Twenty Years After Chapter 77 Summary

Visits through a besieged Paris

Athos and Aramis move between the principal Fronde leaders—Bouillon, Beaufort, the coadjutor—while searching for D'Artagnan, Porthos and Raoul.

Summary

The chapter opens on a dark, besieged Paris as Athos and Aramis pass sentries and make their way to the Hôtel de Bouillon, where the gout-stricken Duke of Bouillon is in bed amid war paraphernalia. The duke receives them warmly, frets about his illness and potential political offers from the court, and discusses news from England; Athos and Aramis break the news of Charles I’s execution. The visit reveals Bouillon’s preoccupation with personal ambitions (title, Turenne’s command) and his susceptibility to court overtures.

Leaving Bouillon, the two musketeers proceed to the Hôtel de Vendôme to see the Duc de Beaufort. They encounter De Flamarens and De Châtillon, and Rochefort greets them enthusiastically. Beaufort entertains them, jokes about his miseries and ambitions, and expresses fury at Mazarin while promising friendship to Athos and Aramis and their comrades. Next they attempt to see the coadjutor at the archiepiscopal palace, finding the palace like Venice with boats and a crowded ante-chamber. Bazin informs them the coadjutor is in a secret conference with Monsieur de Bruy, so they withdraw. The evening’s visits convince Athos and Aramis that the court and some French leaders show little sustained interest in the English king’s fate. They arrange to meet the next morning, but note the absence of D'Artagnan and Porthos and worry about Raoul de Bragelonne, who has not returned from meeting the Prince de Condé. Learning Madame de Longueville is at the Hôtel de Ville and with fighting likely toward Charenton, they decide to go toward the battle lines to seek their missing friends. They fall in with citizen forces where Planchet now commands men in the Place Royale, and Athos, still haunted by memories of Mordaunt, vows to draw his sword only when necessary as they head toward Charenton.

Key events

  1. Athos and Aramis pass sentries and reach the Hôtel de Bouillon; meet the gout-stricken Duke of Bouillon.
  2. They inform Bouillon that King Charles I has been executed; Bouillon frets about his status and court overtures.
  3. Visit to the Duc de Beaufort at the Hôtel de Vendôme; warm reception and anti-Mazarin sentiment.
  4. Failed audience with the coadjutor; learn he is in secret conference with Monsieur de Bruy.
  5. Athos and Aramis note the absence of D'Artagnan, Porthos, and the delay of Raoul de Bragelonne.
  6. They decide to move toward Charenton where fighting is expected; encounter Planchet and the citizen forces.

Analysis

This chapter functions as a connective, scene-setting episode that situates Athos and Aramis within the fractious Fronde leadership and the city’s wartime atmosphere. By moving the pair through Bouillon, Beaufort, and the coadjutor’s court, Dumas juxtaposes individual ambition and factional politicking against the larger, grinding business of war—Bouillon’s gout and private claims, Beaufort’s theatrical fury, and the coadjutor’s secrecy all suggest that personal interests often overshadow public cause. Thematically, the chapter emphasizes loyalty and searching: Athos and Aramis show steady loyalty to friends and to the public cause, while their concern for D'Artagnan, Porthos and Raoul introduces anxiety and foreshadows possible conflict. Structurally, these episodic visits knit the novel’s political factions together and advance the immediate plot by giving plausible reasons for the protagonists to move toward Charenton.

Symbolically, the repeated references to 'gout' and infirmity (Bouillon’s pain, the archiepiscopal palace entered by boats like Venice) underscore a city and leadership that are powerful in display but weakened by internal ailments and dislocation. Narrative technique alternates direct dialogue, which reveals character attitudes (Beaufort’s bombast, Bouillon’s vacillation), with observational commentary from the friends, whose sober perspective often moderates the fervor around them. The chapter also uses absence (missing friends) to build suspense and motive: the search for D'Artagnan, Porthos and Raoul gives the protagonists a clear direction into the coming action.

Important quotes

“this demon, gout—this demon, gout!”

Lord de BouillonBouillon repeatedly complains of his gout while lamenting his inability to ride and fight, revealing his personal frustrations and political restlessness.

“He is dead, my lord!”

AramisAramis bluntly informs Bouillon of King Charles I's execution—news that shocks the duke and underscores the gravity of recent events in England.

“We are witnesses. Mazarin especially——”

AramisAramis defends Mazarin's conduct regarding England, an attempt to counterbalance Beaufort and Bouillon's criticisms and to comment on the court's ambiguous role.

Characters in Chapter 77

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