CountofMonteCristo

Eric Chen Titus Andronicus Returns with Style The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas. 255 pages. CFT Publisher. $15.

Love, betrayal, and vengeance all play poignant roles in __The Count of Monte Cristo.__ If Shakespeare comes to mind, it’s because Alexandre Dumas’s writing exemplifies Shakespeare’s smooth, magical touch. He unwinds the story with consistent eloquence, transforming normal life in 19th century France into a fantastic tale of intrigue, politics, and jealousy. Dumas craftily writes an engaging storyline revolving around Edmond Dantes, a virtuous youth who’s cruelly betrayed, but perseveres in showy fashion. Dumas seamlessly intertwines Edmond’s innocent character with hungry, unexpected antagonists, Edmond’s former friends, Fernand and Danglars. Blinded by greed, lust (Edmond and Fernand desire to win the same girl’s heart), and envy, Edmond’s friends-turned-enemies cruelly frame him into a hopeless life of political imprisonment. Alexandre Dumas then adds a portentous twist to the plot to transform Edmond Dantes into the “Count of Monte Cristo.” The author accurately creates the Count with vitality and mystique, exemplifying the post-Renaissance ideals of individualism and secularism. Dumas invents the Count with the tact of Caesar in maneuvering France’s snake pit of politics combined with the vibrant eloquence of Cicero. With supreme tact, the Count turns down an invitation: “I’m extremely grateful, madame, but I arrived in Paris only today and I came straight here. I haven’t even seen my house yet.” Dumas lavishes the Count with grand influence and character as embodied when Albert exclaims, “Count, please tell me how you managed to inspire such respect in the bandits of Rome, who respect so few things.” The Count only starts the list of unconventional characters. Alexandre Dumas crafts characters with compelling personalities. Fernand, a fisherman, falls prey to his endless ambitions and lust. Unhesitant to betray his friends, Fernand strives to achieve higher status after framing Edmond after marrying Mercedes, a girl Fernand loves. Monsieur Danglars, purser of Edmond’s ship, has his sights on power, wealth, and money, whatever the cost may be. Caderousse, a tailor, is empowered by greed. Monsieur Villefort, the corrupt crown prosecutor, only serves himself and his reputation, heedless of right and wrong. The Count of Monte Cristo strives to not only to avenge his past with masterful plans, but to serve as a divine force in fate. The real tragedy is not how Edmond is wronged, but how fate blesses the malicious with prosperity and power, and curses the virtuous with scarcity and pain. All Edmond’s benefactors- his ship owner and his father, are thrust into the pits of poverty. Dumas twists the plot with irony, bitterness, and style. From simple, youthful bliss to the complex, dignified lives of France’s nobility, Dumas consistently guides the reader into deft, interesting affairs. With a flare of vitality, Dumas expresses the reactions and behaviors of the characters such as “His face turned pale”, which make the novel delightfully entertaining. To the reader’s satisfaction, Dumas creates scheme after scheme of psychological tension as the Count’s master plan unravels. Dumas invites the reader into the Count’s fulfilling redemption with ease and grandeur. In contrast to the abrupt, typical revenge involving force, the Count of Monte Cristo does not shed blood in one blur. Rather, Dumas creates a gradual, satisfying downfall. The beauty is how the antagonists are their own devices of doom. It is only the Count who exploits his enemies’ flaws with fantastic finesse, resulting in their heart pounding psychological and social disasters. Dumas expresses how we forge our own fates through our character and actions, instead of letting fate drag us underground. Dumas emphasizes how our past and misdeeds can haunt us into ultimate wreckage and ruin. Through the influential deeds of the Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas inspires powerful themes: revenge is time-consuming, and humans are capable of spectacular endeavors. Dumas finishes the story with thrill and flare, providing a powerful conclusion to end fate’s unsettled business of years past. However, the message and effect of __The Count of Monte Cristo__ remains everlasting.