Dumas was writing in 1844, a long time after the setting and post-Revolution, and intending to criticise (as well as to write some swashbuckling adventure).
Dumas was writing in 1844, a long time after the setting and post-Revolution, and intending to criticise (as well as to write some swashbuckling adventure).
This kind of behaviour was definitely not normal or even legal in 1844 France when it was written, or, as OP notes, in the actual time period it’s set, either - it’d be like taking a modern action movie to be a guide to behaviour.