Athos

Also known as: Comte de la Fere / M. le Comte de la Fere / the Comte de la Fere / the comte / the count · Family: French nobility · Role: nobleman · First appears: Chapter 10

In chapter 25, Raoul’s grief draws him nearer to Athos again, and Athos counsels him that love can absolve betrayal. Their painful exchanges end with Raoul returning pale and subdued, then kissing Athos’s hand. Athos also remains connected to Aramis, offering him his two best horses for his escape, while Grimaud, his intendant, serves him. He is known as a friend of Porthos, D’Artagnan, and Monsieur de Beaufort.

At Sainte-Marguerite’s, Athos and Raoul discover a prisoner’s plea, and D’Artagnan first protects them before mistaking them for the prisoner’s accomplices. Athos reveals the prisoner’s secret and later promises Raoul, “I will be your friend, not your father.” He gives Raoul the capital of his estates, accepts Grimaud’s decision to accompany him, and watches Monsieur de Beaufort take Raoul aboard for the African expedition. Later, Porthos identifies Raoul as the true son of the Comte de la Fere.

After Raoul departs, leaving Athos alone in Blois, Athos rapidly ages, stops rising, and refuses nourishment. Aramis’s letter brings news of the failed expedition and Porthos’s death, which deeply affects him; he later sees Monsieur de Beaufort’s ruined horse and Raoul rising toward heaven in a vision. Athos dies peacefully, and he and Raoul are later found in separate coffins.