MonCri

The Novel

Written in 1844-45, The Count of Monte Cristo was published during a time when serialized novels were becoming increasingly popular. Running along with stiff competition, Alexandre Dumas managed to captivate readers with his serialized novel and keep them begging for more as each chapter ended with a cliffhanger. The novel of Monte Cristo, like many of Dumas' other works, is inspired by some events of his life and perhaps even his own dreams and fantasies. Monte Cristo in particular is actually inspired by a police report of a criminal. A man of the name Francois Picaud was engaged to a wealthy young woman which eventually set off his friends in an envious frenzy. Picaud ended up in jail and during his time there he befriended a rich Italian cleric that eventually left his fortune to him after he died. Picaud returned to Paris as a rich man and conducted his vengeance on those who set him wrong.

The Count of Monte Cristo is very much the same story but with much more drama and eloquence. The novel focuses on the character of Edmond Dantes, an optimistic young sailor with a promising future. After the death of his captain, he was to be promoted to the captain of Le Pharaon (the ship), which would then expedite his marriage to the very beautiful Mercedes. However, things were not as happy as they ought to be, since Danglars, the second in command of Le Pharaon and the one who thought it would only be fair he himself were to be promoted to captain-hood instead of Edmond, he was scheming a way to get Dantes off the ship permanently. The perfect opportunity arose when Fernand Mondego of Catalan, Mercedes cousin, was also jealous of the good hearted Dantes good fortune, particularly for taking away the girl of his dreams from him. Together, with the help of Caderousse, a greedy drunkard and Dantes' neighbor, and Villefort, a political opportunist, managed to make Dantes seem like a traitor and sent him to Chateau d'If (a sort of Alcatraz for political prisoners if you will) for the rest of his life.

Initially, it was only Danglars and Fernand's idea to get rid of Dantes, Caderousse was too drunk to know what they were scheming. Villefort was also unaware of the scheme and was ready to set Dantes free until he inquired about the letter that Dantes was supposed to give to a certain person in Paris. This letter made Villefort nervous (as he realized the name it was to be handed to was his own father --a Bonapartist) and for safety purposes, he burned the letter. The content of the letter is never known, but it is strongly hinted that is in fact something dealing with Napoleon Bonaparte. Dantes was ignorant of the contents of the letter, he was only obeying the last words of a dying man. To make sure Dantes doesn't tell anybody who the letter was to be delivered to, Villefort made sure he was to be sent to prison for the rest of his life. A cruel act indeed, but to Villefort sentencing a common man was an everyday occurrence.

During his time in Chateau d'If, Dantes was struggling for both his spirituality and mental stability. Just about when he was going to commit suicide, an ex-priest now prisoner, Abbe Faria, came to his aide in the nick of time. This priest would then teach Dantes everything from politics, economics, and even sort out his problems back at home and find out the reason why he was imprisoned through deductive reasoning. But more importantly, he would let Dantes know of a tremendous fortune hidden in the island of Monte Cristo that has been hidden since the Renaissance. After Faria's death, Dantes found a way to escape the castle by switching body bags with Faria. He nearly drowned when the guards threw the body into the ocean but he escaped regardless. After his escape, Dantes was rescued by a man named Jacopo, who eventually stayed by Dantes' side and even shared his enourmous wealth. With Jacopo at his side, Dantes sought after the treasure in the island of Monte Cristo and with that wealth made some powerful friends, even in the lowest of places with a band of thieves. He went on many travels and disguised himself under different names, such as Sinbad the Sailor during his time in Italy, Abbe Busoni --a religious persona used to get influence and power, Lord Wilmore --a rich and powerful persona that did many favors and gifts to gain some friends, and of course, the Count of Monte Cristo, which represents his cold and bitter self.

From this point onward, the novel focuses on how the count slowly but surely takes on the people that did him wrong. One of the key distinctions between the original novel and most of its incarnations is that in the novel, Dantes never really is a "hands on" kind of guy. He merely only rolls the small snow ball and lets it grow into a boulder all on its own. He doesn't take direct part in any of the vengeance plots, but he does starts them. After his time in jail, Dantes finds out what his malicious enemies have been up to. Danglars has grown filthy rich but even greedier than before, Mercedes married off Fernand Mondego and both become the Count and Countess de Morcef, Caderousse turned to be nothing but a greedy thief, and Villefort gained tremendous political authority. Knowing all this, Dantes approaches the matter carefully. He uses Fernand's and Mercedes' son, Albert, to get close to his perpetrators as well as his friends (of which he rewards) under the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo. From then on, he starts taking little steps to what will ultimately lead to his goals. (If you would like to have a better analysis of these characters and others, please visit the Character Digest page.)

One of the principal themes of the story is that Dantes assumes the position of God's own vengeful angel. He thinks he can take vengeance on his own hand because it's rightfully his. Due to this mentality, he sees many of his wrongful actions as the 'just thing to do' among other ideals. However, as the novel finishes up, it's clear to see that Dantes realizes that he's not Godsend when things start to get out of control. He can no longer take control of anything that's happening around him and is even forced to take direct part in the protection of his friends.

However, Dantes soon finds redemption when he realizes, and this is important for Dumas and especially considering the time this novel was written, that only God can take vengeance into his own hands, not man. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. " (Romans 12:19). When Dantes saw his mentor in Chateau d'If die, he closed off all connections to his heart. He would no longer find emotions like love or sympathy, only hatred and bitterness remained, which is assumed in his identity of the Count, and with this identity seek out his revenge. It is only after Dantes sees the wrongs he has done does he realizes this, and then remembers the words of wisdom from the dying priest in Chateau d'If, that he should've used that fortune only for good, not for selfish desires such as vengeance. Dantes finds redemption when he finds love again with Haydee, the slave girl he bought and rescued during his time in Greece and re-opens his heart once more.

Though the central theme of the story is the revenge, it is clear to see that only through redemption, not revenge, that one can achieve true satisfaction. The romance between two secondary characters (I'd argue they're primary since they're given a good amount of development), Maximillian and Valentine, is the real icon of what Dumas is essentially trying to show. There is such a thing as true love, and when all is taken away, second-love can also be true love; when problems seem to overwhelm you, you could always hope for a better future.