A 1973 version directed by Richard Lester features some of the most famous players in Hollywood, performing at the top of their careers. Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, Oliver Reed, and Frank Finlay are stunning as D’Artagnan, Aramis, Athos, and Porthos, respectively; Charlton Heston as Cardinal Richelieu and Faye Dunaway as Milady add a deliciously nasty presence to the steamy intrigue and drama. The version is also famous for a lawsuit that ensued when Richard Lester determined he had enough footage for two films and released a second installment, The Four Musketeers, without making additional payment to the actors. A judge ruled in the actors’ favor.
Among recent Musketeer extravaganzas is Stephen Herek’s 1993 adaptation starring Charlie Sheen as Aramis, Kiefer Sutherland as Athos, Oliver Platt as Porthos, Chris O‘Donnell as D’Artagnan, and Rebecca De Mornay as Milady. The production boasts rambunctious sound and energy, impressive stunts, abundant slapstick humor, and the delightfully evil grin of Tim Curry, who plays the scheming Cardinal Richelieu. Another all-star cast lined up to continue the story in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), directed by Randall Wallace and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as King Louis XIV, Jeremy Irons as Aramis, John Malkovich as Athos, Gérard Depardieu as Porthos, and Gabriel Byrne as D’Artagnan.
Comments & Questions
In this section, we aim to provide the reader with an array of perspectives on the text, as well as questions that challenge those perspectives. The commentary has been culled from sources as diverse as reviews contemporaneous with the work, letters written by the author, literary criticism of later generations, and appreciations written throughout the work’s history. Following the commentary, a series of questions seeks to filter Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers through a variety of points of view and bring about a richer understanding of this enduring work.
COMMENTS
Emilio Castelar
To the natural curiosity of children, which continues through all our lives in some degree; to the desire of being entertained, and of being separated from the daily realities of life, the pen of Alexandre Dumas was always directed, and so successfully, that his works form in themselves not only a library, but a literature. When he was at the summit of his fame, at the period when his imagination was in such vigour that he was publishing ten stories at the same time, filling the magazines of Europe and America, and startling the press by showering his fertile pages like snowflakes from a winter cloud, I read “The Three Musketeers,” clumsily translated into Spanish, and published in what was then a most important journal, El Heraldo. I can never forget the impression left upon my mind by the reading of that book. The characters are life-like, and stand out in such high relief, that I seemed to see them, to speak to them, to distinguish their features and manners, and even to compare them with real persons among my acquaintances. So absorbing was my interest in the story, that I watched for each new number with feverish impatience to read the end of these adventures, as if they were intimately connected with some one beloved, with my former friends, with my nearest relations, with my own soul.
—as translated by Mrs. Arthur Arnold, from Life of Lord Byron and Other Sketches (1875)
George Saintsbury
Dumas has the faculty, as no other novelist has, of presenting rapid and brilliant dioramas of the picturesque aspects of history, animating them with really human if not very intricately analysed passion, and connecting them with dialogue matchless of its kind. He can do nothing more than this, and to ask him for anything more is a blunder. But he will pass time for you as hardly any other novelist will, and unlike most novelists of his class his pictures, at least the best of them, do not lose their virtue by rebeholding. I at least find the Three Musketeers as effectual for its purpose now as I found it nearly twenty years ago, and I think there must be something more in work of such a virtue than mere scenepainting for a background and mere lay figures for actors.
—from Fortnightly Review (October 1, 1878)
Andrew Lang
[Dumas‘s] faults are on the surface, visible to all men. He was not only rapid, he was hasty, he was inconsistent; his need of money as well as his love of work made him put his hand to dozens of perishable things. A beginner, entering the forest of Dumas’s books, may fail to see the trees for the wood. He may be counselled to select first the cycle of d’Artagnan—the “Musketeers,” “Twenty Years After,” and the “Vicomte de Bragelonne.” Mr. Stevenson’s delightful essay on the last may have sent many readers to it; I confess to preferring the youth of the “Musketeers” to their old age.
