Count of Monte Cristo
Every man has his rise and his downfall. His rise can be attributed to hard work, dedication to accomplishing a set goal, or possibly even luck. Sometimes a man can become jealous of another man’s fortune and wish for his downfall. He might even try to make this wish come true in an innumerable amount of ways. At some point in a man’s life, there is his downfall. It could be a disastrous downfall or maybe just a minor setback. However, if this man is smart, he will try to overcome this downfall and try to gain vengeance on those who brought this bad luck upon him. In “The Count of Monte Cristo”, Edmond Dantes is living a very successful life until others, who are jealous of him, bring upon his downfall in a terrible manner. When he finally recovers from this disastrous event, he becomes filthy rich and extremely powerful. He is determined to bring revenge to those who have hurt him and rewards to those who had remained faithful towards him. He ruins the lives and sometimes even the families of Monsieur de Villefort, Monsieur Danglers, Fernand Mondego, and Gaspard Caderousse.
Setting
“The Count of Monte Cristo” is set in France during the ending of the Napoleonic Era, which lasted from 1799 to 1815. The Napoleonic Era was a very dangerous and disruptive time where Royalists and Bonapartists consistently fought to determine their ruler. Much of the action occurs in Paris and Marseilles, which are situated in France, and in Rome, Italy. Edmond Dantes spends fourteen years of his life imprisoned in the dark dungeons of the Chateau D’If and is finally liberated to live in these cities.
Plot
“The Count of Monte Cristo” is a story of the rises and downfalls of men due to the jealousy and greed of others who have opposed them. Edmond Dantes was living in the prime of his life. He was about to become the captain of the Pharaon and marry Mercedes, his lovely and devoted fiancée. Everything was going well for Edmond until four men, who were jealous of the young and prosperous captain, sabotaged him. Fernand Mondego and Monsieur Danglers wrote a letter accusing Dantes of conspiracy with the Bonapartist agents in Paris. Villefort sentenced Dantes to prison in the Chateau D’If to cover up his father’s connections with the Bonapartists. During the first part of Dantes’ stay in the Chateau D’If, he lost hope and became suicidal. His imprisonment seemed to last forever, and he decided to starve himself to death.
One day, he heard a scratching sound coming from a wall in his cell. His hope was renewed, as it was another prisoner trying to escape, and he decided to join the effort. Their tunnels finally combined, and they, Dantes and Abbe Faria, were united. Faria then decided to educate Dantes in mathematics, languages, the sciences, and history. Faria eventually lost his life to sickness, and Dantes escaped in his body bag. Dantes was thrown into the sea and was finally rescued by a ship of smugglers.
They eventually delivered him to the Island of Monte Cristo, where he retrieved the treasure given to him by Faria. Dantes’ first line of duty after being imprisoned for fourteen years was to find out what had happened during his stay at the Chateau D’If. He disguised himself as a priest and visited Caderouse. Caderouse, who was desperate for money at the time, exchanged his story about Dantes for an extremely valuable diamond. Here he learned of Caderouse’s indirect treason towards him. Next, Dantes visited Monsieur Morrel and found him on the verge of insanity and bankruptcy.
Dantes decided to help Morrel, the man who had helped him for so many years, by paying off his bills and replacing the lost Pharaon. After helping his friend Monsieur Morrel, Dantes decided to take revenge on those who had hurt him. He disguised himself as the extremely wealthy and dignified Count of Monte Cristo. His first target was Fernand Mondego, who had married his beloved Mercedes. Dantes obtained and then released information to the people that proved Fernand was a traitor.
After this, Fernand lost his relationship with his family and eventually took his own life. This was the second example of the rise and fall of a man. Fernand had everything going for him, although a lot of it came from cheating; he had a beautiful wife, he had his wealth, and he had his fame. Dantes came and destroyed this, thus leading to Fernand’s downfall and consequently his death. Dantes’ next target was Baron Danglers. Danglers was an extremely wealthy banker, and Dantes ruined him financially by exhausting all of his resources.
This was yet a third example of the downfall of a man. Danglers had his wealth going for him. He was extremely rich and powerful until Dantes brought upon his downfall that led to his fleeing from the city. Dantes’ third target was Caderousse, who was a very greedy man. Dantes watched as Caderousse’s greed led him to his death. Dantes’ fourth target was Villefort.
