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The Count of Monte Cristo - Lecture Four: The Count (Chapters XXXI-XXXIX) (Patreon)

Published:
2023-08-06 20:14:45
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

'The count stood upright and triumphant like an avenging angel...'

Today our journey through Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo continues. We're talking about the sublime, gothic, allusions to Christ, machiavellian philosophy, and much more.

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 meeting the Count of Monte Cristo
  • 2:00 the aesthetic shift in the story
  • 7:00 meeting Franz and Albert
  • 9:00 stepping into the story world
  • 13:00 gothic elements in Dumas
  • 15:00 fiction is mind-altering
  • 19:00 Edmond as genie figure
  • 22:00 the island of Monte Cristo
  • 24:00 on connotations of Christ
  • 26:00 the suffering of Dantés
  • 30:00 execution as entertainment
  • 32:00 the philosophy of revenge
  • 36:00 embracing the oral tradition
  • 37:00 ‘like an avenging angel…’
  • 39:00 Edmond as byronic hero
  • 41:00 ‘vampire going straight to hell’
  • 47:00 soliciting the shadow’s power
  • 49:00 Machiavellian philosophy
  • 55:00 how one should exact revenge
  • 57:00 line seperating good & evil
  • 1:01:00 your thoughts on the story?

Recommended Resources:

  • Film Appreciation: We've recommended the 1998 television mini-series starring Gérard Depardieu, but you might also fancy taking a look at the 2002 film starring Jim Caviezel and Guy Peace here.
  • Lord Byron: If you find yourself intrigued by the byronic aspects of our central protagonist, you might find this to be a good time to explore some of the great English poet's works. I highly recommend leafing through this superb volume of his poetry.
  • The Vampire: You might also wish to follow up some of those vampiric descriptions and the parallels drawn between the Count and Polidori's vampire. You can enjoy his story, available in this volume, in a single evening.
  • Documentary: Norway's Halden Prison is considered the world's most luxurious prison. There's quite a difference between this prison and the Château d'If. This documentary gives a great insight into how rehabilitation is much more effective than punishment 
  • Radio Dramatisation: If you're in the mood for some vintage radio, you might like to take a peek at Orson Welles' audio production of The Count of Monte Cristo here.
  • Our Adventure So Far: If you would like a refresher for any of our discussions, then you can return our first lectures here, here, here, and here.

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will cover up to and including chapter sixty-one of the story, which takes us up to page 686 in the Robin Buss Penguin edition.

Questions to Consider:

1) How would the story be different if it had been written by one of the other writers we’ve read together?

2) ‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ Do you think that is fair?

3) Do you personally relate to any of the themes explored in this work?

And please do share with us your favourite passages and ideas from the latest instalments of this riveting story.

Happy reading, everybody!

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Comments

Kristen Egener Chaddah

I enjoy reading others’ comments. I feel in alignment and helped along in my trying to simply keep up. I feel like I’m riding a runaway horse some of the time. I feel distinctly uncomfortable moving through French high society and long for scenes with real substance instead of all the theatricality, vanity, pompousness, and greed. I keep hearing the voice of the patriarch in a trailer for the television series Succession saying, “Money wins.” I find it so depressing. I want to witness Edmund Dantes emerge into the light. That is what keeps me going.

Brian Zielenski

Like others here, I initially struggled with the narrative shift that begins with Franz visiting Monte Cristo. It felt as if the Count was a new character, not the person we'd spent the last 300 pages with. This is especially apparent at the execution; listening to the Count talk about his views on death and revenge made me wonder if there was anything of Edmond left in him. As the novel stands, I can also read this as a purposeful shift that shows the change that living only for revenge has created in Edmond. He is no longer the open, caring, lover of mankind that we saw at the beginning and even in prison. His desire to inflict pain on others has made him cold, detached, and more a personification of Old Testament justice than a man.

Craig Mckissick

I’ve found this bit of the book a total drag, interested to see if you will enlighten me 🤔 I just can’t get invested in the aristocratic characters, which might be by design so I’ll keep reading

Sunny

These middle sections of the book have been harder for me to get through than the first. I think it is because we are farther from Dantes/The Count. We are experiencing the mc through Franz and Albert rather than up close with him like we did when he was imprisoned. His alignment with Eastern culture is fascinating. I guess I'm a little confused where that influence came from. Is that from Dantes spending time in those regions or more from Dumas?