Monsieur du Vallon in Twenty Years After

Who is Monsieur du Vallon?

Monsieur du Vallon, commonly called Porthos, is one of the four veteran musketeers who answers Cardinal Mazarin and the queen when D'Artagnan summons the comrades. He wants personal advancement and recognition (titles, wealth) but is equally driven by loyalty to his friends and the musketeers' code. In the narrative he appears at public celebrations and riots (attending the Te Deum incognito), joins D'Artagnan in defending royal interests during the Broussel affair and the barricades, takes part in the daring plan to help the queen and king escape Paris in the coadjutor’s carriage, rides with the companions in the dangerous attempt to rescue Charles Stuart in England, and vanishes after the return from England prompting Athos’s appeal to Anne of Austria. Later he reappears during the tense conferences with Mazarin and the subsequent escape and negotiation, where his readiness for adventure, appetite for reward, and steady physical courage help the group secure Mazarin’s release and win formal rewards under the treaty D'Artagnan negotiates at Saint-Germain.

Personality

Loyal

He accompanies D'Artagnan repeatedly—at the Te Deum, the barricades, the carriage escape, and the England expedition—standing by his comrades through danger.

Ambitious

He rejoices at Mazarin’s summons and at the prospect of advancement and is a named recipient in D'Artagnan’s list of demands from the queen (a barony for Du Vallon).

Courageous

He takes part in D'Artagnan’s night ruse driving the coadjutor’s carriage with the royal party aboard and fights alongside musketeers during riots and escapes.

Boisterous

He attends the Te Deum incognito to enjoy the spectacle and exchanges uneasy jokes with D'Artagnan on receiving summonses, showing his hearty temperament.

Trusting

He follows D'Artagnan’s plans—joining the risky England mission and later trusting Mazarin’s corridor escape—relying on comrades’ leadership.

Character arc

Porthos first appears eager for distinction and ready to be used as part of Mazarin’s plan; his appetite for advancement and his confidence in the musketeers’ band are clear as he rejoices at a summons and prepares for service. Through the episodes in Paris—defending the palace at the Te Deum, confronting the barricades, and executing the coadjutor’s carriage ruse—he repeatedly demonstrates physical courage and loyalty, acting on D'Artagnan’s leadership. In the England sequence he joins the hazardous rescue attempt for Charles I, sharing the companions’ daring and later disappearing after the return, which provokes concern and intervention by Athos. When the four are confronted and negotiated with Mazarin, Porthos participates in the escape over the park wall and in the subsequent bargaining that secures rewards and titles; his long-standing desire for honor is concretely answered in D'Artagnan’s successful demands. By the end of these episodes Porthos remains essentially the same man in temperament—bold, hungry for recognition, and loyal—but he is validated by the group’s collective success and by the formal compensations the treaty confers, which satisfy the ambitions that spurred him at the outset.

Relationships

• d'Artagnan Close comrade and the de facto leader whose plans and summons Porthos readily follows.
• Athos Old friend and fellow musketeer; Athos later advocates for Porthos when he disappears after England.
• Aramis Companion in the quartet; Aramis coordinates posts (including Grimaud) that aid Porthos and the others during escapes.
• Cardinal Mazarin Authority who recruits the musketeers for secret missions and later negotiates (often tensely) with them; Porthos benefits from the treaties secured.
• Anne of Austria The queen whose favor and final ratification of commissions help secure rewards and recognition that Porthos desires.
• Grimaud Servant and groom associated with the party who aids during the escape and whose presence helps mount the horses for flight.

Why Monsieur du Vallon matters

Porthos embodies the novel’s blend of private ambition and communal loyalty: his hunger for rank and reward motivates action but never overrides his fidelity to friends. Through his presence at public ceremonies, riots, secret missions, and the England venture, he highlights the story’s tensions between personal vanity, martial honor, and political turmoil. His readiness to fight, be used as an instrument of statecraft, and accept negotiated justice underscores themes of camaraderie, the costs of loyalty, and how individual desires are reconciled with collective aims in a fractious political landscape.

Chapters with Monsieur du Vallon

• Chapter 5
• Chapter 44
• Chapter 47
• Chapter 50
• Chapter 52
• Chapter 60
• Chapter 61
• Chapter 80
• Chapter 86
• Chapter 88

More Twenty Years After characters

• PorthosMajor character
• AthosMajor character
• AramisMajor character
• Cardinal MazarinAntagonist
• GrimaudMajor character
• MordauntAntagonist
• MousquetonMinor character
• PlanchetMajor character