The downfall of this man was brought upon indirectly by Dantes. Dantes handed a poison to Madame de Villefort and watched as she killed four people in the family to preserve the inheritance for her son. Then Villefort was publicly humiliated when the story of a past affair, which led to the birth of Andrea Cavalcanti, was told during a trial. He wanted to take revenge for the loss of his daughter and other members of the family; therefore, he demanded his wife to take her own life.
She abides and takes her life along with her son’s life. Villefort is yet a fourth example of the downfall of a very powerful man. He was reduced to absolutely nothing but his own life after Dantes had taken his vengeance. After seeing the downfall of Villefort, Dantes is horrified. He believed that he took his vengeance too far. He tries to reunite with Mercedes, but she rejects him due to the heartbreak of losing her son.
Dantes gives up on Mercedes and reunites Maximilian and Valentine. He then sets sail with Haydee and is never seen again.
Main Characters:
Edmond Dantes (alias: Count of Monte Cristo, Abbe Busoni, Lord Wilmore, and Sinbad the Sailor) is the main character in this novel. He is a very strong, powerful, dignified, and wealthy man. He uses the fortunes that he has worked to achieve to seek vengeance on those who have wronged him and to reward those who have been good to him.
Monsieur de Villefort is the Deputy Minister of France and an enemy to Edmond Dantes. He sentences Dantes to a life of prison to protect his name and not reveal that his father is connected with the Bonapartists. This reveals an important characteristic about him. He would do anything to give himself an advantage in gaining fame, wealth, and power, including denying the existence of his father and killing his newborn son. He is a greedy, despicable man who deserves the vengeance that was brought upon him by Dantes.
Monsieur Danglars (alias: Baron Danglers) is an enemy of Dantes. He wrote the letter to the government accusing Dantes of Treason. He did this out of jealousy and hatred towards Dantes. This again shows his true character: he will do anything to profit himself. When Dantes is arrested, Danglers is pleased and eventually becomes a powerful banker. Danglers is eventually bankrupted by Dantes, and he exiles to a foreign country.
Fernand Mondego (alias: The Count de Morcerf) is the enemy of Dantes. His love for Mercedes caused him to betray Dantes by helping write the letter. He too did this because of jealousy and greed. He coveted Mercedes, and instead of challenging Dantes for her, he simply got rid of him by sending Dantes to prison. This shows that Fernand is not only jealous, but he is also a coward. He eventually commits suicide due to the unbearable sadness of losing his family.
Characters Most/Least Liked:
I am not sure I really liked or disliked any of the characters in the novel. I am not indifferent towards them; it is just that each has certain qualities that I liked, and each had some qualities that I detested. I liked Edmond Dantes for the fact that he set a goal and was determined to carry it out.
He wanted revenge on the people who had hurt him so much, and he was determined to carry out this wish. I also liked the way in which he spoke and conducted himself. He rarely lost his temper, and I admire him for this feat. I feel that he did not need to take his vengeance as far as he did. He completely destroyed Villefort’s family and led Fernand to suicide.
Although Dantes was hurt by these men, he has absolutely no right to take their futures and destinies into his hands. I also did not like the indifference with which he showed people when they were about to die or while they were suffering. This showed, in some circumstances, that he only cared about himself. I neither like nor dislike Maximillien.
However, I can relate to him. I, like him, feel very strongly about a girl, and I cannot be with her. I can relate to the suffering that he felt when he was not allowed to see her or when he thought he had lost her for good. I hope that one day I will be united with her, just like Maximillien was united with Valentine.
Personal Evaluation
This book was extremely exciting to read. Once I started reading it, I found it hard to put down. The emotions and romance behind this story are incredible, and I enjoyed the way that Dumas expresses these feelings through his characters’ actions. There was one part that I did not enjoy.
This part dealt with the different names that people were given. This made it extremely difficult to read and understand. For example, in one paragraph, they would be talking about how Fernand did something, and then in the same paragraph, refer to how the Count de Morcerf did another. Other than that point, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I am looking forward to reading The Three Musketeers, which is also written by Alexander Dumas.
