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The Count of Monte Cristo From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the novel. For a list of film adaptations, see The Count of Monte Cristo (film). "The Count of Monte Christo" redirects here. For the Noisettes song, see The Count of Monte Christo (song).

The Count of Monte Cristo Author

Alexandre Dumas, père

Country

France

Language

French

Genre(s)

Historical, Adventure, Romance

Publisher

Chapman and Hall

Publication date

1844-1846

Media type

Print (Hardback & Paperback)

Pages

2 vol.

The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas' most popular work. 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.[1] The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and the Levant during the historical events of 1815–1838 (from just before the Hundred Days through to the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. It is primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, forgiveness and death, and is told in the style of an adventure story.

Edmond Dantès and his aliases

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Edmond Dantès (born 1796) — Dantès is initially a generally well-liked sailor who is inexperienced - but not in his profession - and 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, his original name is revealed to his main enemies only as each revenge is completed, often driving his already weakened victims into despair.

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Number 34 — Early in Dantès' stay in prison, the governor of the Château d'If is replaced. This governor does not feel it is worth his time to learn the names of all the prisoners, and instead chooses to refer to them by the numbers of their cells. Thus, Dantès is called Number 34 during his imprisonment.

Dantès's allies •

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Abbé Faria — Italian priest and sage; befriends Edmond while both are prisoners in the Château d'If, acts as a father for Edmond Dantès (as Dantès said once "I can have my revenge, thanks to you, my second father") and reveals the secret of the island of Monte Cristo to Edmond. Becomes the surrogate father of Edmond, while imprisoned, digging a tunnel to freedom he educates Edmond in languages, economics, and all the current sciences (including chemistry which comes to Dantès' aid greatly during his revenge plan) and is the figurative father of the Count of Monte Cristo. He dies from the third attack of catalepsy. Giovanni Bertuccio — The Count of Monte Cristo's steward and very loyal servant; in the Count's own words, Bertuccio "knows no impossibility" and is sure of never being dismissed from the Count's service because, as the Count states, he (the Count) will "never find anyone better." He had declared a vendetta against Monsieur de Villefort for Villefort's refusal to prosecute the murderer of Bertuccio's brother. Tracking Villefort to Auteuil, he stabs Villefort, leaving him to die, but by coincidence becomes involved in Villefort's personal life by rescuing his illegitimate newborn, later named Benedetto (Italian for blessed) by Bertuccio. Years later, he is later jailed on suspicion of the murder of a jeweler, but is released when Caderousse is arrested and proved to have committed the crime, and "Abbe Busoni" gives him a recommendation for employment to Monte Cristo. Luigi Vampa — celebrated Italian bandit and fugitive; owes much to the Count of Monte Cristo, and is instrumental in many of the Count's plans. He enjoys reading classic historical works dealing with great military leaders. Peppino — Formerly a shepherd helping Luigi Vampa, he later becomes a bandit and full member of Vampa's gang. He is condemned to be executed by Roman authorities, but Monte Cristo secures his pardon from the Pope. His alias is Rocca Priori. Haydée — The daughter of Ali Pasha of Yannina, eventually bought by the Count of Monte Cristo from the Sultan Mahmoud. Even though she was purchased as a slave, Monte Cristo treats her with the utmost respect. She lives in seclusion by her own choice, but is usually very aware of everything that is happening outside. She usually goes to local operas accompanied by the Count.

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At the trial of the Count de Morcerf, she provides the key evidence required to convict Fernand of treason and felony. She is deeply in love with the Count of Monte Cristo, and although he feels he is too old for her, he eventually reciprocates. Ali — Monte Cristo's Nubian slave, a mute (his tongue had been cut out as part of his punishment for intruding into the harem of the Bey of Tunis; his hands, feet and head had also been scheduled to be cut off, but the Count bargained with the Bey for Ali's life). He is completely loyal and utterly devoted to the Count. Ali is also a master of his horses. Baptistin — Monte Cristo's valet-de-chambre. Although only in Monte Cristo's service for little more than a year, he has become the number three man in the Count's household and seems to have proven himself completely trustworthy and loyal, except for some financial irregularities that some employers, and certainly his own, were considering practically normal for a servant. That is, when buying cosmetics or other supplies for his employer, he was inflating the price and pocketing the difference.

Morcerf family •

Mercédès Mondego — (née: Herrera) Edmond's fiancée at the beginning until their planned marriage is interrupted by Edmond's imprisonment. Eighteen months later, she marries cousin Fernand Mondego (while still pledging eternal love to Dantès) because she believes Edmond is dead and feels alone in the world. Thus, she lives as Mme. the Countess de Morcerf in Paris and bears a son. At Dantès's release and reappearance as the Count, their love is still evident and passionate but circumstances (including her own marriage and Edmond's involvement with Haydée) dictate that they cannot marry. In the end, she returns to Marseille with Edmond's respect and admiration.

