Rusty Burke wrote:
>
> Here's what Clyde wrote: "His defense of Milady de Winter and her son
> Mordaunt. �She was his mother�; We argued over this several times."
>
> Mordaunt is a major character in Twenty Years After, one of the sequels
> to The Three Musketeers. In the course of the novel, he learns what
> happened to his mother and sets out to avenge her. The following is the
> confrontation between Mordaunt and his uncle, the new Lord De Winter,
> from the Project Gutenberg edition of the story. In view of Clyde's
> assertion that Bob took Mordaunt's side, and that they argued over this
> "several times," I find this quite interesting.
>
I'm sorry Rusty, I don't quite see this. The passage in ROAWM specifically says:
"'Sorriest woman better than the best man' - constant refrain of Bob - His defense of
Milady De
Winter and of her son Mordaunt. 'She was his mother.' We argued over this several
times -"
It doesn't really say how much he argued about "Milady - sorriest woman" versus
Mordaunt versus his
lineage. They seem three exclusive things. I wonder where he gets the concept of the
"sorriest woman
better than--." Doesn't seem to fit with Conan dumping the ex-girlfriend in the
cesspool in RITH. Do
I detect the influence of mom Howard here?
I can see him more defending Mordaunt than Milady. Milady is evil in a power hungry
way even more so
than the Cardinal whereas Mordaunt has been simply dispossessed of his inheritance.
That may not be
his fault but shit happens. His passionate reponses appear as dumb as his mother was
cunning. Gene
reversal.
Did they even argue about whether she was his mother? This doesn't even make a whole
lot of sense to
me, although the other two points do. I wonder if Bob was just taking the obstinate
approach in
defending Milady for the sake of argument. He doesn't ever show this aspect in any
stories to my
recollection. What can there be to defend? She was no underdog and hardly lacked. The
only thing I
can think is that he saw in her evil cunning that which makes a woman better than any
man.
Scotty Henderson
