THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO | World Famous Classics

The ship, Pharaon, was docked in Marseilles, a portb town in Italy, on 24th February 1815. The ship belonged to a rich merchant named Monsieur Morrel. Edmond Dantes, a young, handsome and hardworking sailor, handed over the ship and its cargo to its owner. He informed him that the Captain had died on the way and he had taken over the responsibility of bringing the ship home safely

Monsieur Morrel was impressed by Dantes and promised him the Captainship. However, Dantes requested for some time so that he might go home, meet his father and marry his beloved fiancée Mercedes. Unknown to him, his enemies were plotting against him.

Danglars, the treasurer of the Pharaon and jealous of Dantes’ success; Caderousse, Dantes’ neighbour and a man of evil intent; and Fernand Mondego, a young man in love with Mercedes, Dantes’ fiancée; met at an inn. They discussed how they could destroy Dantes. They knew that the captain of the ship had given a letter to Dantes before dying. The letter had to be delivered to someone in Paris.

Next day, when Dantes was officially declared as the Captain of the Pharaon, amidst the celebrations, some armed men walked in and arrested him without any explanation. Later, it was known that Dantes was charged for treason as he was carrying a letter from Napoleon for the Bonapartists in Paris. Danglars had leaked this information.

Villefort, the prosecuting attorney, who was handling Dantes’ case, found that the letter that Dantes was
carrying was to be given to Villefort’s father, who was a Bonapartist. To safeguard his own interest, he imprisoned Dantes in the invincible fortress of the Chateau d’If, from where there was no escape.

For many years, Dantes lived in a prison cell almost wanting to kill himself. One day, Dantes heard a coprisoner digging. He, too, started digging and soon met Abbe who was digging from the other end. They
became friends and continued digging for many years. Abbe gave Dantes lessons on history, literature, science and languages. He even told him about the hidden treasure.

Dantes and Abbe were about to reach the end of their mission, their freedom, when Abbe died. The guards sewed Abbe’s body in a sack, to be thrown into the ocean next morning. Dantes hid Abbe’s body and got into the sack himself. The very next morning, he was thrown into the ocean.

Dantes managed to escape out of the sack and was rescued by a smuggler’s ship. He travelled with them, smuggled, fought and rescued Haydée, a slave girl. Later, he discovered the island, Monte Cristo, where the treasure that Abbe had told him was hidden.

Rich and loaded with money, Dantes now called himself ‘the Count of Monte Cristo’ and had two goals. First, to reward those who helped his family while he was in prison. Secondly, to punish the people who were responsible for sending him to prison.

Dantes found out that Monsieur Morrel did his best to free him from the prison and that his father died because of grief. He also discovered Danglars’ role in sending him to prison and how Fernand had married Mercedes and was living in Paris. Villefort, too, was married and wealthy.

The first thing that Dantes did was to pay off all the debts of Morrel. He left him with enough riches so that Morrel might marry off his daughter and live a comfortable life. He did all this anonymously.

Dantes shifted his base to Paris with Haydée and started mingling with the most influential and rich people in Paris. Unknown to them, he befriended all his enemies. He also became close to Maximilian, Morrel’s son, whom he loved as his own son. None except Mercedes recognized him, but she kept quiet.

One by one, Dantes started destroying his enemies. He informed the press that Fernand was a traitor and by doing so, he ruined him socially. When Mercedes discovered her husband’s treachery, she left him.

Dantes then destroyed Danglars financially, as money was the only thing he loved. Caderousse was also easily destroyed because of his insatiable greed. To Villefort, he made it clear that he knew all his dirty secrets. Villefort’s wife was more villainous, so she destroyed him herself.

Dantes did not feel at peace even after taking his revenge. To search for solace, he visited the old prison which was now an empty fort. There, he discovered an old tattered book written by Abbe. After reading it, he found comfort.

Dantes returned to the island of Monte Cristo. He helped Maximilian unite with his love and blessed the couple. He also tried to grant Haydée her freedom but she refused because she loved him and would not leave him. In the end, the Count of Monte Cristo found love and peace.

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