Master-servant between Aramis and Bazin

The relationship between Aramis and his valet, Bazin, is one of the most distinctive master-servant dynamics among the four friends, shaped by Bazin's unwavering ambition to serve a man of the church and his corresponding frustration with Aramis's prolonged career as a Musketeer.

Identity and Background

Bazin is a Berrichon, a man of thirty-five or forty years, described as mild, peaceable, and sleek. He is always clothed in black, as befits the servant of a churchman, and he employs the leisure his master leaves him in the perusal of pious works. He is said to be dumb, blind, and deaf, and of unimpeachable fidelity. His entire life's dream has been to serve a churchman, and he has waited with impatience for the moment, always in the future, when Aramis would throw aside the uniform of a Musketeer and assume the cassock. It is only the daily-renewed promise of the young man that this moment will not long be delayed that has kept Bazin in the service of a Musketeer—a service in which, he says, his soul is in constant jeopardy.

Life and Plot Trajectory

Bazin's trajectory is one of repeated hope and disappointment. When Aramis is wounded at Crevecoeur and begins to contemplate a return to the Church, Bazin is at the height of joy, believing that this time his master will not retract. He guards the door of Aramis's chamber against d'Artagnan, determined to defend the pious conference from worldly interruption. However, his hopes are dashed when a letter from a lady—the attendant of Madame de Chevreuse—arrives, and Aramis immediately abandons his theological studies, ordering Bazin to fetch a larded hare, a fat capon, and four bottles of old Burgundy instead of the spinach and omelet he had prepared. Bazin looks at his master without comprehending the cause of this change, in a melancholy manner, allowing the omelet to slip into the spinach and the spinach onto the floor. Later, when Aramis receives a large sum of money from his mysterious benefactress, Bazin is stupefied at the sight of the gold and forgets to announce d'Artagnan, exclaiming that a poet is as good as an abbe and begging Aramis to become a poet. In the end, after the siege of La Rochelle, Aramis disappears into a convent, and Bazin becomes a lay brother, finally achieving his long-sought religious life.

Key Actions and Objectives

Bazin's primary objective is to see Aramis enter the Church. He actively tries to facilitate this, such as by barring d'Artagnan's entry to Aramis's chamber during his theological conference. He is also a faithful executor of his master's orders, even when they contradict his own desires, such as when he is sent to Tours with a letter for Marie Michon. He is ambitious, having read history and knowing that Sixtus the Fifth became Pope after having kept pigs, and he does not despair of becoming Pope in his turn, or at least a cardinal. This ambition makes him, in the eyes of his master's friends, a man who will never allow himself to be taken, or if taken, will undergo martyrdom rather than speak.

Relationships and Conflict

The central conflict in the relationship is between Bazin's pious aspirations and Aramis's worldly involvements. Bazin's dream is to serve a churchman, but he is forced to serve a Musketeer. He is a constant, silent reproach to Aramis's secular life, and his joy at Aramis's religious turnings is matched only by his despair when those turnings are reversed. Aramis, for his part, is aware of Bazin's desires and often teases him, but he also relies on his loyalty. The relationship is one of mutual dependence, but with a fundamental tension that is never fully resolved until the end of the story.

Change and Ending

Bazin's arc is one of eventual fulfillment. After years of waiting and disappointment, his master finally enters a convent, and Bazin himself becomes a lay brother. This ending represents the culmination of his life's ambition, a reward for his patience and fidelity. The change is not in Bazin himself, who remains constant in his desire, but in his circumstances, which finally align with his vocation.

Narrative Role and Evaluation

Bazin serves as a comic and thematic foil to Aramis. His piety and ambition for the Church highlight Aramis's own vacillations between the sacred and the profane. He is a figure of quiet devotion and unshakeable loyalty, whose single-minded purpose provides a stable counterpoint to the more volatile and adventurous lives of the four friends. His presence underscores the theme of vocation and the tension between worldly honor and spiritual calling that is central to Aramis's character.