—from Essays in Little (1891)
New York Times
Out of [Dumas’s “Three Musketeers”] there stepped, alive and instantly familiar, the marvelous three, the three who were four, humanest of heroes, bravest and gayest of soldiers, realest of men, with whom in literal bodily companionship he walked the streets of old Paris, galloped along the roads of old France, fought duels and battles, loved Queens and ladies in waiting, drank innumerable bottles of wine that never affected a bit his head or his health, quaked under the Cardinal’s sharp glance, and, one terrible night, stood by the river and heard—the noise of the elevated railway is no plainer this minute—the scream that Milady de Winter gave as the executioner’s sword came down on her beautiful neck and slicked it off close to the dim, shameful mark of the lily!
Such are the memories left by the shabby little volumes—of adventures really lived, of romance made intimately personal, of familiar companionship with flesh and blood knights, of swords flashing in noble quarrels, of jewels on white hands, on silken doublets over indomitable hearts, and all these seen, felt, loved, in an air vibrant with honor, with gentleness in its season, with fierceness on proper occasions.
—December 9, 1894
Harry A. Spurr
Every lover of the “Mousquetaires” has his own particular hero, in one of the famous four. Thackeray, for instance, writes:
“Of your heroic heroes, I think our friend Monseigneur Athos, Count de la Fère, is my favourite. I have read about him from sunrise to sunset with the utmost contentment of mind. He has passed through how many volumes? Forty? Fifty? I wish, for my part, there were a hundred more, and would never tire of him rescuing prisoners, punishing ruffians, and running scoundrels through the midriff with his most graceful rapier. Ah! Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, you are a magnificent trio.”
Stevenson had a weakness for Porthos. “If,” he wrote to a friend, “by any sacrifice of my own literary baggage I could clear the ‘Vicomte de Brageloone’ of Porthos, Jekyll might go, and the Master and the Black Arrow, you may be sure, and I should think my life not lost for mankind if half a dozen more of my volumes must be thrown in.”
—from The Life and Writings of Alexandre Dumas (1902)
QUESTIONS
1. What is it about The Three Musketeers that has made it perennially popular? Given that the novel remains popular despite the vast social and political changes that have occurred since it first appeared, should we say that it addresses basic truths about human nature rather than historical and social issues?
2. The most villainous of villains in The Three Musketeers is a beautiful woman known as Milady. Her nefarious plots are thwarted by the male bonding of the (ultimately) four Musketeers. Is Dumas consciously or subconsciously making a point in this opposition—male against female—and its outcome? If so, what is he trying to say? If not, what is the purpose of pitting a woman against a man in this novel?
3. The Three Musketeers is full of scenes of eating and drinking. Do you feel that in these scenes Dumas is simply indulging his passion for food and camaraderie, or do the scenes function thematically, setting tone, defining characters, creating atmosphere?
4. Would you define Dumas as a writer of escape literature (swashbuckling adventure novels)—and if so, would you be putting him down? Is it possible that he gets at important human truths indirectly by adopting this format? If so, what truths does he reveal? Do they still apply today?
For Further Reading
The vast majority of writings on Dumas are in French. Some have been translated into English, but many have not. Some of these untranslated studies are included below, particularly if they bear directly on The Three Musketeers. The two-hundredth anniversary of Dumas’s birth in 2002 has prompted many new editions of his works, new and revised biographies in French (not included here), and new critical assessments. Some of the latter have not yet appeared in print.
BIOGRAPHIES AND GENERAL STUDIES
Bell, A. Craig. Alexandre Dumas: A Biography and Study. London: Cassell, 1950.
Bell, David F. Real Time: Accelerating Narrative from Balzac to Zola. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2003.
Cooper, Barbara T. “Alexandre Dumas père.” In Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 119, Nineteenth-century French Fiction Writers: Romanticism and Realism, 1800—1860, edited by Catherine Savage Brosman. Detroit: Gale Research Press, 1992.
Foote-Greenwell, Victoria. “The Life and Resurrection of Alexandre Dumas.” Smithsonian Magazine (July 1996).
