«The Three Musketeers» – this is the typical historical novel-feuilleton. But he never ceases to be amazing on it.
Good and Evil
Traditionally, the hero of the book are divided into positive and negative. At the same time, the line between these two characteristics is never clear. And Dumas. On the one hand all the characters of the book can be attributed to one or the other «camp»: the reader is quite clear that the root of all evil in the novel – a treacherous Cardinal Richelieu and his entourage Count Rochefort and Milady. At the same time the reader has no doubt that the Musketeers along with D’Artagnan are «forces of good», as fighting against the Cardinal, the Queen does not give sully his honor, to help the King, etc. At the same time the three musketeers, if you look closely, are disgusting people: together they are killing people left and right (while Treville tries their “cover” and to justify before the King), individually the same, too, have a few attractive features: Athos – a drunkard, Aramis – hypocrite prone to posturing, Porthos lives at the expense of women. And come they are not always right and good. At the same time, at some point, you begin to understand that the Cardinal – is not so bad, and can really do everything “in the French benefit,” no matter how tried to blacken Dumas (who, by the way, in his book “Twenty years later, “pays tribute to the deceased Cardinal, noting that the current (Mazarin) is only his shadow). The king is represented as a weak character and going on about the other person. About Anne of Austria, too, can say a lot … Good and evil in the novel Dumas merge, mingle, often mutually interchangeable. He makes it clear that not everything that is good is really good, and from all sides, and all that is bad is not so bad really.
Love
With love in the novel, things are bad, in the sense that Dumas ‘The Three Musketeers’ love – a real problem, which can not bring nothing but bitterness and pain. Eloquent thing about this story said Athos, as well as his words to D’Artagnan, “I want to say that love – is a lottery in which the winning goes to death! Believe me, my dear D’Artagnan, you are very lucky that you have lost! Play the always – that’s my advice. ” At the same time Atos is the only person in the book at all capable of such a feeling. As D’Artagnan is too frivolous and young, Porthos is interested only in material well-being, Aramis, in spite of the fact that he is secretly in love with as many as two women, Marie de Chevreuse and Camille de Bois-track, most of all loves himself. But, despite all these reservations, the love of the book plays an important role.
Friendship
Friendship in the novel “The Three Musketeers” is the most important part of it, because without it there would be no plot and no novel itself. It is striking, of course, how fast d’Artagnan and the three musketeers become friends, but their friendship can not but arouse envy. It can even be considered a model, so it is, without doubt, one of the main ideas of the novel. That friendship – the sort of thing for which the heroes of the novel is worth living. The importance of this can not be overemphasized, as such a thing could not even be love.
Religion
Faith, religion, the church in the book represents Aramis, who since childhood preparing for the priesthood, but life turned so that he had to become a musketeer. But of course, not for long. Aramis dreams their spiritual future, constantly reminding everyone around that he was a musketeer only temporarily and in the future waiting for him cassock. But all this can be understood in two ways. On the one hand he is really ready for the priesthood, he sees his future only in a convent and finds its place among the Musketeers. “The world is a vault,” – he says, and this is expressed in all his attitude towards the worldly life. However, at the same time, on the other hand, he was sorry to part with all that is in his present life. Aramis incredibly prone to posturing. Sometimes the desire for spiritual life becomes exponential in nature, for example, he uses the Latin expression to the place and out of place, then sit down to write a theological dissertation, it throws everything and run to the beloved. It begins to seem that it attracts not internal to the monastic life (spiritual) component, and only the outer shell. The ability to get away from everyone and everything, that he was not in the spirit and not to their liking. What follows from this? Contradiction. In the XVII century, the Catholic Church is losing ground, she plays not the comprehensive role than in the Middle Ages. Appears distrust of the church, from the XVI century, Protestantism is gaining momentum. Faith becomes superficial. In the XIX century, when Dumas wrote “The Three Musketeers” everything happens the other way around: the Catholic Church begins to make up for its position and regaining its former authority. Reborn religiosity. Thus, Dumas played on contradictions: it shows the Catholic Church during her weakness, but tries to give it authority, which at that time was not inherent in it.
The man of the XIX century, tired of bourgeois boredom and sober practicality, looking for their ideal in France of the XVII century, and you can understand why Alexandre Dumas paints a historical reality is so attractive that I want to grab the hilt of his sword and jump into the book toward adventure. It does not matter that there is intrigue, murder, blood … It is important that there is friendship, honor and heroism. People are looking for the books that they do not have around me at the moment. And no matter what century these people live – in the XXI or XIX, all are equal before the dream, especially when it is so attractive.
Dumas tremendous command of the language. The novel is incredibly dynamic, it does not let go for a second, drags in more and more distance. All the characters in the book are registered to detail and do not leave the reader indifferent. It is not possible for all their disadvantages but admire Athos mind, it is impossible not to observe and evaluate the development of the D’Artagnan throughout the book, it is impossible not to love the good Porthos, or look away from the beautiful Aramis.
Sometimes, you start to forget who was Richelieu in historical reality, you begin to hate him, to wish good luck Musketeers, despite the fact that not all of their actions are correct.
“The Three Musketeers” – a novel worthy of multiple reading.
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