Quote:
Originally Posted by Catlady
Is there anything funny about the trial and execution of Milady?
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I think that's the trouble I have with humour as an explanation. Yes, at the beginning, with "Don Quixote at eighteen" as the description for d'Artagnan, I can see that Dumas opened the story with humour in mind, but - at least through modern eyes - he failed to keep it up.
I'd also add that the recent-historical consensus would seem to be that the characters were supposed to be heroic and chivalrous (and fun, yes I concede that even modern consensus is seems to include an aspect of humour). If there's one line that identifies this story in modern times it's "All for one and one for all!" That seems to be the story people
wanted to see in this book, so that's what they've pulled out, however hard they have to work at ignoring what's really there.