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Fernand Mondego — Later known as the Count de Morcerf. Edmond's rival and suitor for Mercédès; will do anything to get her, including bearing false witness against Edmond. He is overall a representation of evil, as he lies and betrays throughout his military career for his own personal gain. When confronted by his nefarious acts, disgraced in public and abandoned by his wife and son, he commits suicide.

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Albert de Morcerf — Son of Mercédès and the Count de Morcerf. Is befriended by Monte Cristo in Rome; viewed by Monte Cristo as the son that should have been his with Mercédès, but does not have as strong a filial bond with him as does Maximilien Morrel. At the end, he realizes his father's crimes and, along with his mother Mercédès, abandons him and his name.

Danglars family •

Baron Danglars — Initially the supercargo (the owner's agent) on the same ship on which Dantès served as first mate; he longs to be wealthy and powerful and

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becomes jealous of Dantès for his favor with Pierre Morrel. He also developed a grudge against Dantès, with whom he has had some arguments regarding the accuracy of his accounting. The source of his wealth is not clear but is possibly due to unscrupulous financial dealings while in the French army and has reportedly been multiplied by speculation and marriage. His intelligence is only evident where money is concerned; otherwise he is a member of the nouveau riche with only superficial good taste (he cannot even tell the difference between original paintings and copies) and no true family feelings. Although arguably guiltier than Morcerf, Caderousse and Villefort, having written the denunciation letter, he is the only one who asks Dantès for forgiveness and is partially spared, ending up a fugitive with barely enough money to support himself, but alive and not insane. Madame Danglars — Full name is Hermine Danglars (formerly Baroness Hermine de Nargonne during a previous marriage), née de Servieux. Was independently wealthy before marrying Danglars. With help and private information from her close friend and lover Ministerial Secretary Lucien Debray, Madame Danglars secretly invests money and is able to amass over a million francs for her own disposal. During her marriage with the Baron de Nargonne, she had an affair with Gérard de Villefort, with whom she had an illegitimate son (See Benedetto). Eugénie Danglars — The daughter of Danglars, engaged at first to Albert de Morcerf and later to "Andrea Cavalcanti" but who would rather stay unwed, living "an independent and unfettered life" as an artist. She dresses as a man and runs away with another girl, Louise d'Armilly after the collapse of her intended marriage to Andrea Cavalcanti; these connotations were considered scandalous. During their flight from Paris, she and Louise, traveling as brother and sister (Eugenie had disguised herself in men's clothing), stopping at an inn at Compiègne requested a room with two beds, yet Benedetto found them in bed together.

Villefort family •

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Gérard de Villefort — A royal prosecutor who has even denounced his own father (Noirtier) in order to protect his own career. He is responsible for imprisoning Edmond Dantès to protect his political aspirations. After his attempted infanticide is publicly revealed and his second wife kills herself and their son, he loses his sanity. Renée de Villefort, née de Saint-Méran — Gérard de Villefort's first wife, mother of Valentine de Villefort. Monsieur le Marquis de Saint-Méran and Madame la Marquise de SaintMéran — Renée's parents and Valentine's maternal grandparents. Both poisoned by Valentine's stepmother in order for Valentine to inherit their wealth, and then, through a series of further deaths in the family (Valentine's and her father's), leave it to Valentine's stepbrother. Valentine de Villefort — The daughter of Gérard de Villefort and his first wife, Renée (née de Saint-Meran). She falls in love with Maximilien Morrel, is engaged

