The Count of Monte Cristo
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| Author | Alexandre Dumas |
|---|---|
| Publisher | |
| Released | 1844-1846 |
- This article is about the novel. For a list of film and TV adaptations, see The Count of Monte Cristo (film).
The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is a classic adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is often considered, along with The Three Musketeers, as Dumas' best work, and is frequently included on lists of the best novels of all time. The writing of the work was completed in 1844. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from the plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet.
The story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical events of 1815–1838 (from just before the Hundred Days through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). It is primarily concerned with themes of justice, vengeance, mercy and forgiveness, and is told in the style of an adventure story.
Dumas got the idea for The Count of Monte Cristo from a true story, which he found in a memoir written by a man named Jacques Peuchet. Peuchet related the story of a shoemaker named Pierre Picaud, who was living in Paris in 1807. Picaud was engaged to marry a rich woman, but four jealous friends falsely accused him of being a spy for England. He was imprisoned for seven years. During his imprisonment a dying fellow prisoner bequeathed him a treasure hidden in Milan. When Picaud was released in 1814, he took possession of the treasure, returned under another name to Paris and spent ten years plotting his successful revenge against his former friends.
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[edit] Plot summary
Edmond Dantès, a 19-year-old sailor aboard the ship Pharaon, returns home to Marseille. He is excited to be reunited with his family and friends, and he is eager to marry his fiancée, the Catalan beauty Mercédès. He is also proud of his recent promotion to captain. At the same time, he's saddened by the recent death of his friend Captain Leclère, his predecessor.
It is revealed that the previous Captain Leclére, who was a staunch supporter of the now exiled Napoléon, charged Dantès on his deathbed to deliver a package to former Grand Marshal Maréchal Bertrand, who has been exiled to the isle of Elba. During his visit, Dantès spoke to Napoléon himself, who asked the sailor to help deliver a confidential letter to a man in Paris.
Dantès' good fortune inspires jealousy in those he considers his friends. His promotion to captain offends the hubris of the ship's purser, Danglars. Dantès' windfall stuns his neighbour, the impoverished tailor Caderousse. Finally, Mercédès' cousin Fernand Mondego is also in love with her. Inflaming his jealousy, Danglars instigates Fernand to write a letter to Villefort, the deputy crown prosecutor in Marseille, accusing Dantès of being a Bonapartist, while Caderousse looks on in a drunken stupor.
Villefort, acting on the anonymous tip, investigates the matter on Danglars's wedding day and does indeed find the incriminating letter. Dantès knows nothing of its contents, only that he was asked to deliver it. Although at first sympathetic to Dantès' case, when Villefort finally reads the letter, he discovers to his horror that it is addressed to his own father, Noirtier de Villefort. Due to the restoration of King Louis XVIII, Villefort wants to distance himself from his Bonapartist father in the current political climate. The letter could potentially destroy his political career. Although Villefort would rather not imprison an innocent man, he ultimately chooses his own interests over that of Dantès, and condemns him to a life sentence in the isolated island prison at Château d'If.
[edit] Escape to riches
While in prison, Dantès slowly sinks into despair and looks to God for salvation. After years of solitary imprisonment in a small, fetid dungeon, he loses all hope and attempts suicide by starving himself. His will to live is restored by the sounds of digging. He starts a tunnel of his own to reach a fellow prisoner, the Abbé Faria, an Italian priest whose escape tunnel has strayed off in the wrong direction. The two eventually connect their tunnels and quickly become inseparable friends. The old man, a gifted scholar as well as a priest, provides Edmond with a comprehensive education in subjects, including languages, history, economics, philosophy and mathematics. Edmond also learns the manners of polite society, growing in confidence and sophistication. Aside from the lessons, the two discuss Edmond's betrayal and slowly piece together the plots that placed the young man in his current predicament.
Both continue to work assiduously on their tunnel, but the elderly and infirm Faria does not survive to see its completion. Knowing that he would soon die, Faria confides in Dantès the location of a great cache of treasure on the islet of Monte Cristo. After his mentor dies, Dantès uses the opportunity to escape: he moves Faria's body into his own cell and then slips into Faria's body bag. His plan works, but instead of taking him to the burial ground as he had expected, they attach a cannonball to Edmond's feet and throw him into the sea. Surprised, he plummets into the icy cold Mediterranean Sea.
