The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas

This journey dates back to Christmas 2018. This was the year in which all that I asked for Christmas was a stack of books from my lengthy “books to read” notes page. What I did not expect, however, was that I would receive nearly every book on that screenshot that I sent to my mother. This was also the time in my life in which I decide to devote my personal reading into a classicist discovery. Needless to say, upon receiving all of those classic books, I was more than overwhelmed. Ranging from Paradise Lost to War and Peace, they were all there. As a result, I have deigned from touching some, especially Ulysses; but one book in particular had sat on my bedside table for too long, and it only took a pandemic for me to open it.

If one good thing comes out of COVID-19, amongst my terrible hypochondria and restlessness inside of my house, it will be that I finally got the courage to pick up The Count of Monte Cristo. An absolute behemoth of a book, the beautifully ornate Barnes and Nobles version had stared at me for two and a half years. However, my fears immediately subsided and I found myself transported back in time to 19th century France.

We start our story in the south of France, in the Mediterranean port city, Marseilles. Here we are first introduced to our champion, hero, Christ-figure himself, Edmond Dantes. The young man, at the age of 19, has just been promoted temporary caption of his cargo ship and the future appears filled with unceasing potential. Not only has this promotion excited his young spirits, but like a soldier returning from war, Edmond wastes no time and rushes to see his beautiful betrothed, Mercedes, to whom he will marry that week.

Unfortunately, as is often the case when a young man finds success early on, jealousy and spite arise in the hearts of others. In this particular case, a fellow sailor and a mutual lover of the fair Mercedes despise Edmond for getting in the way of their respective aspirations. Incapable of letting another’s happiness exist outside of their own worldly goals, the two conspire against Edmond and frame him for a crime in which he did not commit. Worse yet, Edmond is arrested on the night of his wedding, taken before a judge, and is carried away to an island dungeon.

For fourteen whole years, Dates suffered loneliness, depression, and hunger; he questioned the existence of God, he danced with death and tried to starve himself, all for a crime in which he did not commit. One night; however, Dantes hears a sort of mechanical scratching somewhere within his cell walls. Immediately, he recognizes the sound must be another prisoner tunneling his way through the walls. Meeting the fellow prisoner from his own side, Dantes has his first human interaction in years with an old Abbe by the name of Faria.

The two men quickly become friends, traveling to each other’s rooms after the guards retire. The Abbe Faria, a master in all curriculum, spends his time instructing Dantes on everything from literature and language to physics and mathematics. For years, the two spend every night together, plotting the exact moment for an escape. It is here that the Abbe Faria tells Dantes of a lost fortune, long forgotten by any other human. After his eventual escape from prison, Dantes finds the Abbe’s words to be true and has amassed a wealth second to none. With his freedom and fortune, we follow Edmond Dantes on his sole mission in life: to avenge his persecutors under the pseudonym, “The Count of Monte Cristo.”

This is the extent of the plot summary in which I will give, but will start by saying that this book is the epitome of my journey with classic literature. This book is the reason I sought out the stories of old, and it is a story that I shall not soon forget. As I said before, our Edmond is a character of perfection. Displaying all graces of gallantry and gentility, he is what every man aspires to become. But with this perfection, we see a sorrow and a suffering unmatched in any other story. In fact, I believe this is what transcends Dantes to a Christ-like character as he too was convicted of a crime he had not committed. And yet, Dantes is so human. We are fortunate to feel his pain, his grief, his complete separation from the world. Is this not how many of us feel? Especially in a pandemic!? Though through it all, Dantes is unshaken from his mission of vengeance. He represents all that is wise and all that is true in the world.

The most prominent theme in the book is hope and the prominence of moral justice. Throughout the very lengthy book, we are able to dive into the lives of many characters, often at the lowest points of their lives, none lower than Dantes himself. The main lesson in this story is that even at these low points in life, there is always hope for those that are good. On the contrary, when life appears good for those that are innately bad, justice will always follow. No man will be left unpunished.

Secondly, the theme of death is more than prevalent. We see multiple main characters battle suicidal thoughts, some carrying the action out. We see murder and executions, and it is only until the end of the story in which all of the macabre imagery makes sense. In the final scene, Dantes finally verbalizes his powerful inner philosophy. He reveals that the secret behind his character, is that he has known what death looks like. He says that “he who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die… that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life.”

So where does that leave us? Are we called to stand at the edge of a cliff waiting for but a gust of wind to take us over? I do not think so. Rather, we all face many small deaths throughout our lifetimes. We all have our struggles, some more than others. We do not need to seek out any more hardships than life already throws our way. But as long as we are morally just, there is hope. I leave you with my favorite passage. “Live… and be happy, beloved children of my heart! And never forget that until the day when God will deign to reveal the future to man all human wisdom is contained in these words: “Wait” and “hope.” Wait, be kind, and hope, my friends. And if you need more words of encouragement, I promise that you will find solace in The Count of Monte Cristo.

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Favorite Quotes

God forgive me for rejoicing at happiness derived from the misery of others.

We are never quits with those who oblige us, for when we don't owe them money we owe them gratitude.

Believe me, to seek a quarrel with a man is a bad method of pleasing the woman that loves that man.

[The brain] needs trouble and difficulty and danger to hollow out various mysteries and hidden mies of human intelligence. Pressure is required, you know, to ignite powder; captivity has collected into one single focus all the floating faculties of my mind; they have come into close contact in the narrow space in which they have been wedged; and you are well aware that from the collision of clouds electricity is produced– from electricity comes lightweight, from whose flash we have light amid our great darkness.

There’s nothing gives you so much courage as good reasons.

Live! The day will come when you will be happy and will bless life.

The friends that we have lost do not repose in the bosom off the earth, but are buried deep in our hearts.

There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, that we may appreciate the enjoyments life. Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart! And never forget that until the day when God will deign to reveal the future to man all human wisdom is contained in these two words: “Wait” and “hope”.

— your friend, Edmond Dantés