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to Baron Franz d'Épinay, is almost poisoned by her stepmother, saved once by her grandfather, Noirtier, and is finally saved by Dantès. 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. Monsieur Noirtier de Villefort — The father of Gérard de Villefort and grandfather of Valentine and Édouard (and, without knowing it, of Benedetto as well). After suffering an apoplectic stroke, Noirtier becomes mute and a paralytic, but can communicate with Valentine, Gérard and his servant Barrois through use of his eyelids and eyes. Although utterly dependent on others, he saves Valentine from the poison of her stepmother and her undesired marriage to Baron Franz d'Epinay. Throughout his life he was a Bonapartist – an ardent French Revolutionary and later revealed to be the President of a club of Bonapartists conspiring to overthrow the restored monarchy and re-establish Napoleon as Emperor. Gérard de Villefort had realized that Edmond intended to fulfill his dying captain's last wish by conveying a letter from the imprisoned Napoleon on Elba to Noirtier in Paris, and therefore imprisoned Edmond (who knew nothing about the family connection) in order to hide the fact that his father was a conspirator, which might have hindered Gérard's advancement. Héloïse de Villefort — The murderous second wife of Villefort who is motivated to protect and nurture her only son and his inheritance. Villefort threatens to have her arrested and executed unless she kills herself and she does so before her husband, having changed his mind, gets a chance to stop her. Édouard de Villefort — the only legitimate son of Villefort. A very intelligent but extremely spoiled and selfish little boy who is unfortunately swept up in his mother's greed (his mother kills him before committing suicide). (His name is sometimes translated as Edward de Villefort.) The fact that he was an innocent victim makes Dantès feel that he went too far in his revenge and explains why he treats Danglars more leniently. Benedetto — The illegitimate son of de Villefort and Hermine de Nargonne (now Baroness Hermine Danglars); raised by Bertuccio (later Monte Cristo's steward) and his sister-in-law, Assunta. Murderer and thief. Is helped to escape from a prison galley and travels to Paris to become "Andrea Cavalcanti".

Morrel family •

Pierre Morrel — Edmond Dantès's patron and owner of the major Marseille shipping firm of Morrel & Son. While a very honest and shrewd businessman, he is very fond of Edmond and eager to advance his interests. After Edmond is arrested, he tries his hardest to help Edmond and is hopeful of his release when Napoleon is restored to power, but because of his sympathies for the Bonapartist cause, he is forced to back down and abandon all hope after the Hundred Days and second Restoration of the monarchy. Between 1825 and 1830, his firm undergoes critical financial reverses due to the loss of all of his ships at sea, and he is at the point of bankruptcy and suicide when Monte Cristo (in the guise of an English clerk from the financial firm of Thompson and French) sets events in motion which not only save Pierre Morrel's reputation and honor but also his life.

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Maximilien Morrel (Maximilian in some English translations) — He is the son of Edmond's employer, Pierre Morrel, a captain in the Spahi regiment of the Army stationed in Algiers and an Officer of the Legion of Honor. After Edmond's escape and the Count of Monte Cristo's debut in Paris, Maximilien becomes a very good friend to the Count of Monte Cristo, yet still manages to force the Count to change many of his plans, partly by falling in love with Valentine de Villefort. Julie Herbault — Daughter of Edmond's patron, Pierre Morrel, she marries Emmanuel Herbault. Emmanuel Herbault — Julie Herbault's husband; he had previously worked in Pierre Morrel's shipping firm and is the brother-in-law of Maximilien Morrel and son-in-law of Pierre Morrel.

Other important characters •

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Gaspard Caderousse — A tailor and originally a neighbour and friend of Dantès, he witnesses while drunk the writing by Danglars of the denunciation of Dantès. After Dantès is arrested, he is too cowardly to come forward with the truth. Caderousse is somewhat different from the other members of the conspiracy in that it is what he does not do, rather than what he actually plans, that leads to Dantès' arrest. He moves out of town, becomes an innkeeper, falls on hard times, and supplements his income by fencing stolen goods from Bertuccio. After his escape from prison, Dantès (and the reader) first learn the fates of many of the characters from Caderousse. Unlike the other members of the conspiracy, Monte Cristo offers Caderousse more than one chance to redeem himself, but the latter's greed proves his undoing, and he becomes in turn a murderer, a thief and a blackmailer. He is eventually murdered by Benedetto. Louis Dantès — Edmond's father. After his son's imprisonment and believing Edmond dead, he eventually starves himself to death. Baron Franz d'Epinay — A friend of Albert de Morcerf, he is the first fiancé of Valentine de Villefort. Monsieur Noirtier de Villefort killed Franz's father General d'Epinay in a lawful duel after unsuccessfully trying to convince him to support plans to return Napoleon to power, but it was assumed by the public that the general was assassinated; Franz only learns the truth when Noirtier reveals it to stop Franz from marrying Valentine. Lucien Debray — Secretary to the Minister of the Interior. A friend of Albert de Morcerf, and a lover of Madame Danglars, to whom he funnels insider information regarding investments. Beauchamp — A leading journalist and friend of Albert de Morcerf (son of Fernand Mondaego, the self-styled "Count de Morcerf), he travels to Yannina to confirm the story about Fernand's background that leads to public embarrasment and Fernand's suicide. Raoul, Baron de Château-Renaud — A member of a very ancient and noble family and another friend of Albert de Morcerf. Maximilien Morrel saved Renaud's life in Algeria.