Dantès is able to free himself and swim ashore. The next day, Edmond flags down a passing ship. He pretends to be a survivor of a ship that sunk during the previous evening's storm and joins what he later finds out to be a group of smugglers. After gaining their trust and respect, Edmond suggests the isle of Monte Cristo as an ideal location to trade smuggled goods. On one of the crew's stopovers on the island, Edmond feigns an injury, asking to be left behind until the crew can return to pick him up. Although reluctant to leave Edmond, the crew eventually departs; with Edmond alone on the island, he is free to search for the treasure.
Edmond's sufferings have had a profound effect on him and even changed his physical appearance--to the extent that even his closest former associates would not recognize him. Intellectually, his studies with the Abbé give him a much greater depth and breadth of knowledge, and his wealth grants him access to the highest levels of society. Perhaps the greatest change to Dantès is psychological. His betrayal by men whom he trusted removes the naiveté of his idealistic youth, and replaces it with the cynicism of bitter experience.
[edit] Revenge
Ten years after his return to Marseilles, Dantès puts into action his plan for revenge. He reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious, fabulously rich aristocrat. He surfaces first in Rome, where he becomes acquainted with Franz d'Epinay, a young aristocrat, and Albert de Morcerf, Mercédès's and Mondego's son. He subsequently moves to Paris, where he becomes the sensation of the city. Due to his knowledge and rhetorical power, even his enemies find him charming, and because of his status, they all want to be his friend.
He meets Danglars, now a banker, dazzles him with his seemingly endless wealth, and eventually convinces him to extend him a line of "unlimited credit", of which the first installment is six million francs. The Count manipulates the bond market and quickly destroys a large portion of Danglars' fortune. After a few months, all Danglars is left with is the six million he lent to the Count. With this as his only asset, Danglars flees to Italy where the Count's personal bank, the house of Thompson and French, is based.
Monte Cristo owns a Greek slave, Haydée. Her noble father, Ali Pasha, had implicitly trusted Fernand, only to be betrayed by him in a war. After his death, she and her mother were sold into slavery. The Count manipulates Danglars into researching the event, which is published in a newspaper. As a result, Fernand is brought to trial for his crimes. Haydée testifies against him, and Fernand is disgraced.
Mercédès had married Fernand and borne him a son, Albert. She alone recognizes Monte Cristo. She recounts the story of her youth to Albert after he nearly fights a duel with Monte Cristo over his role in his father's downfall. Albert and Mercédès disown Fernand, who commits suicide. The mother and son depart to build a new life free of disgrace.
Last to feel Monte Cristo's vengeance is Villefort. Villefort's family is divided. Valentine, his daughter by his first wife Renée, stands to inherit the entire family fortune, but his second wife, Heloise, seeks the fortune for her son Edward. Monte Cristo is aware of Heloise's intentions, and, in a seemingly innocent fashion, provides her with a toxin capable of curing people with one drop, but killing people with an overdose. Heloise murders a house servant, Barrois (unintentionally), Villefort's in-laws Saint-Mérans, and attempts to murder Valentine.
Meanwhile, Monte Cristo haunts Villefort with his past affair with Danglars' wife and the son they had. Villefort thought the child stillborn, and buried him behind a house in Auteuil that Monte Cristo buys. The son was rescued from his grave and raised by Bertuccio, an enemy of Villefort who attempted to kill the judge on the night of his child's birth, and who is now Monte Cristo's servant. As a grown man, the son enters Paris in disguise as Count Andrea Cavalcanti, only revealing his identity to Villefort after he is arrested for the murder of Caderousse.
Valentine is saved from poisoning by Monte Cristo, and through Noirtier, Villefort learns that Heloise is a murderer. When she is confronted, she panics and kills both herself and Edward. These shocking events, coupled with Monte Cristo's revelation of his true identity, drive Villefort mad.
[edit] Redemption
Matters, however, are more complicated than Dantès had anticipated. His efforts to destroy his enemies and reward the few who had stood by him become horribly intertwined. This problem reaches its zenith when Edmond learns that Maximilian Morrel, the son of one of his steadfast friends, is in love with Valentine de Villefort, and soon thereafter that the child Edward de Villefort has been poisoned by his mother. These tragic complications, especially the latter, cause Dantès to question his role as an agent of a vengeful God. This temporarily deters him from his course of action. During this period of doubt, he comes to terms with his own humanity and is finally able to forgive both his enemies and himself. It is only when he is sure that his cause is just and his conscience is clear, that he can fulfill his plan.
