Lady de Winter                                                   Written by Soo  Y. Kim

   Lady de Winter is an antagonist against D’Artagnan and his three friends, Porthos, Athos, Aramis in the novel of The Three Musketeers. Protagonists and antagonist are all French living in France. The Cardinal in France always tries to find fault with the King in France and he wants his power above the King. Lady de Winter has flower tattoo on her shoulder as a mark of criminal. She kills her English husband with poison. She has history of many crimes she committed.

   Maybe her husband treats her badly, after he finds something intolerable in her character. She is very capricious and unpredictable. She comes from bad family and has no good education background. Instead she is so beautiful that she attracts men and makes love with any man. She betrays men when there is no use. She is a beauty of vanity. She is a hopeless and helpless creature. She is cold blooded with no warm heart.

   When D’Artagnan meets her, at a glance he falls in love with her. She gives him a ring as a token of her love for him. It is her disguise and plot to kill D’Artagnan as a prey of trap. In the long run he finds that she is going to use him.

   The Queen of France had love affairs with the Duke of Buckingham in England. When she bids farewell to him, she gives him a beautiful diamond ribbon which her husband gave her. The Cardinal finds Queen’s secret through Constance who is Queen’s servant. The Cardinal fell in love with the Queen long ago, but she betrayed the Cardinal. The Cardinal waits a chance to revenge on the Queen. At last he finds the Queens’s secret and cordially suggests the King to hold the ball asking the Queen wearing twelve diamonds ribbon. He dispatches Lady de Winter to the Duke of Buckingham to bring the diamond ribbon

   Lady de Winter meets the Duke of Buckingham in the ball in England. She takes two diamonds from twelve diamonds ribbon from the Duke of Buckingham’s waist, when dancing together arm in arm. D’Artangnan revealed the whole story to the Duke of Buckingham. He replaced two lost diamonds on the ribbon and gives the ribbon to D’Artagnan. He rushed with it to the palace of France and gives the twelve diamonds ribbon to the Queen. The Queen wears twelve diamonds ribbon on her waist at ball party. The Queen commands D’Artagnan captain of musketeers.

   When D’Artagnan goes to the convent to see Constance, she is poisoned to death by Lady de Winter. Lady de Winter is jealous of Constance, because D’Artagnan loves Constance. Constance stopped her last breath in D’Artagnan’s arm. D’Artagnan achieves his goal to become a musketeer and his dream comes true. Lady de Winter is captured to go the prison and is executed to death. Her life is so complicated and involved in many homicides.

   If she has a beautiful mind as well rather than physical beauty, her life will lead to a happy ending. She lives so miserable life and is a bad seed. A reward is waiting for her in accordance with her deed. Even she does not try to be a good person. Like beast there is no remorse at all. She lives a tragic life. She thinks only about revenge. She kills her husband and Constance. However she sends assassin to kill D’Artagnan and his three friends, Athos, Porthos and Aramis on the road to the Duke of Buckingham in England.

   Lady de Winter is a devil doomed to die.(March 11, 2017)

* 19 세기 프랑스의 소설가 알렉산더 듀마의 소설 삼총사에서 악역으로 나오는 여인 Lady de Winter 에 대한 나의 소감문)