The Man In The Iron Mask

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1850

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Chapters 56-60Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 56 Summary

At his house in Blois, Athos, alone in his old age, becomes increasingly depressed. He often stays in bed past the hour for his first two meals, he speaks little and stares at nothing, and he sleeps with a book under his pillow but does not ever read from it. Eventually, a doctor visits him and tells him quite plainly that if he does not start taking care of himself, he will surely waste away. Athos explains that he is not killing himself but simply waiting for his son to come home; as long as Raoul lives, so will he. One night, he dreams Raoul tells him that Porthos has died. In the morning, a servant brings him a letter from Aramis in Spain, telling him that exact thing. Athos faints.

Chapter 57 Summary

When Athos recovers from his fainting spell, he decides to go see Porthos’s resting place and pay his respects. As he journeys there, he is suddenly overcome with inexplicable fatigue, and his horse also refuses to go any further along the path. Athos thinks that some unseen force does not want him to visit Porthos’s grave, so he returns home. Athos soon contracts a fever and cannot be awakened from his sleep. A doctor bleeds him twice, but it does not help very much. While asleep, Athos has a vision of the African fields of De Beaufort’s expedition suddenly catching fire. He sees swords breaking and stones being crushed, but he finds it strange that he does not see a single person in his vision. When the smoke clears, Athos sees dead and wounded French soldiers, and he finds De Beaufort’s white horse dead. He searches for someone to take him to De Beaufort’s tent when he sees Raoul floating, beckoning him to follow. His strength restored, Athos climbs a mountain as he follows Raoul higher and higher. When he looks down, he sees the dead soldiers; when he looks up again, Raoul floats further to the heavens, beckoning his father to join him there.

Chapter 58 Summary

Athos awakens from his vision as Grimaud arrives with news of Raoul’s death in Africa, and Athos lays down, returns to his vision, and dies peacefully in his sleep. D’Artagnan arrives shortly thereafter, shocked to find his friend recently deceased. He spends some time alone, walking the gardens of Blois, before returning to Grimaud and asking how Raoul died.

Chapter 59 Summary

D’Artagnan reads the report of Raoul’s death, sent to Athos by De Beaufort. According to the secretary’s record of the battle, Raoul’s horse ran away with him, and despite a marksman’s best efforts to bring the horse down, the bullet only irritated the horse, spurring it on further and faster. The horse brought Raoul within pistol range of the enemy’s ramparts, and they shot and killed his horse. Raoul survived the first volley but refused their order to surrender, and the enemy fired a second volley which nearly killed him. Both sides fought over possession of the body, but upon returning to the medical tent, Raoul ignored the doctor’s instructions and died. D’Artagnan believes Raoul’s decision to not surrender and his denial of medical care made his death a suicide.

Chapter 60 Summary

D’Artagnan requests an extension on his leave of absence from the king, as he must now arrange funerals for Athos and Raoul. La Valliere attends the funeral and confesses to D’Artagnan that she blames herself for Raoul’s and Athos’s death, as the son’s death caused the father’s. When the king’s attendant comes to get her, D’Artagnan tells her that her happiness still awaits. La Valliere responds bitterly that her happiness has cost her much. After the funeral, D’Artagnan wonders when it will be his turn to die.

Chapters 56-60 Analysis

Athos is truly not the same without his son at home. Since Raoul left, Athos has lost himself in a deep depression, depriving himself of food and exercise. He is sleep-deprived and experiences hallucinations he calls visions, in which he sees Porthos’s and Raoul’s deaths before he consciously learns of the events happening in reality. His vision of Raoul’s death both terrifies and soothes him; at first, Athos is frightened by the sight of the chaotic battlefield and the countless dead, but then he is comforted by seeing Raoul ascending to Heaven and the invitation to join him there. As Athos is the only Musketeer with a family, his profound bond with his son likely granted him this vision. As for his vision of Porthos’s death, one may argue that since Athos is so family-centric, he felt bonded to the other Musketeers not just as friends but as brothers.

The scene of Raoul’s death mirrors in some significant ways the scene where D’Artagnan chased down Fouquet several chapters earlier. Raoul and Fouquet both ride white horses, and the horses are shot in their rumps to slow them down, but they keep running despite being wounded. D’Artagnan’s interpretation of Raoul’s death as a suicide confirms everyone’s fears: it seems he did go to Africa to die, since he could not live with his broken heart. These chapters also fulfill the foreshadowing set up with Porthos’s death. Athos died of grief immediately after receiving news his son has died, and D’Artagnan arrived too late to see Athos before his death. Further, just as the court ladies taunted La Valliere, she indeed feels responsible for Raoul’s death and Athos’s as well, since the son’s death caused the father’s death. As D’Artagnan comes to terms with having lost two of his closest friends in a few days, his curiosity about his own death is quite sad. If the world has no room for Porthos’s strength or Athos’s love, there may come a day when the world has no room for D’Artagnan’s loyalty.