The Count of Monte Cristo - Lecture One: The Arrest (Chapters I-IX) (Patreon)

'Happiness is like one of those places on an enchanted island, its gates guarded by dragons. One must fight to gain it...'

Today we're discussing the exhilarating beginning of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. We're talking about revenge, jealousy, unjust imprisonment, political division, and much more.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 how to live this great book
• 3:00 significance of historical frame
• 8:00 Napoleon leaves his exile on Elba
• 10:00 how Dumas creates dramatic irony
• 12:00 our meeting of Edmond Dantès
• 14:00 the story’s dramatic foreshadowing
• 17:00 Edmond Dantès vs Danglar
• 19:00 cliffhangers & pre-cinematic prose
• 21:00 on round vs flat characters
• 23:00 the psychology of jealousy
• 24:00 revenge, honour & justice
• 26:00 meeting the conspirators
• 28:00 relating to Edmond Dantès
• 31:00 the theme of fate vs free will
• 32:00 on pride vs happiness
• 35:00 slaying dragons of the mind
• 37:00 when a man becomes a number
• 39:00 ‘seek and you shall find’
• 41:00 meeting prosecutor Villefort
• 42:00 Dantès arrested as Bonapartist
• 45:00 political atmosphere of the era
• 47:00 drawing a veil over the past
• 50:00 Villefort vs Edmond Dantès
• 52:00 the slender threats of fate
• 54:00 Edmond taken to Château d'If
• 58:00 what are you making of the story?

Recommended Resources:

• Historical Supplements: There are two volumes that do a truly wonderful job explaining the socio-political climate of the time: Stephen Coote's Napoleon and the Hundred Days, and Mark Braude's The Invisible Emperor: Napoleon on Elba.
• Short Story Pairing: Whilst we're thinking about unjust imprisonment, you might find it interesting to compare and contrast this story with Stephen King's 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption'. The film is phenomenal too and even gives a humorous nod to Alexandre Dumas.
• Shakespeare Pairing: Alexandre Dumas would be ecstatic if he knew his readers found themselves compelled to read Shakespeare on account of his work. I recommend exploring the classic tale of revenge that inspired Dumas to pick up the pen in the first place: The Tragedy of Hamlet.
• Storytelling Mechanics: In addition to returning to E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel for a refresher on character construction, you might also like to explore John Mullan's chapter on characterisation in his excellent How Novels Work and also James Wood's thoughts on character in How Fiction Works.

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will cover up to and including chapter twenty of the story, which takes us up to page 201 in the Robin Buss Penguin edition.

Questions to Consider:

1) What's the difference between revenge and justice?

2) What element of the story most resonates with you?

3) How would you characterise the writing of Alexandre Dumas?

If this is your first reading of The Count of Monte Cristo, I would love to know how the story is meeting your expectations. If this is a reread for you, what is it like returning to the story? And please do share with us your favourite passage from the beginning of the story.

Happy reading, everybody!