Three Musketeers - The Stairway to the English Free Realm (2) (5000-word Bedside English Learning Reader) (English-Chinese Contrastive Translation)

Author: Alexandre Dumas (French)
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The Three Musketeers is a historical novel by the French romantic writer Alexandre Dumas. Set against the historical backdrop of the reign of King Louis XIII of France, where the powerful Cardinal Richelieu held significant influence over the court, the novel depicts how Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, along with D'Artagnan, remain loyal to the king and struggle against the cardinal, thereby reflecting the intricate political machinations within the ruling class. D'Artagnan is a son of a declining noble family from Gascony in 17th-century France. He arrives in Paris with admiration for his fellow Gascon, Tréville, who was then the captain of the king's musketeers and highly favored by the monarch. With nothing but his wits, he aspires to become a musketeer and meets Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. The four men, initially strangers, become inseparable companions. At the time, King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu engaged in a fierce power struggle. The king privately praised D'Artagnan and his friends for their victories over the cardinal's men, while the cardinal harbored resentment. The cardinal had long been envious of the beauty of Queen Anne of Austria but had never won her favor, leading to his resentment. He manipulated the king's relationship with the queen by forging her letters and luring her former lover, the Duke of Buckingham, to Paris. The duke, in turn, played along and finally met the queen, confessing his love and receiving a diamond brooch as a token of her affection. The cardinal seized this opportunity to spread lies to the king, urging him to organize a court ball where the queen would wear the brooch gifted by the king. As the ball's date approached, the queen, desperate and in despair, was saved by her maid, Bonnefoy, who devised a plan and asked D'Artagnan for help. D'Artagnan, instantly smitten with Bonnefoy, readily agreed to risk his life, supported by his three friends. The four set off separately to England. After a series of hardships, only D'Artagnan arrived on time to explain the situation to the Duke of Buckingham and retrieve the brooch, saving the queen from a dire crisis and thwarting the cardinal's plot. Enraged, the cardinal transferred his hatred to Buckingham and, exploiting the tensions between Catholics and Protestants, provoked a war between France and England, hoping to eliminate Buckingham to settle his score. To achieve this, the cardinal secretly sent his spy—Mérida, a woman as beautiful as a peach but as venomous as a snake—to England to assassinate Buckingham. However, D'Artagnan's servant, Planchet, arrived in England in advance and informed Winter, who promptly captured Mérida and held her captive. During her imprisonment, she seduced Winter's trusted guard, Felton, who freed Mérida and then killed Buckingham. On her way back to France, Mérida encountered Bonnefoy, D'Artagnan's lover, and poisoned her. D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis relentlessly tracked Mérida, joining forces with Winter and a hangman to capture her as she attempted to flee. They exposed Mérida's true identity: she had once been a poor nun who, unwilling to remain alone in her youth, seduced a young priest and ran away with him. The priest was imprisoned for selling church artifacts, and Mérida was branded with a criminal mark on her shoulder by the hangman—her brother. Later, Mérida abandoned the young priest and married a local count through deceit. When her secret was discovered, she fled to England, where she tricked Winter into marrying her. With her numerous crimes and the public's outrage, Mérida was executed by the river. Learning that D'Artagnan had repeatedly thwarted his plans, the cardinal ordered his loyalist, Rochefort, to capture him. D'Artagnan, dignified and unyielding, revealed the truth, and the cardinal, moved by his courage and wit, not only spared him but also promoted him to the rank of second captain of the musketeers. Meanwhile, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis each found their own places in life.