Chapter summaries Between Two Kings Alexandre Dumas

Monsieur de Mazarin at His Games – Chapter 39 Analysis

Spoiler Notice

This page reveals key plot details of Chapter 39. Read the book first if you wish to avoid spoilers.

Summary

On an evening at the Palais Royal, Cardinal Mazarin presides over a court card game with King Louis XIV, Queen Anne, and the young queen. The sickly cardinal, propped in bed with Comtesse de Soissons holding his cards, wears makeup that fails to hide his pallor. As the game stagnates, Comte de Guiche captivates listeners with the thrilling hardships of Charles II during his Scottish exile, prompting the Comtesse de Soissons to accuse him of exaggeration. Louis XIV quietly remarks that during his minority he might have faced similar hunger, but Mazarin counters that the royal supper was always prepared. Philippe, Duc d’Anjou, recalls a bread shortage at Melun, triggering courtiers’ laughter. When Philippe declares he would give troops to Charles II were he king, Louis blushes, and Mazarin frowns. A discussion about state affairs outside the council is gently reprimanded. Bernouin then whispers to Mazarin that an envoy from the King of England has arrived. The cardinal, seizing control, dismisses the company but commands the Comte de Guiche to take his cards and gamble with the courtiers. Mazarin withdraws into a study, having summoned the king to share a secret matter, while the card game distracts the remaining nobles.

Key Events

  • Mazarin, ill and confined to bed, hosts the royal card gathering; his mood hangs in a careful balance that Queen Anne tries not to upset.
  • Comte de Guiche relates Charles II’s fugitive adventures, holding the entire chamber’s attention, including a distracted Louis XIV.
  • The Comtesse de Soissons doubts the story’s truth, spurring Louis to mention his own childhood hardships, which Mazarin promptly dismisses.
  • Philippe mentions the Melun bread incident, then boasts he would have supplied Charles II with troops—causing Louis to blush angrily and Mazarin to frown.
  • Anne of Austria reproves Philippe, stating state affairs are not for casual talk outside the council.
  • Bernouin arrives and whispers news of an English envoy to Mazarin; the king notices the cardinal’s reaction and bids goodnight.
  • Mazarin instructs Louis to clear the chamber, then calls Guiche to take his place at the card table, ensuring a continuing game that holds the court’s focus.
  • Behind the curtain, Mazarin dons a dressing gown and follows Bernouin to an adjoining study, preparing to handle the secret English affair.

Character Development

  • Cardinal Mazarin: Though physically frail, Mazarin remains the consummate manipulator. He uses the card game to control the room’s mood, delegates play to keep appearances, and instantly pivots when an envoy arrives, hiding his true intentions behind a carefully managed public calm.
  • Louis XIV: The young king’s repeated blushes betray his sensitivity over past privations and his limited authority. His quiet comment about hunger shows an emerging awareness of his own history, but he is still reprimanded when he tries to learn more about international affairs; Mazarin keeps him in a subordinate role.
  • Philippe, Duc d’Anjou: Vain and outspoken, Philippe admires his own reflection and speaks rashly of troop support for Charles II. His words inadvertently highlight Louis’s powerlessness, creating fraternal friction that Mazarin and Anne must defuse.
  • Comte de Guiche: Acts as the court’s storyteller, spinning the English drama that captivates the gathering, and later serves as Mazarin’s pawn when the cardinal orders him to lead a new game, buying secrecy.
  • Anne of Austria: Functions as a mediator, steering conversations away from danger and reprimanding Philippe to maintain decorum and shield Louis from appearing weak.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Games and Gambling: The card game mirrors the political stakes; Mazarin “plays” everyone at court, keeping them distracted while he conducts the real game of statecraft.
  • Appearance vs. Reality: Mazarin’s futile makeup and his sickly body contrast with his cunning mind; the public card table conceals the secret arrival of the English envoy.
  • Fragile Royalty: The chapter contrasts Charles II’s desperate adventures, Louis’s remembered hunger, and the court’s flattery. Crowns are described as both resilient and susceptible to “realm-quakes.”
  • Silence and Speech: The court oscillates between open storytelling and guarded whispers; Louis is explicitly told that affairs of state are not for open discussion, foreshadowing the secretive diplomacy to come.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 39 pivots the novel’s focus from domestic bustle to high political intrigue. The sudden arrival of an English envoy interrupts the static elegance of the card game, revealing that Charles II’s fate—and possibly the balance of power—hangs on Mazarin’s next move. The chapter also deepens the conflict between Louis’s growing desire for authority and Mazarin’s iron grip on state secrets. With the English question looming and the cardinal withdrawing to a private study, the stage is set for a clandestine negotiation that will shape the remainder of the story.

3 Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Louis XIV blush three times in this chapter?
    Louis blushes first when Mazarin corrects his memory of hunger, undercutting his kingly dignity. He blushes again when Philippe boasts he would give troops to Charles II, a decision that Louis cannot openly make. The third flush comes when Philippe asks him for news that Louis is forbidden to discuss. Each blush signals his embarrassment at being a monarch who must still defer to the cardinal and mind his words.

  2. How does Mazarin use the card game to maintain control?
    Mazarin keeps his mood neutral, so that Anne of Austria will not upset him by winning or losing. When the court turns to whispered conversations about Charles II, he does not explode but instead redirects attention by calling Guiche to take his cards. The game thus becomes a screen behind which he manages the English envoy’s arrival without the court realizing an affair of state is unfolding.

  3. What does the exchange about past royal hardships reveal about courtly flattery?
    When Philippe recalls the scanty supper at Melun, the court turns a memory of poverty into an occasion for laughter and praise. Mazarin adds that the crown gained “a few more jewels,” reframing past troubles as a prelude to present glory. This shows how courtiers flatter kings by stressing how far they have risen, turning vulnerability into a tool of allegiance.

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