Captain-soldier relationship between Treville and the Musketeers

The captain-soldier relationship between Monsieur de Treville and his Musketeers is the central institutional bond of the novel, defining the loyalty, discipline, and esprit de corps that drive the four protagonists. Treville, captain of the king's Musketeers, commands a company of fiercely independent, devil-may-care soldiers whom he rules with a blend of paternal affection, theatrical anger, and absolute authority. His men adore him, tremble before him, and would sacrifice themselves to avenge the slightest insult to him. This relationship is the engine of the Musketeers' collective identity and the primary counterweight to the power of Cardinal Richelieu.

Treville's Command and His Men's Devotion

Treville's soldiers formed a legion of devil-may-care fellows, perfectly undisciplined toward all but himself. Loose, half-drunk, imposing, the king's Musketeers spread themselves about in cabarets, public walks, and public sports, shouting, twisting their mustaches, clanking their swords, and taking great pleasure in annoying the Guards of the cardinal whenever they could fall in with them. They drew in the open streets as if it were the best of all possible sports; sometimes killed, but sure in that case to be both wept and avenged; often killing others, but then certain of not rotting in prison, M. de Treville being there to claim them. Thus M. de Treville was praised to the highest note by these men, who adored him, and who, ruffians as they were, trembled before him like scholars before their master, obedient to his least word, and ready to sacrifice themselves to wash out the smallest insult.

Discipline and Paternal Authority

Treville employed this powerful weapon for the king, in the first place, and the friends of the king—and then for himself and his own friends. He was the father of his soldiers; the lowest or the least known of them, as soon as he assumed the uniform of the company, was as sure of his aid and support as if he had been his own brother. When Athos was arrested and thrown into the Fort l'Eveque, Treville repaired instantly to the office of the lieutenant-criminal, and then to the palace, where he confronted the king and the cardinal with a demand for Athos's release. He swore by the king's father that Athos had been at his residence during the event in question, and his word carried such weight that the king signed the order for release. Treville's authority was such that he could scold his Musketeers in public and congratulate them in private, as he did after the famous fight with the cardinal's Guards at the Carmes-Deschaux.

The Counterweight to the Cardinal

Treville understood admirably the war method of that period, in which he who could not live at the expense of the enemy must live at the expense of his compatriots. He paraded his Musketeers before Cardinal Richelieu with an insolent air which made the gray moustache of his Eminence curl with ire. The cardinal, on his part, was not behind the king in this respect; when he saw the formidable and chosen body with which Louis XIII had surrounded himself, he became desirous that he, too, should have his guard. He had his Musketeers therefore, as Louis XIII had his, and these two powerful rivals vied with each other in procuring, not only from all the provinces of France, but even from all foreign states, the most celebrated swordsmen. Treville's men were the natural enemies of the cardinal's Guardsmen, and the captain himself was the man whose name was perhaps most frequently repeated by the military, and even by citizens, after the king and the cardinal.

The Bond with d'Artagnan and the Four Friends

Treville's relationship with d'Artagnan exemplifies the paternal dimension of his command. He recognized the young Gascon at first glance, appreciated him, and never ceased recommending him to the king. When d'Artagnan needed leave to go to London on the queen's secret mission, Treville obtained leaves of absence for all four friends, saying, "I can send to each of them leave of absence for fifteen days, that is all—to Athos, whose wound still makes him suffer, to go to the waters of Forges; to Porthos and Aramis to accompany their friend, whom they are not willing to abandon in such a painful condition." He gave d'Artagnan money and counsel, and when the young man was promoted to the Musketeers, Treville was the one who announced the news. The four friends, in turn, regarded Treville with the deepest respect and gratitude, and d'Artagnan, from his first arrival in Paris, had constant occasion to honor this excellent man, whom he always found worthy, loyal, and great.