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Louise d'Armilly — Eugénie Danglars' music instructor, actually her closest friend, but not allowed to be seen in public with Eugénie because of the possibility of Louise some day becoming a professional artist in a theater setting. Eugénie and Louise run off together. Monsieur de Boville — originally an inspector of prisons (he actually meets Dantès in the Chateau d'If), he is later promoted to a senior rank of the Paris police detective force, where he does some investigating of the Count of Monte Cristo at Villefort's orders. By the close of the book, he has become a receivergeneral of funds for the hospitals. Barrois — Old, trusted servant of Monsieur de Noirtier, dies accidentally after drinking poisoned lemonade from a decanter brought to Noirtier, and from which Noirtier had drank a little. The poison was probably brucine. Having used brucine as medication for paralysis, Noirtier was not affected. Monsieur d'Avrigny — Family doctor treating the Villefort family, he alerts Villefort when he suspects poisoning. He suspects Valentine until she becomes a victim herself. Very discreet, he is willing to keep the secret as long as Villefort solves the problem, even secretly and informally, or even illegally (for instance, by locking up or poisoning the suspect). However, he threatens to reveal the secret if Villefort fails to take action.

Director: Kevin Reynolds Writers (WGA): Alexandre Dumas père (novel) Jay Wolpert (screenplay) Contact: View company contact information for The Count of Monte Cristo on IMDbPro. Release Date: 25 January 2002 (USA) more Genre: Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | Thriller more Tagline: Prepare for adventure. Count on revenge. Plot: A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friends," escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge full summary

Background to the plot Dumas has himself indicated[2] (see the introduction of the Pléiade edition of Le comte de Monte-Cristo (1981)) that he had the idea for the revenge in The Count of Monte Cristo from a story which he had found in a manuscript compiled by Jacques Peuchet, a French police archivist. Dumas included this essay in one of the editions from 1846. Besides

that, none of the works of Jacques Peuchet were published until after his death.[3] Peuchet related the tale of a shoemaker named Pierre Picaud, who was living in Nimes in 1807. Picaud had been engaged to marry a rich woman, but three 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. Picaud was released in 1814. He took possession of the treasure and returned under another name to Paris. Picaud spent ten years plotting his successful revenge against his former friends.[4] In another of the "True Stories.." Peuchet relates the tale of a terrible affair of poisoning in a family. This story, also quoted in the Pleiade edition, has obviously served as model for the chapter of the murders inside the Villefort family. The introduction to the Pleiade edition mentions other sources from real life: the abbé Faria really existed and died in 1819 after a life with much resemblance to that of the Faria in the novel. As for Dantès, his fate is quite different from his model in Peuchet's manuscript, since the latter is murdered by the "Caderousse" of the plot. But Dantès has "alter egos" in two other works of Dumas: First in "Pauline" from 1838, then, more significantly, in "Georges" from 1843 where a young man with black ancestry is preparing a revenge against white people who had humiliated him.

Historical background The success of Monte Cristo coincides with that of France's Second Empire and besides the description of the return of Napoleon I in 1815 Dumas gives at least one hint to the events: the governor at the Château d'If is promoted to a position at the castle of Ham[5]. The attitude of Dumas towards the "bonapartisme" was extremely complicated and involved. This conflict dates back to his father [6] who was a coloured man, born by a slave and who became a famous general during the revolution. When new racist laws were applied in 1802 the general was dismissed from the army and he was profoundly bitter towards Napoleon when he died in 1806. An event in 1840 renewed the patriotic support for the Bonaparte family in the population: the ashes of Napoleon I were brought to France and became object of veneration in the church of Les Invalides. In "Causeries" from 1860, Dumas prints a short paper on the genesis of Monte-Cristo. This essay, called "État civil du "Comte de Monte-Cristo"" is included in the Pléiade edition (Paris, 1981) as an "annexe". It appears that Dumas had close and intimate contacts with members of the Bonaparte family while living in Florence in 1841. In a small boat he sailed around the island of Monte-Cristo accompanied by one of the young princes – a cousin to the one who was going to be emperor of France ten years later. During this trip he promised the prince that he would write a novel with the island's name as title. At this moment the future emperor was imprisoned at the citadel of Ham – a name that is mentioned in the novel. Louis Napoleon was imprisoned for lifetime, but he fled under disguise. This happened in 1846 while Dumas's novel was already a gigantic success. Just as Dantès, Louis Napoleon reappeared in Paris as a powerful and enigmatic man of the world. In 1848, however, Dumas did not vote for Louis Napoleon, but the novel may have participated – against the will of the writer – to the victory of the future Napoleon III.