Hemmings, F. W. J. The King of Romance: A Portrait of Alexandre Dumas. London: H. Hamilton, 1979.
Jan, Isabelle. Alexandre Dumas romancier. Paris: Editions Ouvrieres, 1973.
Maurois, André. The Titans: A Three-Generation Biography of the Dumas. Translated by Gerard Hopkins. New York: Harper, 1957.
Ross, Michael. Alexandre Dumas. Newton Abbot: David and Charles, 1981.
Schopp, Claude. Alexandre Dumas: Genius of Life. Translated by A. J. Koch. New York and Toronto: Franklin Watts, 1988.
Stowe, Richard S. Alexandre Dumas père. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1976.
Youjun, Peng. La Nation chez Alexandre Dumas. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2003.
PERIODICALS
L’Arc 71 (1978). Special issue titled Alexandre Dumas.
Cahiers Alexandre Dumas. Edited by Claude Schopp, published by Société des Amis d’Alexandre Dumas. Annual periodical devoted to Dumas and his works, 1983—present.
Europe 48:490-491 (February-March 1970). Special issue titled Alexandre Dumas Père.
In addition, several special issues on Dumas appeared in the French press in 2002 to commemorate the two-hundredth anniversary of the author’s birth.
WEB SITES
http://www.cadytech.com/dumas/ (in English and French).
http://www.dumaspere.com/ (in French, official site of the Société des Amis d’Alexandre Dumas).
http://mapage.noos.fr/pastichesdumas/ (inFrench,onparodies,continuations,etc.ofDumas’snovels).
BIBLIOGRAPHIES
Munro, Douglas. Alexandre Dumas père: A Bibliography of Works Translated into English to 1910. New York and London: Garland, 1978.
. Alexandre Dumas père: A Secondary Bibliography of French and English Sources to 1983. New York and London: Garland, 1985.
Reed, Frank Wilde. A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père. London: J. A. Neuhuys, 1933.
STUDIES ON THE THREE MUSKETEERS
Avni, Ora. “The Semiotics of Transactions: Mauss, Lacan, and The Three Musketeers.” MLN 100:4 (September 1985), pp. 728-757.
Bassan, Fernande. “Le Cycle des Trois mousquetaires—du roman au théâtre.” Studia Neophilologica 57 (1985), pp. 243-249.
Bassan, Fernande, and Claude Schopp, eds. “Les Trois mousquetaires, ” “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo”: Cent cinquante ans après. Marly-le-Roi, France: Editions Champflour, 1995.
Bem, Jeanne. “D‘Artagnan et après. Lecture symbolique et historique de la ‘trilogie’ de Dumas.” Littérature 22 (May 1976), pp. 13-29.
Compere, Daniel. D ‘Artagnan & Cie: “Les Trois mousquetaires” d’Alexandre Dumas, un roman à suivre. Paris: Encrage, 2002.
Coward, David, ed. The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Eisenzweig, Uri. “La Place de la fiction: L‘Etat, la famille, l’idée du roman dans Les Trois mousquetaires.” Poétique 21:81 (1990), pp. 77-88.
Schopp, Claude, ed. Les Trois mousquetaires/Vingt Ans après, by Alexandre Dumas. Bouquins Edition. Paris: Robert Laffont, 1991.
Sudley, Lord, ed. The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas. London: Penguin Books, 1982.
Tranouez, Pierre. “Cave Filium! Etude du cycle des Mousquetaires.” Poétique 18:71 (September 1987), pp. 321-331.
Tranouez, Pierre. “L’Air des bijoux dans Les Trois mousequetaires.” LEcole des Lettres, 13-14 (June 1989), pp. 49-57.
