Love takes an intensely idealized romantic form in The Three Musketeers as the heroes typically fall in love at first sight with a beautiful woman. Beautiful women in the novel are meant to be worshiped and protected; a man proves his love for a woman with the most extravagant acts he can imagine. This bears little resemblance to the way love is pictured in other novels where love is a potential source of friction or misery. In The Three Musketeers a woman’s love is a goal that many of the male characters work towards.
Questions About Love
- Is it just us, or the Duke a little too obsessed with Anne of Austria? Do you think that he really loves her or that he loves the idea of her?
- D’Artagnan professes his love to three women: Constance Bonacieux, Milady, and Kitty. Was he speaking truthfully to any of them? How can you tell? Is he just the biggest player of all time?
- Is there a relationship between love and power in the novel? When you love someone, are you under their control, as is the case with D’Artagnan and Kitty?
Chew on This
The Duke loves the idea of being in love with the Queen of France; he doesn’t actually love her.
D’Artagnan truly loves Constance Bonacieux.
Despite being loved by both the Cardinal and the Duke of Buckingham, Queen Anne lacks the power to improve her life.