The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo
	Cover of Penguin Classics (Robin Buss) translation‎ Penguin (Robin Buss Translation)
Author	Alexandre Dumas
Language	French
Genre	Historical, Adventure
Publication date	1844-1846
Publication place	France
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	NA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character

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. According to the introductory biography in the Penguin Books publication of the novel, Dumas collaborated with others such as Auguste Maquet in the writing to suggest plots and/or historical background for the novel.

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.

Plot summary

Template:Spoilers The novel begins with Edmond Dantès, a 19-year-old sailor aboard the ship Pharaon, who is returning to his home in Marseille. Dantès is experiencing a mix of emotions. 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 on the ship.

Dantès' good fortune inspires jealousy in the hearts of those he considers his friends, because it seems to impede their ambitions in power, money, and love. His promotion to captain offends the hubris of the ship's purser, Danglars. Dantès' windfall of luck stuns the impoverished tailor Caderousse. Finally, Dantès' impending marriage throws off the designs of Fernand Mondego, who is also in love with Mercédès. Danglars and Mondego join in a plot to thwart Dantès, while Caderousse looks on in a drunken stupor.

The story is catalyzed by a letter that Danglars had seen the dying Captain Leclère secretly give to Dantès. Danglars had known of Leclère's loyalties to the exiled French Emperor, Napoléon, and so he infers the final wish of the captain: to deliver a letter to a Bonapartist. With this in mind, he calls on Fernand to dine with him and Caderousse. During dinner, Danglars exacerbates and abets Fernand's jelousy of Edmond and his romantic relationship with the love of his life, Mercédès and crafts a letter to M. Villefort, the crown prosecutor in Marseille, indicating Dantès as a Bonapartist, citing as proof a letter they will find on his person or in his personal belongings.

Villefort, spurred to action by the anonymous tip, investigates the matter and indeed finds the letter. Dantès knows nothing of the contents of the letter, only that he was supposed to deliver it. Although at first sympathetic to Dantès' case, when Villefort finally reads the incriminating letter, he discovers that it is addressed to his own father, Noirtier de Villefort. Due to the restoration of the King, Villefort wants to distance himself from his Bonapartist father in the current political climate. Villefort realises that the letter could endanger all his future plans. While he knows that he could simply make the letter disappear, he also knows that Dantès would be a loose thread that could threaten him in the future. Although Villefort would rather not imprison an innocent man, he ultimately chooses his own future over that of Dantès, and condemns him to a life sentence in the Château d'If prison.

Escape to riches

While in prison, Dantès slowly begins to spiral into despair. He prays to God for his release, but after years of solitary imprisonment in a small, fetid dungeon, he loses all hope and attempts to commit suicide by starving himself. However, in the final few days of his hunger strike, his will to live is restored by the sounds of another prisoner digging. After beginning a tunnel of his own, he discovers this prisoner to be the Abbé Faria, an Italian priest who is attempting to escape, although his tunnel has strayed off of the proper course. The two eventually connect their tunnels and quickly become inseparable friends. The old Faria becomes Edmond's mentor and tutor in a number of subjects (from history and mathematics to language and philosophy). Aside from lessons, the two also begin to 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 escape tunnel, but the elderly and infirm Faria does not survive to see its completion. Knowing himself dying, Faria confides in Dantès the location of a great hoard of treasure on the islet of Monte Cristo. When Abbé Faria dies, Dantès uses the opportunity to slip into the body bag of Faria and move Faria to his own cell. Mistaking Edmond for Faria, the jailers attach a cannon ball to Edmond's feet and throw him into the sea. Surprised, as Edmond thought he would be buried and forced to dig his way out, he lets out a scream moments before he plunges into the icy cold of the Mediterranean.

Dantès is able to free himself of the cannon ball and find shore. Luckily, the 'burial' was during a stormy night and so he escaped unseen. The next day Edmond spots a ship and flags it down. He pretends to be a stranded castaway from a ship that sunk in the previous evening's storm and joins what he later finds out to be a group of smugglers. After three months among the smugglers, and gaining their trust and respect as an able seaman, 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 retrieve the treasure.

