Edmond Dantès
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Edmond Dantès is the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas' novel, The Count of Monte Cristo.
Dumas got the idea for the character of Edmond from a true story, which he found in a memoir written by a man named Jacques Peuchet. Peuchet related the story of a shoemaker named Pierre Picaud, who was living in Paris in 1807. Picaud was engaged to marry a rich woman, but four jealous friends falsely accused him of being a spy for England. He was imprisoned for seven years. During his imprisonment a dying fellow prisoner bequeathed him a treasure hidden in Milan. When Picaud was released in 1814, he took possession of the treasure, returned under another name to Paris and spent ten years plotting his successful revenge against his former friends.
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[edit] History
[edit] Dantès, first mate of The Pharaon
When the reader is first introduced to Edmond Dantès, he is arriving in Marseille aboard the merchant ship The Pharaon , and the reader learns that he is First Mate under Captain Leclère. At only 19 years old, the young Dantès seems destined for success. Dantès tells his patron, M. Morrel, that Captain Leclère fell ill on their last journey, at which point Morrel claims that he will try to have Dantès named captain of The Pharaon . Dantès rushes off to see his beloved, a young Catalan woman by the name of Mercèdes, and the two agree to be married immediately.
[edit] The Wedding and The Arrest
Unfortunately, their marriage never occurs. On the night of their nuptual feast, Dantès is arrested as a suspected Bonapartist, and taken to see the public prosecutor, Gérard de Villefort. De Villefort concludes that Edmond is innocent, and ensures Edmond that he will be released. He then asks for a piece of evidence cited in a letter denouncing Edmond to the authorities. The letter claims that on Edmond's last voyage, he made a stopover at the island of Elba, and received a letter from the deposed Emperor Napoléon. Edmond hands over the letter, which he received in the name of Captain Leclère, and of which the contents are to Edmond unknown. De Villefort throws the letter on the fire, and once again promises Edmond's speedy release. The letter had been addressed to a M. de Noirtier, who, unbeknownst to Edmond, is de Villefort's father. De Villefort has renounced his father, a staunch Bonapartist, and destroyed the letter to protect himself, not Edmond; to further protect his name, de Villefort sentences Edmond to imprisonment in the inescapable Chateau d'If.
[edit] Despair and Suicide
Edmond was taken to the infamous Chateau d'if, an island fortress from which no prisoner had ever escaped, and to which the most dangerous political prisoners were sent. After many long years in solitary confinement in the dungeons of the Chateau, Edmond decided to commit suicide by starvation. After nearly two weeks, and having become so ill that the gaolers thought him near death, one night, he heard scratching against the wall of his cell. Concluding that it could only be another prisoner digging his way to freedom, Dantès resolved to live, and to aid this fellow prisoner, so that they might gain their freedom. Dantès eventually broke through into the tunnel, and adjoined cell, of an old Italian abbé named Faria.
[edit] The Priest and the Escape
The two prisoners became as father and son, with the learned priest teaching young Dantès all he knew about Mathematics, Science, Languages, and Theology. Together, the two determined the names of the men who denounced Edmond as a Bonapartist, and although Faria disapproved, Edmond formulated plans of revenge against the men who had betrayed him. Sadly, Faria died before the two could escape, but before he died, he bequeathed to Edmond a secret treasure, so vast that it would shame kings, hidden on the isle of Monte Cristo. The night of Faria's passing, Edmond exchanged himself for his mentor in the priest's bodybag, and obtained escape from the prison. He was rescued from the sea by several smugglers, who believed him a shipwreck victim. At his earliest opportunity, Edmond suggested a stopover and trading of goods at the small island of Monte Cristo, during which he confirmed the existence of Faria's treasure. On this and subsequent visits, Edmond obtained enough wealth to remake himself into a man unrecognizable from the man who had entered the Chateau d'If fourteen years ago.
[edit] Loyalty and Betrayal
Upon returning to Marseille, Edmond tried to determine what had happened to all those whom he had known. He learned that his father had died, and Mercedes had disappeared. His old neighbour and acquaintance Gaspard Caderousse was still alive, and under the guise of the Abbé Busoni, Edmond visited Caderousse to learn more. Caderousse told him how M. Morrel had tried to obtain a fair trial for Edmond, and how Mercédès tried to determine his fate. Edmond learned that Mercédès had married one of the men who had betrayed Edmond, Fernand Mondego. He also learned that almost as if fate had intervened, those who had remained loyal to Edmond had suffered at the hand of Fate, while those who had betrayed him, had prospered. On the other hand, M. Morrel was faced with bankruptcy and disgrace, and his father died of a broken heart. Edmond thanked Caderousse for the information, paying him with a large diamond that he said had come into Edmond's possession while in prison. Realizing that only Morrel had remained loyal, Edmond created two new guises, one of a Britishman named Lord Wilmore from the firm Thomson and French, and one named Sinbad the Sailor, and under these guises, saved Morrel from bankruptcy and suicide. He would then go into hiding, spending ten years reforming himself as the Count of Monte Cristo.
[edit] Paris and the Count
Ten years after saving the fortunes of M. Morrel, Edmond would emerge into Parisian society as the mysterious and sophisticated Count of Monte Cristo. Having begun a transformation while in the Chateau d'If, under the tutelage of the Abbé Faria, Dantès has perfected his persona as the perfect nineteenth century gentleman. Having purchased the deed to the island from whence he obtained his treasure, Edmond is able to place himself in the upper strata of Paris society, and assume the role of one of the most influential men in all of France. As such, he is introduced to several other powerful men, most notably the Baron Danglars, who is now a wealthy banker, Count Fernand de Morcerf who, through military success, has become a hero of France, and M. Villefort, who is now the Procureur du Roi, one of the most powerful advocates in the country. Furthermore, Count de Morcerf has married the beautiful Mercédès, and the two have a son named Albert. Having established himself in the Parisian society, and having distanced himself from Edmond Dantès, the Count is able to formulate his plans of revenge against the men who betrayed him.
