Napoleon and the Count of Monte Cristo

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    The Count of Monte Cristo is a novel written by the French writer Alexander Dumas. It was published in 1844. The novel displays the French status during 18th century and the beginning of 19th one, especially around the French Revolution. Thus, the best approach to understand the novel is the historical approach.

     The novel is mainly about Edmond Dantes, who is a young sailor that lives a happy life and is engaged to Mercedes. Dantes is a hardworking man that gets promoted and is very soon to be the captain of the ship. This promotion makes his coworker Danglars extremely jealous. Actually, Dantes' whole successful and happy life causes his fake friends to envy him. Moreover, Fernand Mondego, who pretends to be Dantes' friend, is actually in love with Dantes' fiancee and is willing to marry her. The third character that is supposed to be Dantes' friend is Caderousse. He is Dantes' neighbor that envy him for being more successful in life than he is. Those three so-called friends make a conspiracy against Dantes to get rid of him.

     At this point, the significance of the historical reference appears. In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself the emperor of France after the execution of the King Louis XVI and his Queen due to the revolution that began in 1798. The revolution took place because the middle class wanted to create a government by common people and overthrow the monarchy. Unfortunately, Napoleon's rule didn't last for too long. Since Napoleon exported the revolution to other European countries, these countries, which are led by monarchies, defeated Napoleon in Waterloo battle in 1815. They exiled him to the island of Saint Helena, and the family of Louis XVI restored the monarchy in France.

     Napoleon, in his exile, has a significant role in the novel. He meets Edmond in Elba, when Edmond is delivering a package to one of Napoloen's marshals as the captain tells him to do so. Danglars, due to jealousy, tries to turn the captain against Dantes by telling him that according to Dandes' directions, the trip costs them too much. However, the captain understands the situation from Dantes, which makes Danglars angrier. Afterwards, Danglars tells Caderousse and Fernand about Dantes talking with Napoleon, and they agree on writing a letter to the government, confirming that Dantes is a traitor. Accordingly, Dantes is arrested in his wedding day, and they find a letter with him from Napoleon to his supporters. Although Dantes has this letter, he has no idea about its content. Dantes is sentenced to prison for life, and he is imprisoned for 14 years. At the end, he comes back to take revenge from everyone who hurted him.

     In conclusion, the novel actually depicts the French situation at that time in a premier manner. Dumas wrote the novel in an extraordinary way, and he succeeded in linking the historical part with the interesting plot of the novel.

         


                                      Works Cited

-           Schlegel, Chris. "The Count of Monte Cristo." LitCharts. Accessed 6 Aug 2021.

-           Schlegel, Chris. "The Count of Monte Cristo Plot Summary." LitCharts. Accessed 6 Aug 2021.







Comments

  1. Sarah HagarDecember 18, 2021 at 4:13 PM

    I read a part of it before, but I did not complete it as it is one of the lengthiest books. However, I enjoyed your interpretation very much. It is really written in an artistic way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mariam Mohamed HosnyDecember 18, 2021 at 10:34 PM

      Thank you! I strongly recommend you finish the novel.

      Delete
  2. Nour HamedDecember 20, 2021 at 6:22 PM

    Alexander Dumas has succeeded in interesting his audience, meanwhile, portraying the French status during the 19th century. Moreover, I believe that if another part of this novel is published, it would be highly entertaining to read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mariam Mohamed HosnyDecember 20, 2021 at 6:59 PM

      Actually, it would be great. I like this novel, and I hope there would be part two.

      Delete
  3. Salma YaserDecember 20, 2021 at 6:35 PM

    This is such an amazing book, and your interpretation is as great. I think that just the fact of Dantes getting revenge is so amazing. I loved the revenge theme and it was awesome. Watching Dantes grow and learn and remember all the weaknesses and exposing them is so amazing and kinda funny.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mariam Mohamed HosnyDecember 20, 2021 at 6:57 PM

      I second that the theme of revenge is significant in the novel, especially that Dantes did not hurt anyone except the ones who hurt him. He also helped an innocent young man to marry his beloved one. Maybe he did that because he did not want other people to feel the bitterness of being separated from their beloved ones as he felt in the past.

      Delete
  4. Salma MustafaDecember 22, 2021 at 9:37 PM

    This is a great book. It is dark and hopeless, yet makes one amazed of how Dantes took his revenge eventually.

    ReplyDelete

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