The Count Of Monte Cristo: The Character Of Edmond

In Alexandre Dumas's book, The Count of Monte Cristo. Edmond Dantes chooses his destiny from the moment he steps foot outside of prison. He had free will after he dubbed himself “The Count,” and he could ruin whoever he wanted whenever he wanted to.

Edmond Dantes was young, handsome, and was a skillful sailor too. He was living a good life and had everything he would ever need. Moderate income, a job he loved, and the girl of his dreams. His life takes a turn for the worst when people got envious of how he was living and became jealous.

Edmond was targeted and put into prison for being a Bonapartist, where he sat for a decade. While he was in prison, he was taught by Abbe Faria and learned many skills that he would use to get revenge on those who wronged him. Upon his release, he did not make it known he was Dantes rather, “The Count.” Now that he was out, he was sure to make the best use of his time.

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Only he will be deciding his fate.

“farewell to kindness, humanity, and gratitude. Farewell to all sentiments that gladden the heart. I have substituted myself for Providence in rewarding the good; may the God of vengeance now yield me His place to punish the wicked!” Edmond states this after he rewarded the Morrels. He was no longer Edmond Dantes; he was “The Count.” He was finally going to begin what he had been planning out for the last decade.

He was going to ruin everyone who ruined him, and nothing was going to stop him. Edmond has nothing to lose so he can go to great lengths at getting back at those who made him miserable and wanted him to rot in prison. Edmond portrays his emotionless demeanor; the end of the book is when he begins to show emotion for the first time in a while. Edmond seemed to be a master of disguise as well, anything from pretending to be a banker to dubbing himself “The Count” and disguising himself as “Abbe Busoni.” When Edmond disguises as “Abbe Busoni,” he moves in next to Villefort. Edmond receives an anonymous letter letting him know that a thief is planning to strike soon. Edmond has a secret room with a 1-way window. He waits for the thieves and disguises as a priest. He confronts Caderousse when he attempts to pick the lock to his office. Caderousse attempts to stab him; Edmond is quick to defend himself and twists his arm sending him to the ground. Edmond tells him to leave, and he abides, fleeing the room. Only to be surprised and stabbed by Andrea. As he is bleeding out, Edmond says this.

“Listen: When you betrayed your friend, God began, not to strike you, but to warn you: you fell into poverty. You were already thinking of crime, giving yourself the excuse of necessity, when God performed a miracle for you, when God sent you a fortune, it wasn’t enough for you. As soon as you had it you wanted to double it, and by what means? Murder.”

Edmond watched as Caderousse bled out, not helping him at all. He made Caderousse aware of his mistakes, and he made it known there is nothing he can do about it now.

Edmond meets a multitude of different people in The Count of Monte Cristo, but perhaps his strongest influencer was his fellow inmate, Abbe Faria. I believe that in this world full of hatred towards him, Abbe was a beam of light and even a father figure towards Edmond. He most likely invoked Edmond’s hatred. “I regret having helped you in your investigation and said what I did to you,' Faria said. “Why is that?” Edmond remarked. “Because I have insinuated a feeling into your heart that was not previously there: the desire for revenge.” Replied Faria. When Abbe Faria says this, he is taking responsibility for inducing the revenge feeling that Edmond has. Yes, Edmond had hatred for those who wronged him, but he had no idea how he would have gotten revenge without help from Faria. 'Misfortune is needed to plumb certain mysterious depths in the understanding of men; pressure is needed to explode the charge. My captivity concentrated all my faculties on a single point. They had previously been dispersed, now they clashed in a narrow space; the clash of clouds produces electricity, electricity produces lightning and lightning gives light.' Faria is saying that adversity can fuel ambition inside of Edmond. The hardships that he has gone through will only be fuel to the fire in the long run.

'No, it is not life that I regret, but the ruin of my plans, which were so long in devising and so laborious to construct. Providence, which I thought favoured them, was apparently against them. God did not want them to come to fruition!

'This burden which I took on, almost as heavy as a world, and which I thought I could carry to the end, was measured according to my desire and not my strength. I shall have to put it down when my task is barely half completed. Ah, I shall have to become a fatalist, after fourteen years of despair and ten years of hope had made me a believe me a believer in Providence!'

Edmond is stating here that for him to have the belief that he is indeed an agent of the providence, he must understand what is “meant to be.” All of this ties into fate v.s. Free will. Edmond believes he is a higher authority in these people's lives, much like a god. Not only does Edmond believe he is this “higher figure,” he acts upon it as well as seen throughout the novel. 'and Ali, lying in his tomb, left the traitor unpunished, but I, who have also been betrayed, assassinated and cast into a tomb, I have emerged from that tomb by the grace of God and I owe it to God to take my revenge. He sent me for that purpose. Here I am.' Here Edmond is talking to Mercedes about how there needs to be individuals on this earth to carry out his deeds and do his will. Edmond also goes on to state how he believes he is this man.

During Edmond’s tenure in prison, he was taught by Abbe Faria that, “…to learn is not to know; there are the learners and the learned. Memory makes the one, philosophy makes the other.” Edmond transitions into an individual who is learned. Edmond believes he must carry out God’s will. He would later return to Mersailles and begin his journey towards revenge.

All in all, Edmond just wanted to satisfy himself, which would never happen anyway. He always needed more, but hey, at the end of it, there will be few things that will pique our interests on our death beds, and they will all be going 6 feet under in a casket. Is it not true that at the end of it all that the deaths of everyone who wronged him will not matter, once Edmond and everyone he once knew, loved and hated is gone, it won’t matter who wronged who. That does not mean that Edmond did not choose his fate; rather, He did not have the power over his destiny.