Man in the Iron Mask - Alexandre Dumas
Categories:Classics
Man in the Iron Mask Analysis
The Iron Mask, a continuation of Dumas' Three Musketeers, was created by proposing realistic theories from real events. The fact that it was adapted by the screen several times and attracted a lot of attention shows that the work is still successful in dragging the myth of the 17th century “man with iron mask”.
Man in the Iron Mask Short Summary
Mrs Chevio sells to Colbert Deputy Finance Minister a number of letters proving that his rival, Prime Minister Fouquet, has deposited a large amount of money from the treasury for three thousand gold. Fouqet learns about this from Priest Aramis d’Herblay and realizes that the documents which were going to deny the letters, are stolen. Aramis tells Fouquet not to worry about this, and to start preparations for a feast that he was thinking of doing for a long time and also the king will be in this feast too. He will make all kinds of financial support for the feast, and in return all the men of the prime minister will be assigned to him and he will have the keys to all the doors. Although Fouquet does not understand the reason, he accepts the offer with joy.
In the meantime, Athos asks King XIV Louis permission for his son Raul’s marriage to Louise de la Vallière. However, the king does not approve of this marriage because he loves the daughter. Athos broke his sword, breaking the vow of allegiance to the king. Angry about this attitude, Louise sends Dartanyan after him to arrest Athos. Although Dartanyan allows Athos to escape, Athos does not accept it and wants to go to Bastillele. At the prison door his friends see Aramis. They pretend like nothing happened. Although Aramis understands the situation, he doesn't speak about it. In fact, Dartanyan received the letter that ordered the king to release Athos in a short time.
The purpose of Aramis being in Bastillele is to visit a young man who has been in there for six years. That man is the twin brother of King XIV. Louis who is born just after 2 hours after him and his name is Philippe. According to French law, the king's heir was the eldest son, so the child born later was removed from the palace in order to prevent future civil war. Aramis leaves the prison, promising the man who has learned the facts to save him from there. He asks Fouquet to release a prisoner for an unjustly imprisoned person and with this letter young man leaves the prison.
XIV. Louis is kidnapped by the Aramis and Porthos from the Victorian Castle where Fouquet threw a feast and he was taken to Bastille. Philippe de XIV. He replaces Louis. When Fouquet finds out, he gets very angry and gets the real king out of there. The king and his twin confront each other in the castle. The king proclaims that Philippe will be convicted on Sainte Margueritte Island, covered with an iron mask. Aramis and Porthos tell Athos about their experiences and flee to Beautiful Island.
A few days later, Athos and his son Raul are assigned to travel to Africa. As they prepare for the mission, when they hear a strange story about Sainte Marguerite Island, they decide to visit the island. On the island, they see the difficult situation of Phillippe accompanied by Dartanyan. He couldn’t be opposing of the provocations of XIV. Louis de Colbert and he ordered the arrest of Fouquet and also the takeover of Beautiful Island. Athos and Porthos defend Beautiful Island while Porthos gets seriously injured and then he dies. Dartanyan resigns in order not to arrest his friends. He is forgiven by the king and declared a marshal. He dies with a wound to his chest when he is in a castle siege with the army he commanded.
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