate a barony as a reward for hosting him.
Porthos's direct request for a title highlights his ambition and the transactional nature of their relationship.