Edmond's immurement had a profound effect on him and even changed him physically--to the extent that even his closest former associates could not recognize him. Intellectually, his studies with the Abbé gave him a much greater depth and breadth of knowledge, and his wealth granted him access to higher society. Perhaps the greatest change to Dantès was psychological. Successive betrayals by men whom he trusted removed the naiveté of his idealistic youth, and replaced it with the cynicism of bitter experience.

Revenge

Ten years after his return to Marseilles, Dantès puts into action his plot to avenge himself. He reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo, a fabulously rich and mysterious aristocrat. First he appears in Rome, where he briefly acquaints himself with Franz d'Epinay and Albert de Morcerf. He subsequently moves to Paris and installs himself in society, where he becomes the sensation of all of Paris. Due to his knowledge and rhetorical power, even his enemies find him charming, and because of his status, they all want to be seen as the Count's friend.

He manipulates Danglars and eventually convinces him to give the Count a line of "unlimited credit", of which the first installment is six million francs. To exacerbate the banker's natural disdain of infinite credit, the Count tampers with 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 assest, Danglars flees to Italy where the Count's personal bank, the house of Thompson and French, is located.

Monte Cristo owns a Greek slave, Haydée, whose family and home at Yanina were destroyed by Fernand during a war. He manipulates Danglars into researching the event, which is published in a newspaper. The article is removed, but later republished. Fernand is brought to trial to face the charges. Haydée testifies against him, and Fernand is disgraced. Furthermore, Mercédès, who seems aware of Monte Cristo's true identity, confesses the entire story of her youth to her son Albert, who very nearly fights a duel with Monte Cristo after blaming him for his father's dishonour. Albert and Mercédès leave Fernand, who commits suicide.

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 to claim 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, to be raised by Monte Cristo's servant Bertuccio. As a grown man, the son enters Paris in disguise as Count Andrea Cavalcanti, only revealing himself to Villefort after he is arrested for the murder of Caderousse. Valentine is saved by Monte Cristo, and through Noirtier, Villefort becomes aware that Heloise is the murderer. She is confronted, panics, and kills both herself and Edward. These shocking events, coupled with Monte Cristo revealing his identity to Villefort, drive him mad.

Redemption

Matters, however, are more complicated than Dantès anticipates. His efforts to destroy his enemies and protect the few who stood by him became horribly intertwined. This problem reaches its zenith when Edmond learns that Maximilian Morrel is in love with Valentine de Villefort, and soon thereafter that the child Edward de Villefort has been poisoned by his mother. These horrible complications, especially the latter, cause Dantès to question his role as an agent of a vengeful God. Seeing his vengeance slowly begin to pass beyond his control, to innocents, shakes Dantès' resolve and completely deters him from his course of action. During this period of doubt, he comes to terms with his own humanity and is able to find forgiveness both for his enemies and for himself. Only when he is finally sure that his cause is just, and his morals clear, does he fulfill his plan.

The ending hints that Haydée offers Edmond a new love and life. The two leave together, seemingly to begin anew.

Subplots

The Count of Monte Cristo not only contrives and depicts the revenge and redemption of Edmond Dantès, but is also saturated with various subplots. These subplots, with their own carefully worded storylines, often appear to deviate from the main storyline; however, all eventually culminate to 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 scheme of revenge.

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.

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.

Abbé Busoni — The persona that Edmond put forth when he needs to be trusted because the name itself demands respect via religious authority.

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 while Edmond is in prison.

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.

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.

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 Maximilian 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. Suffering an apoplyctic stroke, Noirtier is a paraplegic, 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.

Edward de Villefort — the only son of Villefort who is unfortunately swept up in his mother's greed.

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. This translation updated the language of the 1846 translation so as to be 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' intended version. 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.

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)

External links