The Man In The Iron Mask

In the afterword of the Signet Classics edition of The Man in the Iron Mask, scholar Jack Zipes writes that Dumas’s novel expresses a “nostalgic yearning for a code of honor and decency which […] could only be maintained in fiction” (486). Zipes further questions whether this code existed in real life, but one may certainly argue that such a code of conduct existed in the world of the novel. Strength, honor, dignity, devotion, and loyalty are all admirable traits that the Musketeers strive to uphold and embody. Arguably the most prevalent of these traits throughout the novel is honor. D’Artagnan especially regards himself as a man of honor, and he offers others every possible chance to be honorable. D’Artagnan routinely looks for ways to prioritize his friends’ safety when given orders to do them harm, and he even argues against arresting Fouquet in his own house because of the dishonor it might bring upon him and the king. D’Artagnan pointedly puts aside any personal issues he has with someone so that he may do what he believes is right—even if that means defying a king’s command. Fouquet proves himself to be a man of honor when he frees the king from the Bastille, even though he knows that doing so all but guarantees his imminent arrest for financial crimes. Fouquet’s actions show that to be honorable, one may sometimes have to act against one’s self-interests.

Unfortunately, not all of the Musketeers place such high value on being honorable. In D’Artagnan’s mind, being honorable means placing others above himself and keeping his word (e.g., honoring an agreement). D’Artagnan’s sense of honor and duty are inextricably linked to his bonds of friendship with the other Musketeers, but Aramis’s attitudes oppose those ideals. Aramis prioritizes himself and his goals above anyone and nearly everything else. When Philippe is troubled over usurping his brother, he thinks, “Let me imitate Monsieur d’Herblay, whose thoughts are of and for himself alone, who regards himself as a man of honor, so long as he injures or betrays only his enemies” (173). Aramis does not honor his bond to his friends, nor does he honor his promise to care for Philippe. He manipulates his friends and abandons Philippe when his plans are discovered. As D’Artagnan’s code becomes a relic of a forgotten era, Aramis’s conduct perfectly demonstrates the new political attitudes of King Louis XIV’s reign. Aramis fits in with the new regime because of his ambition and ruthlessness. D’Artagnan, Porthos, and Athos die by the novel’s conclusion because their adherence to the “old ways” renders them ineffectual.