The Three Musketeers, Chapter 4 summary
Chapter 4 of 68 · 11 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 4, D’Artagnan fails to catch the stranger and quarrels with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis through collisions, teasing, and an embarrassing attempt to return a handkerchief. His plans to become more polite collapse into another challenge, and he heads toward his first duel with two further appointments arranged.
What happens
- D’Artagnan strikes Athos’s injured shoulder, exchanges insults with him, and agrees to meet near the Carmes-Deschaux around noon.
- Caught in Porthos’s cloak, D’Artagnan discovers his baldric’s plain back, mocks him, and accepts a one o’clock meeting behind the Luxembourg.
- The search for the stranger fails, and D’Artagnan reflects on his recklessness and resolves to imitate Aramis’s courtesy.
- D’Artagnan retrieves a handkerchief beneath Aramis’s foot, prompting three Guards to tease Aramis about Madame de Bois-Tracy.
- An attempted apology becomes another quarrel; Aramis arranges a two o’clock meeting to settle the place and time for fighting.
- D’Artagnan heads toward the Carmes-Deschaux, accepting the danger of facing a Musketeer.
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In this chapter
What to notice
D’Artagnan recognizes that restraint need not threaten his courage. His next encounter tests this insight, but his temper defeats his peaceful intentions.
Quick check
Why does Aramis refuse to fight D’Artagnan immediately outside the hôtel d’Arguillon?
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