Is suffering an injustice caused by the system itself a sign of carte blanche for us to do it by our own means? With this background, Alexandre Dumas exposes the hypocrisy of French society in the 19th century.The book, contrary to what EVERYONE says, is not about Revenge, maybe a little, but it has very beautiful messages about Forgiveness, Generosity, That There Is Goodness in the World, Believing in God’s Plans, Repentance, Love, Hope and Happiness . The story, despite focusing on several characters, demonstrates Monte Cristo’s journey very well, a journey with a negative arc that, thanks to love and friendship, meant that it did not end in disgrace, but rather with a positive ending. Villefort, Morcef and Danglars may have destroyed innocent lives, especially those of Monte Cristo, but the book does not attempt to demonstrate that the Count is correct in punishing the three in a monstrous way, the Count has several questionable behaviors and in the end he regrets it. It’s funny because I didn’t imagine the book would have so many Christian messages, mainly because it’s a “revenge” story, but towards the end it shows a lot about that.
The ending was not like The Odyssey. Edmond simply punishes his enemies the same way Ulysses executed Penelope’s suitors, the couple simply reunites. Unlike Penelope, Mercedes was horrified by Edmond’s actions and said that the man she loved no longer existed and broke contact with him.
Edmond stayed with Haydee because she was just like him and wanted revenge just like him. Because she experienced suffering like him, Hayee understood the reasons for the man he became, because she experienced the suffering he experienced. Edmond was imprisoned for years in the Château d’If and Haydee was a slave for years.
Mercedes was the perfect woman for Edmond Dantes, but Haydee was perfect for the count of Monte Cristo.
I hope the miniseries being filmed with Sam Clalfin as The Count and Jeremy Irons as Abbé Faria does the book justice. In the film adaptation with Pierre Niney, from the images I think they want to make Edmond a kind of masked vigilante.
by calipso_odyssey