Twenty Years After · Chapter
A Dinner in the Old Style explained
The four former musketeers reunite for a dinner at the Hermitage, where they gradually shed their initial formality through champagne and shared memories.
What happens
The four former musketeers reunite for a dinner at the Hermitage, where they gradually shed their initial formality through champagne and shared memories. They discuss Mazarin's corruption, the search for those who aided Beaufort's escape, and reflect on their past, particularly the execution of Milady at Armentières.
Themes in this chapter
Friendship and Loyalty
The four friends reunite after years, overcoming initial stiffness through shared memories and wine, reaffirming their bond as 'the inseparables'.
Power and Corruption
Aramis's story about Mazarin's bribery highlights the cardinal's corrupt practices, and d'Artagnan reveals Mazarin's manipulative search for Beaufort's rescuers.
Revenge and Justice
The friends debate the morality of Milady's execution, with Athos troubled by divine justice and free will, while others justify it as punishment.
Characters to notice
- Athos
Hosts the reunion, proposes champagne to break the ice, remains calm and thoughtful, expresses anxiety about the past and future.
- D'Artagnan
Arrives from guard duty at the Louvre, jokes about Mazarin, reveals he was tasked by Mazarin to find those who helped Beaufort escape.
- Porthos
Arrives after trying a new horse, unfastens his doublet during dinner, recalls the execution of Milady without remorse.
- Aramis
Arrives from visiting a penitent, tells a story mocking Mazarin's corruption, adopts a philosophical tone about divine justice.
- Grimaud
Brings news of a mysterious monk who visited the dying man and met Raoul.
- Raoul
Mentioned as having conducted the mysterious monk to the dying man's bedside; Athos expresses concern for him.
Key passages
“A great prince, with whom Mazarin sought an alliance, was invited by him to send him a list of the conditions on which he would do him the honor to negotiate with him. The prince, who had a great repugnance to treat with such an ill-bred fellow, made out a list, against the grain, and sent it. In this list there were three conditions which displeased Mazarin and he offered the prince ten thousand crowns to renounce them.”
Aramis tells a story of a prince who, pressured by Mazarin to list negotiation terms, included three conditions Mazarin disliked; Mazarin then offered 10,000 crowns to drop them.
Illustrates Mazarin's corrupt and petty nature, a key theme of the chapter.
“The prince immediately sent fifty thousand francs to Mazarin, begging him never to write to him again, and offered twenty thousand francs more, on condition that he would never speak to him.”
The prince countered by sending Mazarin 50,000 francs to stop writing, plus 20,000 more to never speak to him again.
Highlights the contempt even nobles held for Mazarin, reinforcing the theme of power and corruption.
“How is it that we, four men who have faced armies without blinking, begin to tremble at the mention of a child?”
D'Artagnan questions why they, seasoned warriors, are afraid of a mere boy.
Reflects the friends' unease about the mysterious monk, linking to past guilt.