The Problem with Marguerite

So I was reading this blog that was a feminist take on the Musketeers. I agreed with a lot of what they said, such as sexual violence being used gratuitously. And some not such as the baby being more about Aramis then Anne. Anne is a secondary character Aramis is a main all plot points have to relate back to one or more of the mains. All of Treville's storylines relate back to how the affect the mains as well. Shows where the mains are females, do this as well. Big didn't have a storyline on Sex and the City that didn't relate back to Carrie.

But their interpretation of the whole Margurite storyline really grinded my gears. Aramis treated Marguerite terribly and he deserves all the crap he gets for that because using another person is never okay. And for a character who is touted for cherishing women it was a low point. But when they use terms like dubious consent I start rolling my eyes.

Marguerite consented to sex with Aramis. There was nothing dubious about it. He didn't force her, he didn' blackmail her, he didn't do anything other then feign interest. Would Marguerite have consented had she know he just wanted to get close to the baby? Probably not, but what Aramis did would not constitute rape even by today's standards. How many of us haven't had guys embellish their feelings trying to get us into bed? He didn't even tell her he loved her she assumed he did and when she question him he delicately told her no. Leading somebody on is a dick move but it is not rape by any stretch of the imagination. Aramis' crime here is that he used people with little thought to how it affected others. In the end, he realized that and went to the monastery as penance. I feel like calling it rape takes away from the actual problems with his behaviour. Behaviour can be problematic and morally wrong without being criminally wrong.

Anyways sorry for the rant, I want to hear your thoughts.

It's something you'll get used to a mental mind *beep* can be nice!