Wood, Allen G. “Of Kings, Queens and Musketeers.” Papers on French Seventeenth-Century Literature 24:46 (1997), pp. 163-171.
a We are well aware that this term, milady, is only properly used when followed by a family name. But we find it thus in the manuscript, and we do not choose to take upon ourselves to alter it. (Translator’s note.)
b Reference to the Holy League, a confederation of Catholics active in the late sixteenth century and led by the Duc de Guise; the members at first tried to dethrone Henri III, who granted concessions to Huguenots, as French protestants were known, then opposed the accession of the protestant Henri IV.
c Reference to Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift (1726), in which the hero travels to the land of the giants called the Brobdingnags.
d Marie-Aimée de Rohan-Montbazon, widow of the Duc de Luynes who married the Duc de Chevreuse. Her remarriage notwithstanding, she had a series of lovers. In The Three Musketeers, she is Aramis’s “Marie Michon,” a pseudonym for her he uses in order to be discreet and avoid compromising her.
e A cheap wine, made from the second pressing of the grape. This statement is meant to be insulting.
f Before the introduction of smallpox vaccinations in the late eighteenth century, thousands died annually from outbreaks of this highly contagious disease.
g Royal palace of the kings of France, begun in 1204 by Philippe II Auguste and transformed over the centuries into the imposing museum on the right bank of the River Seine. Louis XIV rarely used this residence, preferring his palace in Versailles.
h The Meadow of the Clerks, grazing land in Saint Germain des Prés, now a fashionable section of Paris; the meadow was the scene of many duels. A neighborhood street, la rue du Pré-aux-Clercs, still bears the name.
i Knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit; a chivalric title instituted by King Henri III in 1578.
j Out of commission, injured (French).
k Oath dating from sixteenth-century France; the approximate meaning is “God’s guts!” It is particularly associated with King Henri IV, who used it frequently.
l French unit of currency made of gold. The king’s gift represents a handsome reward to D’Artagnan, Athos, Aramis, and Porthos.
m “By God!” This oath was common in seventeenth-century France.
n A watchword (in French, mot d‘ordre) by which the Musketeers could recognize each other and participate in assigned duties; the watchword would change daily.
o Enamored of Queen Anne, wife of Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu is said to have danced a saraband for her dressed as a clown; the Queen spurned his professions of love.
p Haberdasher.
q Mémoires pour servir à L‘histoire d ’Anne d Autriche (Memoirs Intended to Serve as the History of Anne of Austria), by Madame de Motteville, was first published in 1723 in Amsterdam. Charles Petitot included these memoirs in his Collection des mémoires relatifs à l‘histoire de France (Collection of Memoirs Relating to the History of France) in 1824.
r Bathing in general was not encouraged for fear of becoming chilled or catching a pulmonary illness. According to Dumas biographer and scholar Claude Schopp, bathing in seawater was reserved for patients suffering from rabies; thus the purported reason for D‘Artagnan’s absence becomes ludicrous.
s The reader may ask, “How came Planchet here?” when he was left “stiff as a rush” in London. In the intervening time Buckingham perhaps sent him to Paris, as he did the horses.
t Construction of the Palais-Cardinal, subsequently the Palais-Royal,
began in 1633 and was completed in 1636; Cardinal Richelieu bequeathed the palace to the king in 1639. The reference to this building is an anachronism, for Dumas has Cardinal Richelieu living in the Palais-Cardinal in 1625 and 1626.
u Attorney
v In the immensity of the heavens (Latin).
w A subject or argument stripped of all ornamentation (Latin).
x Vanity of vanities (Latin). The quote is from the Bible, Ecclesiastes 1:2, and in its entirety is Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas. In the King James version of the Bible the passage is rendered as “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
y Young woman, usually of the servant class, who works in an inn or aristocratic residence (French) .
z Thou shalt not steal.
aa Seventeenth-century oath equivalent to “zounds” or “gadzooks” (French).
ab Alexander the Great’s favorite horse; a reference to D’Artagnan’s fine steed, lost at the gaming table.
ac In “Blue Beard,” one of the stories in Contes de ma mère l‘Oye (Mother Goose Stories), published in 1697 by Charles Perrault, the sister of the seventh wife of Blue Beard looks desperately out the window hoping to see rescuers arrive before the murderous Blue Beard can kill her sister.
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