Edmond Dantès’ Philosophy of Revenge

What is Revenge?  Revenge: retaliation in kind or degree to get even; to inflict injury in return for insult; getting satisfaction; self-imposed restoration to what you see as right, reasonable, or fair  Edmond’s views on revenge are deeply rooted in personal interpretations of Biblical passages.

“Eye for an Eye”  Exodus 21:  “And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,  Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,  Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”

“Eye for an Eye”  The revenge is not complete and perfect unless Edmond can match his methods of vengeance to each specific crime.

“Trial by Fire”  1 Corinthians 3:13  “Every man’s work shall be made manifest for the day he shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”

“Trial By Fire”  People must earn happiness by proving their worthiness.  Even Edmond’s friends and supporters (and their families) must go through tests to see if they are worthy of enjoying a good life.

“Refiner’s Fire”  Malachi 3:2  “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire…”

“Refiner’s Fire”  Edmond sees himself as a human representative of the Avenging Angel Raphael, a Biblical figure who dispenses justice in an all-powerful, all-knowing, and completely perfect way.  Monte Cristo will be seen by many characters as being omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.

The Count of Monte Cristo: The Paradoxical Persona

Time Gap  Ten years pass between Chapters 19 and 20  During that time, Edmond goes off to perfect his “Count of Monte Cristo” persona  We only get hints of what he’s done and where he’s been – adds an air of mystery to the character

Monte Cristo as Supernatural  Comes across as all-knowing and all- powerful  Super-human physical strength  Cunning and sneaky  Physically sometimes described as being like a corpse or vampire

The Paradox  The Count of Monte Cristo has an odd combination of character traits:  Lifestyle seems aimed at maximizing pleasure: best food, beautiful women, every possible luxury  BUT: He barely eats, never even looks at women; fascination with torture and death  Result: People are drawn in and frightened by him simultaneously

Why the discrepancies?  Monte Cristo aims to impress everyone – and it works  Everyone is enthralled, but no one gets too close to him  His travels make him comfortable in any situation – maximizes his efforts to gather information  Obsessed with revenge – no room in his life for anything else