Haydée offers Edmond a new love and life. The two leave together, seemingly to begin anew.
[edit] Subplots
The Count of Monte Cristo not only depicts the revenge and redemption of Edmond Dantès, but is also saturated with various subplots. These subplots, with their own carefully contrived storylines, often appear to deviate from the main storyline; however, all eventually add mystery and genius to Edmond's supreme plan. These story lines are sometimes developed enough to form short novellas of their own (for example, the Tale of Luigi Vampa). The most notable subplots are:
- The love story of Maximilian Morrel and Valentine de Villefort.
- The murder mystery at the house de Villefort.
- The bandit tale of Luigi Vampa.
- The troubled upbringing of the son of Bertuccio and his later exploits.
- The affair between Villefort and Madame Danglars, involving Benedetto, son of Bertuccio
- The affairs of Eugénie Danglars
- The youthful exploits of Albert de Morcerf and Franz d'Epinay
Although these subplots often revolve around a minor character or two, they all eventually have a role in the Count's grand revenge.
[edit] Characters
There are a large number of characters in this book, and the importance of many of the characters is not immediately obvious. Furthermore, the characters' fates are often so inter-woven that their stories overlap significantly.
[edit] Edmond Dantès and his aliases
- Edmond Dantès — Dantès is initially an experienced, generally well-liked sailor who seems to have everything going for him, including a beautiful fiancée (Mercédès) and an impending promotion to ship's captain. After transforming into the Count of Monte Cristo, this persona is only revealed as the Count's revenge is completed, often driving his already weakened victims into madness or despair.
- Count of Monte Cristo — The persona that Edmond assumes when he escapes from his incarceration and while he carries out his dreadful vengeance. This persona is marked by a pale countenance and a smile which can be diabolical or angelic. Educated and mysterious, this alias is trusted in Paris and fascinates the people.
- Lord Wilmore — The English persona that Edmond assumes while dispensing seemingly random acts of generosity. The Englishman is eccentric and refuses to speak French. This eccentric man, in his kindness, is almost the opposite of the Count of Monte Cristo and accordingly the two are supposed to be enemies.
- Sinbad the Sailor — The persona that Edmond assumed when he saved M. Morrel and while he was on the Island of Monte Cristo and in Rome. Supposedly the alias for Lord Wilmore.
- Abbé Busoni — The persona that Edmond put forth when he needs to be trusted because the name itself demands respect via religious authority.
[edit] Other Important Characters
- Abbé Faria — Italian priest and sage; befriends Edmond while both are prisoners in the Chateau d'If, and reveals the secret of Monte Cristo to Edmond. Becomes the surrogate father of Edmond and the figurative father of the Count of Monte Cristo.
- Mercédès — (nee: Herrera) The fiancée of Edmond Dantès at the beginning of the story. She later marries Fernand Mondego while Dantès is imprisoned. She is Dantes' true love. After marrying Mondego she is presumably rejected by Dantes. This complicates matters as her love for him is evident.
- Fernand Mondego — Later known as the Count of Morcerf. He is also in love with Mercédès and will do anything to get her.
- Danglars — Initially the purser on the same ship as Dantès, he longs to become wealthy and powerful, and sees Dantès as an obstacle to his ambitions.
- Eugénie Danglars — The daughter of Danglars engaged to Albert de Morcerf but who would rather stay unwed. There are some hints at her being a lesbian and the connotations at this and her running away with another girl were considered scandalous.
- Gérard de Villefort — A royal prosecutor who has even denounced his own father (Noirtier) in order to protect his own career.
- Gaspard Caderousse — A dishonest acquaintance of Dantès. When Edmond has escaped from prison, he (and the reader) first hear the fates of many of the characters from Caderousse. Furthermore, he was present when Danglars wrote the letter denouncing Edmond, and is able to confirm Edmond's suspicions.
- Valentine Villefort — The daughter of Gérard de Villefort, the crown prosecutor and enemy of Edmond. She falls in love with Maximilien Morrel, is engaged to Baron Franz d'Epinay, is almost poisoned by her step-mother, and is finally saved by Dantès and her grandfather, Noirtier. Valentine is the quintessential (French, nineteenth century) female: beautiful, docile, and loving. The only person she feels that she can confide in is her invalid grandfather.
