Twenty Years After

[conclusion in English is at the bottom of this post]

Pertengahan abad 17 tercatat dalam sejarah Prancis sebagai tahun-tahun penuh pergolakan. Saat itu masih bergolak Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659), perang yang dicanangkan Cardinal Richelieu terhadap Spanyol yang dianggap membahayakan teritorial Prancis. Di tengah-tengah perang itu, pecah pula perang saudara di dalam negeri Prancis sendiri. Saat itu Cardinal Richelieu telah meninggal dan digantikan Cardinal Mazarin yang dekat dengan Ratu Anne of Austria, yang saat itu memerintah Prancis karena sang Raja—putranya—Louis XIV masih kanak-kanak. Mazarin, dalam upaya memperlambat ledakan populasi saat itu, mengeluarkan kebijakan menaikkan pajak yang membuat rakyat marah, dan akhirnya membentuk pergerakan yang dikenal dengan The Fronde. Sementara itu, para bangsawan dan parlemen juga berselisih, ada yang memihak kerajaan, ada yang memihak The Fronde. Di tengah kemelut inilah Alexandre Dumas merajut kisah keempat musketeers yang pernah berjaya di masa King Louis XIII: Athos, Porthos, Aramis dan D’Artagnan.

Dua puluh tahun berlalu, hanya D’Artagnan yang masih mengabdi pada kerajaan sebagai Letnan Musketeers, sementara ketiga mantan rekannya sudah pensiun. Athos (Comte de la Fère) menikmati perannya sebagai seorang ayah dan pelindung bagi Raoul, pemuda berusia 15 tahun. Porthos (Monsieur du Vallon) menikah dengan janda dan memiliki tiga rumah besar. Aramis mengabdikan diri pada Gereja dengan menjadi imam, dan dikenal sebagai Abbé d’Herblay. D’Artagnan dipanggil bertugas oleh Mazarin (yang tidak disukai semua pihak kecuali Ratu Anne yang—menurut gossip—menikah dengannya), dan harus membujuk ketiga mantan rekannya untuk bergabung. Mulailah D’Artagnan yang telah berpisah selama 20 tahun, bergerilya mencari ketiga rekannya untuk kembali mengulang kejayaan mereka masa lalu. Hanya Porthos yang bersedia bergabung, dengan iming-iming dianugerahi status Baron, sementara Athos dan Aramis menolak dengan alasan tak berminat.

Padahal sesungguhnya Athos dan Aramis telah merancang rencana sendiri untuk membebaskan seorang bangsawan yang telah dipenjara oleh Ratu Anne dan Mazarin karena menolak perintah. Di sini jelaslah bahwa meski keempat sahabat sehidup semati yang dahulu pernah mengucap sumpah: “All for one and one for all” itu semuanya telah ‘turun gunung’ untuk berjuang, mereka berada di dua kubu yang bermusuhan. Athos dan Aramis di kubu Fronde, D’Artagnan dan Porthos di kubu kerajaan/Mazarin. Bagaimana mereka dapat tetap memegang prinsip mereka tanpa mengorbankan persahabatan? Inilah aspek yang paling menarik di buku ini, yang dapat anda baca di refleksiku tentang Twenty Years After.

Twenty Years After, sebagai sekuel langsung dari The Three Musketeers, ternyata jauh lebih bagus daripada pendahulunya yang—herannya—justru lebih terkenal. Karakter para musketeers di sini lebih menonjol dan lebih terasah; Dumas tak hanya mengandalkan sisi hiburannya saja lewat petualangan heroik mereka (dan kuakui petualangannya pun Three Musketeers kalah memikat dengan penerusnya), namun ia juga memasukkan nilai-nilai moral, terutama tentang prinsip keluhuran (nobleness), loyalitas dan persahabatan. Kalau di Three Musketeers, musuh abadi keempat sahabat adalah Milady, maka bersiap-siaplah bertemu dengan manusia yang kejamnya hamper sama dengan Milady yang sempat membuat para sahabat kita bergidik ngeri…

Apa yang mereka ucapkan tiap kali menetakkan pedang bersama di The Three Musketeers: “All for one and one for all” mungkin tak mereka ucapkan lagi di buku ini, namun semangat yang mereka bawa tetap hidup di hati mereka masing-masing. Meski berbeda pendapat, berbeda prinsip, berbeda kepentingan, aku senang melihat bagaimana Dumas mengumpulkan mereka—sekali-lagi—dalam petualangan demi petualangan menegangkan dengan selalu mempertahankan prinsip keluhuran.

Lima pedang untuk Twenty Years After!

Conclusion:

First of all, I am surprised that The Three Musketeers is more famous than the sequel, Twenty Years After. Personally I think Twenty Years After is much more entertaining and engaging. Being a direct sequel of Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After followed the story of D’Artagnan—now lieutenant of Musketeers, who were tracing his former three best friends: Athos, Porthos and Aramis, to re-enter the political whirl and intrigue during civil war when Queen Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin ruled France. D’Artagnan and Porthos were on Mazarin’s and Queen’s party, while Athos and Aramis were on the Frondeur side. However, being on opposite sides, the four of them kept firm their friendship which they have had under the oath of “all for one, and one for all”, twenty years ago. For although they were each a different person now, with different interests and motifs, they still had one aspect in common, that is their noble hearts. Read my reflection about how the musketeers reconciled their dispute.

This book offers a high fast-paced adventures, heroic acts, historical events, as well as manifestation of nobility, loyalty and friendship. My favorite would always be D’Artagnan, for he was a brave, smart, honest, loyal, humorous, and witty man. Although I have before liked Athos, I change my mind now, for I found him here too absurd for a man. Athos seemed to live beyond his world. For a chevalier, he used his heart more often than his sense, that sometimes I would think it as cowardice, if I had not known his noble quality. One should follow strictly his principles, but on certain circumstances—especially when it was related to his friends’ life, one ought to make an exception. Here, again, I admire D’Artagnan to be someone of action; I can’t imagine how the musketeers would survive without D’Artagnan’s smart plans which often saved them all.

“I declare, my friend, that you have no equal under heaven for nobleness and courage; while we were thinking you indifferent to our griefs, you alone found that we were vainly seeking. I repeat it, then, d’Artagnan, you are the best of us all; and I bless and love you, my dear son.” ~Athos

However, as a noble man, Athos was the noblest of them all. One thing that I admire from him was his principle to always serve the principle of monarchy, and not the throne sitter. It’s not the figure of King that he praised, but the noble principle that a King held. So, instead of serving the Queen and Mazarin, Athos decided (together with Aramis) to help King Charles I of England who was in desperate position in the English Civil War.

“…the most sacred cause in the world, that of misfortune, royalty and religion.” ~Athos

And what amazed me still is that D’Artagnan turned out to be a brilliant diplomat too. It is he who finally brought peace back to France, in his persuasion to the queen. Here in the last chapters we will see the nobleness quality of D’Artagnan. He pushed and cornered the queen to surrender her stubborn vanity over her people (with his diplomacy), but when the queen was weeping for her lost, D’Artagnan got down on his knees, bending to his Majesty and yielded to his own emotion. This was one of the most emotional parts in this book, which make me love it more.

Dumas has not only crafted France history in a wonderful adventurer fiction, but he also uphold nobility—one thing that has been slowly dissipating through centuries now—and reminded us of how important it always be for the world.  

Five stars for Twenty Years After.

Title: Twenty Years After

Author: Alexandre Dumas

Publisher: Wordsworth Classics

Published: 2009

Pages: 686