MovieChat Forums > The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) Discussion > Why not just kill him?

Why not just kill him?

posted 13 years ago by ccr1633
3 replies | jump to latest

Wouldn't that be easier and less risky? Some sort of religious objection?

If you listen to the conversation he has with Fouquet early on, "if you cut Philippe, does not Louis bleed?" If he kills his own brother, not only is it one of the worst mortal sins imaginable, but it will be spillage of royal blood (the same reason which delayed Elizabeth I's execution of Mary Queen of Scots) which sets the precedent for further spillages. Killing him was never an option as it would be treason for anyone who did so.
It is strange though that they don't simply send him to a French colony, or some foreign kingdom where no one would know what the King of France looked like, or at least they would be less likely to do so than the French.

Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy

[–] scott-1441 13 years ago

During this same conversation, it is suggested that Louis has a superstition that since they are twins, they will both share any pain or death dealt to one of them. That's why he orders Philippe must not be harmed during his confinement. This movie reinforces that connection in a couple of scenes where the brothers share similar feelings at the same moment, such as the horror Philippe feels while seeing his reflection wearing the mask.

[–] Dolemite (80) 2 years ago

I think that it would have been more humane to have killed Louis, rather than condemning him to spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement with that mask on. Granted, he was not a nice person, but I do not think that he deserved that.