How Does The Man In The Iron Mask End?

Question

Asking for a spoiler-free wrap-up of the final chapter, given that Alexandre Dumas's plot is so intricately woven across several books in the series.

Aly Takkowat Rassah · Answer

I loved that classic novel by Dumas. The true king is restored to the throne, and Aramis frees imprisoned twin brother Philippe from his mask. In an even more poetic ending to the novel, Aramis retires the ex-king to the country, and we are left wondering what happened to Philippe afterwards. Dumas explored the heavy theme of identity in that novel, and it has been re-imagined many times since then. A great example is the short story “Beneath The Mask” by a well-known author, where a modern protagonist stole the identity of a recently deceased man in order to escape his past. He is soon forced into blackmailing in order to keep up the charade, and it becomes increasingly real and suspenseful as he is forced to live a lie.

Weston · Answer

Dumas takes no prisoners in ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’. A dramatic and thought-provoking ending to what seems to be a triumphant moment for Philippe as King, is short-lived with the sudden return of Louis XIV. Despite the best efforts of the musketeers, everything seems to unravel and their sacrifice is ultimately rendered meaningless. The death of D’Artagnan is perhaps one of the most touching scenes of all – he gave his life for a King who was completely undeserving of such devotion. A powerful message of how power corrupts absolutely and idealism is crushed in its wake. Not a happy ending but a compelling one nonetheless.

Wyatt · Answer

The ending to ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ by Alexandre Dumas is an extremely memorable twist which remains in one’s head for a long time after finishing the book. It was highly successful in completing the story in a way of tragedy and happy end at the same time. Philippe escapes from his imprisonment as the twin brother of the king Louis XIV with the help of Aramis and other musketeers. After some time Philippe takes the place of the king, but only for a short while. Soon enough he is kicked out of the kingdom and sent back to his prison cell wearing the famous iron mask. He is exiled to a remote island where he stays till the end of the book. The king Louis XIV succeeded in safeguarding his power. In the end the two brothers were far from achieving their dreams.

Much more impacting to me is the contrast between Louis XIV and his brother. Louis XIV is an evil king, while his brother, Philippe, is the king that could have been, the king that was lost. It is very impacting to the musketeers, especially d’Artagnan, who has to deal with the fact that he has to sacrifice his friendship with Athos in order to serve the evil king. The last duel between d’Artagnan and Athos was very moving. All in all, the book does not end in a nice neat package. The reader is left to wonder if any of the characters won in the end.

Yolanda · Answer

This ending has always affected me deeply ever since I read ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’. The journey of Philippe throughout the story is incredible. We follow him in the mask for decades and after all this he finally gets to live as King for a short while. But as quickly as it came, it was all taken away from him and he is dragged back to his imprisonment. I can still imagine the coldness of Louis XIV when he condemned his own brother. Also, the way the brotherhood of the musketeers falls apart in this last part is impressive. Porthos dies a hero, Athos departs in despair, and d’Artagnan’s loyalty towards Louis is almost treasonous. And the irony of it all is huge: The freedom of Philippe lasts only for a brief moment and in the end the mask becomes a symbol for how power can trap even the most resistant people. Dumas did not shy away from the morall complexities in this last part of the story.

Xylia · Answer

This is how one finishes a work in the style of tragic irony. After having introduced the clever scheme of Aramis to bring Philippe to the place of Louis, that of bringing back Louis to the place of Philippe, all works as desired until it doesn’t. The gentle king Philippe is not able to hold onto his throne against the brutal king Louis. The grand fellows, the unique heroes of the novel, are no match for the mechanism of the empire, and one after the other they are ruined. In the end even the goodArmel d’Artagnan loses every thing. It is not pleasant to the reader to see how Philip is led back to the distant island where he was discovered, amasked strange to be forgotten for ever. It makes one shudder and it is not clear whether Dumas has not shown that even the best kind of rebellion is useless.

Reid · Answer

Beware: The Man in the Iron Mask does not end happily. Louis XIV outwits the conspirators and regains his throne. Philippe is returned to his hiding place, where he will remain unknown for all time. The plans of the famous musketeers are thwarted one after another and they are left broken and failed. And in the end it is left to the reader to mourn the tragic loss of life, particularly D’Artagnan’s, as he realizes that he has been misled by his misplaced loyalty. He dies in the knowledge that he was wrong to trust others. The book is a downer, but it is a valid commentary on the Nature of Power as Dumas portrayed it. In the end, power wins out over good and remains supreme.

Princess Nica Dela Cruz · Answer

The change of Aramis to a Jesuit is quite sudden and seems quite out of place, as he has always been the most intellectual, secretive and cunning of the four. His ‘survival’ of his friends is his damnation. Rather than being able to retire in peace, he is condemned to continue surviving within an incredibly powerful and utterly amoral organization, in effect becoming part of the very machine that destroyed his friends. His is the most ironic and perhaps most punishing of the endings.

Shae Donley · Answer

This is a bit of a mess of a book, but it does have an emotional core in the ending of the brotherhood of D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. The image of the four of them together is replaced by an image of a cold and lonely world and the ending of the book is not of victory but of loss. The book is a good commentary on power, but it is somewhat rushed and sometimes Dumas seems to be tying up too many loose ends at once. Porthos’s death is given lots of space and is very effective but D’Artagnan’s death is almost an afterthought, a simple ‘and he was shot’. The escapes of Aramis and the fate of Philippe are told in summary and lack the narrative drive of the Three Musketeers.

Ariel Gomez · Answer

What is most fascinating to me is the fate of the twins. Philippe, forced into ignorance all of his life, becomes a powerful absolute monarch when he is pulled from his obscurity, yet he remains a pawn for others to maneuver. Louis, on the other hand, was raised with absolute power and is unable to cope with his loss of it, eventually going mad. Thus, we see that identity is not inborn, but rather is created for us by the circumstances of our lives. In fact, if we were to switch the lives of the two twins, we would end up creating two completely different personalities and they would have two completely different fates. The iron mask that has dominated the lives of both twins is in the end a physical symbol of the forced, rigid identity that they were able to create for themselves. It is a very powerful exploration of the conflict between nature and nurture and of the ways in which we are all trapped by our social roles. The political machinations of the novel serve only as a backdrop for this very profound exploration of the self.

Salonga Go Angel · Answer

From a writer’s perspective, it takes great courage to end a story with the death of all the main characters (or their spiritual destruction). Many readers expect happy endings for their favorite heroes. However, to support the story’s themes – the end of the chivalric era, the corruption of power and the destructive nature of time – the heroes of The Count of Monte Cristo cannot be granted easy victories. The tragedy of their falls will add pathos to their prior adventures. Their sacrifices are what make prior events so poignant and bittersweet. It’s a powerful lesson that a writer must adhere to the themes of the story he or she is writing, as opposed to catering to the readers’ desires for fan service. In the end, it is the only ending that makes sense.

Martin James · Answer

Most of the Hollywood adaptations get this wrong. The end of the book is bleak and sad. Four strong friendships are torn apart in the final action of the book. All four friends are killed, in body and mind. The deaths are emotional and powerful. None is sadder than D’Artagnan. He was at the height of his career, just recognized after years of striving. And now it means nothing. He is just one more dead Musketeer. Dumas skillfully made us care about these characters more than the politics of France. We are left feeling sad at their tragic ends and not much care about the politics of France at the time of the book. It is a great work of literature and that is why it is so emotional and powerful.

How Does The Man In The Iron Mask End?

11 Answers

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