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The Count of Monte Cristo - Lecture Five: The Vendetta (Chapters XXXIX-LXI) (Patreon)

Published:
2023-08-17 20:12:14
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2026-06
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Content

'I want to be Providence, because the thing that I know which is finest, greatest and most sublime in the world is to reward and to punish.'

Today our journey through Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo continues. We're talking about rising to power, unlimited credit, poison, confession, conscience, deals with the devil, and much more.

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 the rhythm of revenge stories
  • 7:30 on the writer’s self-awareness
  • 9:00 the Count arrives in Paris
  • 11:00 Edmond meets Mercedes
  • 16:00 the individual’s rise to power
  • 21:00 meeting Baron Danglars
  • 23:00 punishment & responsibility
  • 27:00 Count’s cosmopolitan nature
  • 29:00 the inner voice of conscience
  • 32:00 on the nature of confession
  • 35:00 on Bertuccio’s vendetta
  • 39:00 vengeance, time & ghosts
  • 41:00 Dumas’ epic morality play
  • 43:00 Villefort & law of retaliation
  • 45:00 opening unlimited credit
  • 47:00 locating the enemy’s weakness
  • 51:00 learning from the poison king
  • 56:00 Monte Cristo’s deal with the devil
  • 1:00:00 your thoughts on the story?

Recommended Resources:

  • Art Appreciation: Did you know that many of the paintings hanging in the Morcerf household are by artist friends of Dumas? Artists like Delacroix, Dupré, Boulanger, Diaz, Müller, and Robert. WikiArt is my go-to when I want to appreciate works mentioned in literature.
  • Music Appreciation: You can likely tell that Alexandre Dumas was an ardent fan of great music. He also collaborated with opera composers and many illustrious names were inspired to create after reading his works. If you listen to music whilst reading, 'Alexandre Dumas Et la Musique' makes for a fabulous choice..
  • Film Appreciation: If you're in the mood for a comedy that lovingly pokes fun at some of the tropes of adventure stories like those of Alexandre Dumas, you might want to treat yourself to a viewing of The Princess Bride.
  • Morality Plays: As we've spoken a fair bit about morality plays, you might wish to check out the Arden edition of two important ones: Everyman and Mankind. You may want to take your appreciation to the next level by pairing this with a great audio version.
  • 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, here, and here.

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will cover up to and including chapter ninety-two of the story, which takes us up to page 1013 in the Robin Buss Penguin edition.

Questions to Consider:

1) Do you think revenge can ever be fully satisfying?

2) Where does our sense of morality come from? 

3) How would you adapt this story for the screen? 

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

Rebekah Sunday

I appreciated the scene with Cadderousse killing the jeweler and his wife because it was so reminiscent of my favorite Shakespeare play, Macbeth. “A Shower of Blood” - what a name for a chapter! La Carconte taunts her husband in such a Lady Macbethian way: “you are not a man… if you had been a man, he would not have left here.” And her ambition results in her untimely death just like LM. Then, a few pages later in the chapter “Toxicology,” we have a direct allusion to Lady Macbeth. The Count says “Lady Macbeth was served by her conscience: her desire, whatever Shakespeare says, was to give the throne to her son, not to her husband. Oh, maternal love is such a great virtue and powerful impulse that it can excuse many things. Hence, without her conscience, Lady Macbeth would have been a very unhappy woman after the death of Duncan.” I love this point he’s making about conscience. It’s not black and white, right and wrong. Lady Macbeth found a way to justify what she wanted to do and her conscience agreed with her — before the murder — then it didn’t. It’s so fun being able to read these classics with more of a Shakespearean foundation under my feet.

Mandy Williams

I remember reading Paradise Lost at school which was a long time ago but I suspect that I found it difficult and therefore it did not stay with me. I am really looking forward to re reading it in the knowledge that my life experience is inevitably going to make this work challenging and hopefully rewarding at the same time

Jonathon Glover

Man, I can’t tell you how much I adore the Princess Bride. Great recommendation in the Recommendations. I personally love the larger than life character of The Count, and I don’t think that Dumas is actually stating that we should act out vengeance, it is a form of catharsis, in the same way that Shakespeare’s tragedies aren’t encouraging us to kill everyone at the family dinner 😂 We are being asked to suspend disbelief and to trust in a character who is able to operate at a standard above any mere mortal. I see The Count as a modern action hero, a James Bond/Jason Bourne archetype who exists outside the barriers of traditional morality. Personally, I think that the revenge has to be carried out, and with great brutality, and that it has to benefit someone other than Edmund himself - whether that be Mercedes, or Morrel and Valentine. Personally, I loved the section surrounding Caderouse trying to sell the jewellery and think that it stands up on its own as a wonderful closet drama (as some have outlined) in the mould of Macbeth. I’ve been thinking about our diversion into the world of Moliere last year and how we discussed that misanthropy can only exist from someone who truly cared about humanity. And I see that idea in The Count. It is hard to imagine him readjusting healthily back into society after his revenge, but I also think that his callousness is a mechanism to protect himself from how much he genuinely believes in the potential of humanity.

Jonathon Glover

A reporter once asked the oldest man alive how he has lived so long. He responded, “I never let go of petty grievances” 😂 revenge keeps us young!! I personally loved the interaction between Edmond and Mercedes. Whilst she still loves him, her main priority is her son, showing that the 24 years apart has changed her priorities, as life should. And that her recognition of Edmund, allows him to return (somewhat) to his old self. Beautiful piece of writing. The fact that it was contrasted with The Count so coldly and calmly exclaiming how he will kill Albert (someone I think he generally likes) was so cold, and wonderful contrast used by Dumas.