- Noirtier de Villefort — The father of Gérard de Villfort and grandfather of Valentine. After suffering an apoplectic stroke, Noirtier becomes mute and a quadriplegic, but can communicate with Valentine and others using his eyes. Although utterly dependent on others, he saves Valentine from the poison of her step-mother and her undesired marriage to Baron Franz d'Epinay. Throughout his life he was a Bonapartist – an ardent French Revolutionary. Indirectly responsible for Edmond's incarceration.
- Madame de Villefort — The murderous second wife of Villefort who is out only for her son and his inheritance.
- Albert de Morcerf — Son of Mercédès and the Count de Morcerf. Befriends Monte Cristo in Rome; viewed by Monte Cristo as the son that should have been his with Mercédès.
- Maximilian Morrel — Son of Edmond's patron, M. Morrel; After Edmond's escape, Maximilian becomes a very good friend to the Count of Monte Cristo, yet still manages to force the Count to change many of his plans.
- Bertuccio — The Count of Monte Cristo's steward and very loyal servant.
- Benedetto — Illegitimate son of de Villefort and Hermine de Nargonne (now Baroness Hermine Danglars); raised by Bertuccio (Monte Cristo's servant) and his sister-in-law, Assunta. Murderer and thief. Returns to Paris as Andrea Cavalcanti.
- Luigi Vampa — Italian bandit and fugitive; owes much to the Count of Monte Cristo, and is instrumental in many of the count's plans.
- Haydée — Daughter of Ali Pasha and eventually bought by the Count of Monte Cristo from a Sultan. She usually goes to local operas accompanied by the Count and hints to a possible infatuation with the Count of Monte Cristo.
- Baron Franz d'Epinay — A friend of Albert de Morcerf, and the first fiancee of Valentine Villefort. His father was killed in a duel by Noirtier de Villefort.
- Édouard de Villefort — the only son of Villefort who is unfortunately swept up in his mother's greed. (His name is sometimes translated as Edward de Villefort.)
[edit] Publication
The Count of Monte Cristo was originally published in the Journal des Débats in eighteen parts. Publication ran from August 28 1844 through January, 1846. Complete versions of the novel in the original French were published throughout the nineteenth century.
The most common English translation was originally published in 1846 by Chapman and Hall. Most unabridged English editions of the novel, including the Modern Library and Oxford World's Classics editions, use this translation, although Penguin Classics published a new translation by Robin Buss in 1996. Buss' translation updated the language, is more accessible to modern readers, and restored content that was modified in the 1846 translation (due to Victorian English social restrictions (for example, references to Eugénie's lesbian traits and behavior)) to Dumas' actual publication. Other English translations of the unabridged work exist, but are rarely seen in print and most borrow from the 1846 anonymous translation.
Various abridged translations of the novel are also in print.
[edit] Editions
- ISBN 2-221-06457-7, French language edition
- ISBN 0-19-283395-2, 1846 translation (Oxford World's Classics)
- ISBN 0-14-044926-4, Robin Buss translation (Penguin Classics)
- ISBN 1-85326-733-3, Wordsworth Classics (Complete and Unabridged)
[edit] Trivia
Jinyong's wuxia novel Requiem of Ling Sing (1963) is widely regarded as having a similar plot to The Count of Monte Cristo.
In the movie Rocky, Apollo Creed's nickname, The Count of Monte Fisto, is a pun of the novel's name. Since Creed was a boxer: Cristo > Fisto
[edit] See also
- The Count of Monte Cristo (film) – a list of film adaptations
- The Count of Monte Cristo (2002 film) – the most recent film adaptation
- Gankutsuou - The Count of Monte Cristo – anime series, produced in 2004 by GONZO and directed by Mahiro Maeda.
- 1844 in literature
- The Stars' Tennis Balls (known as Revenge: A Novel in the US) – a novel which features the plot of The Count of Monte Cristo in a modern setting written by Stephen Fry
- The Stars My Destination (originally called Tiger! Tiger!, from William Blake's poem "The Tyger") is a classic science fiction novel by Alfred Bester written in 1956, with very strong Monte Cristo elements.
[edit] External links
- The Count of Monte Cristo - full text online
- Pierre Picaud: The "Real" Count
- Sparknotes Literary Analysis of The Count of Monte Cristobn:দ্য কাউন্ট অব মন্টি ক্রিস্টো
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