Summary of “Saint Mar Alfred de Vigny”
Saint-Marie Henri d’Affia, marquis – the organizer of the conspiracy against Cardinal Richelieu; historical dates of his life: 1620 – 1642. At the beginning of the novel the young nobleman S.-M. goes from his native province to the court to enter the service of Richelieu, but on the way he witnesses the outrageous arbitrariness and cruelty of the cardinal-minister.
Distinguished by the war with Spain, he conquers the favor of King Louis XIII and quickly becomes his favorite, he is popular among the people and rivals the Richelieu for influence. However, the bold and straightforward S.-M. pisses court career, and he became a courtier only to become a worthy suitor of his beloved – Princess Maria Gonzaga, whom he met in his parents’ home. In politics, he defends the interests of his class, enmity with Richelieu, who destroys the ancient family nobility and, as Vigny argues, undermines the feudal foundations of the monarchical state.
Together
At the last moment before the outbreak of hostilities, Queen Anne of Austria, afraid to lose power as a result of the planned S.-M. coup, sends him a false report about Maria Gonzaga’s infidelity; losing love, he refuses and from the political struggle, surrenders to Richelieu and, despite the proposals of the remaining conspirators at large, to organize an escape, voluntarily goes to execution with his faithful friend de Tu who did not leave him in trouble. Although in the creation of his novel Vigny was inspired by the experience of Walter Scott, his S.-M. – The character is more dramatic than romantic. In terms of his plot role, he is the central character, not the “figurant” of the historical event, like most of the main characters in Scott.
His character
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