- Edmond Dantes- the main character, a sailor, unjustly imprisoned. After escaping, he becomes rich, noble and famous under the name of the Count of Monte Cristo. Also used the names: Abbot Busoni, Lord Wilmore, Maltese Zaccone, Sinbad the Sailor.
- Abbot Faria- Edmond Dantes' fellow prisoner, a learned monk who revealed to him the secret of the treasure on the island of Monte Cristo.
- Fernand Mondego- Mercedes' cousin, a fisherman who wants to marry her. Later becomes lieutenant general, Comte de Morcerf and peer of France.
- Mercedes Herrera- the bride of Edmond Dantes, who later became the wife of Fernand.
- Albert de Morcerf- son of Fernand and Mercedes.
- Danglars- accountant on the Pharaoh, gave the idea of denouncing Dantes, later becomes a baron and a wealthy banker.
- Hermine Danglars- Danglars’s wife, formerly the widow of the Marquis de Nargon and the mistress of the royal prosecutor de Villefort, who is fond of stock trading. Benedetto's biological mother.
- Eugenie Danglars- the daughter of the Danglars couple, who dreams of becoming an independent artist.
- Gerard de Villefort- Assistant prosecutor of Marseille, later became royal prosecutor of Paris. Biological father of Benedetto.
- René de Saint-Meran- Villefort's first wife, Valentina's mother, daughter of the Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Meran.
- Heloise de Villefort- the second wife of the royal prosecutor, ready to do anything for the sake of her son Edward.
- Noirtier de Villefort- father of the royal prosecutor, former Girondin and Napoleon senator, chairman of the Bonapartist club, later paralyzed. “Despite this, he thinks, he desires, he acts.”
- Valentina de Villefort- Villefort’s eldest daughter from her first marriage, a rich heiress, in fact her grandfather’s nurse, the beloved of Maximilian Morrel.
- Edward de Villefort- the young son of the royal prosecutor from his second marriage, a spoiled and cruel child.
- Gaspard Caderousse- Dantes's neighbor, first a tailor, and later an innkeeper. For some time he was a smuggler, later he became an accomplice in murder, a fugitive from hard labor.
- Giovanni Bertuccio- business manager of the Count of Monte Cristo, retired Corsican smuggler, adoptive father of Benedetto.
- Benedetto- a fugitive from hard labor, the illegitimate son of the royal prosecutor and Baroness Danglars. He was known in Parisian society as Viscount Andrea Cavalcanti.
- Pierre Morrel- Marseilles merchant, owner of the ship "Pharaoh", benefactor of Dantes.
- Maximilian Morrel- son of Pierre Morrel, captain of the spaga, protégé of the Count of Monte Cristo.
- Julie Morrel (Herbaugh)- daughter of Pierre Morrel.
- Emmanuel Herbault- Julie's husband.
- Doctor d'Avrigny- family doctor Vilforov, who was the first to suspect the terrible secret of this family.
- Franz d'Epinay- a groom imposed on Valentina de Villefort, friend of Albert de Morcerf, son of General de Quesnel (Baron d'Epinay), killed in a duel by Noirtier de Villefort.
- Lucien Debray- Secretary of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, current lover and trading partner of Baroness Danglars.
- Beauchamp- editor of the newspaper “Impartial Voice”, friend of Albert de Morcerf.
- Raoul de Chateau-Renaud- French aristocrat, baron, friend of the Viscount de Morcerf (like the three previous ones).
- Haide- the count's slave, the daughter of Ali-Tebelin, Pasha of Yanina, betrayed by Fernand.
- Luigi Vampa- a young shepherd who became the leader of a gang of robbers in the vicinity of Rome. He owes the Count of Monte Cristo his life and freedom, in return he vowed never to touch either the count himself or his friends.
- Jacopo- a Corsican sailor from the tartan of the smugglers “Young Amelia”, who saved Dantes when he was drowning after escaping from the castle-prison of If. Subsequently - captain of the count's yacht.
- Baptisten- Valet of the Count of Monte Cristo.
- Ali- slave, servant of the Count of Monte Cristo, mute Nubian (with his tongue cut out).
Read “The Count of Monte Cristo” in summary
On February 27, 1815, the three-masted ship "Pharaoh" returned to Marseille from another voyage. Captain Leclerc was not destined to set foot on his native soil: he died of fever on the high seas. The young sailor Edmond Dantes took command, fulfilling the captain’s other last wish: the “pharaoh” enters the island of Elba, where Dantes transfers the package received from the hands of Leclerc to Marshal Bertrand and meets with the disgraced emperor himself. Dantes is given a letter to be delivered to Paris to Mr. Noirtier, one of the conspirators preparing Napoleon's return to the throne.
The owner of the Pharaoh, Morrel, invites Dantes to officially take over as captain of the ship. The accountant of the Danglars shipping company, obsessed with envy, decides to remove Dantes. Together with a retired soldier and now a simple fisherman Fernand Mondego, who competes with Dantes for the right to marry the beautiful Mercedes, and the tailor Caderousse, who robbed Edmond's father during the voyage, Danglars composes an anonymous letter to the assistant prosecutor of Marcel de Villefort. The meaning of the denunciation: Dantes is a secret agent of the Bonapartists. During the interrogation, Dantes, without concealment, everything as it was, tells Villefort about his visit to Elba. There is no corpus delicti; Villefort is ready to release the prisoner, but after reading Marshal Bertrand’s letter, he realizes: his happiness and his very life depend on this game of chance. After all, the addressee, Mr. Noirtier, a dangerous conspirator, is his father! It’s not enough to burn the damned letter, you also have to get rid of Dantes, who might unwittingly publicize this whole story - and as a result, de Villefort will lose not only his place, but also the hand of his bride, Renée de Saint-Meran (she is the daughter of an old royalist; the views of Mr. Noirtier, his relationship with the groom is a secret for them). Dantes is sentenced to life imprisonment in the Chateau d'If, a political prison in the middle of the sea, not far from Marseille...
Five years pass. Dantes is close to despair, he decides to die by starvation. Suddenly, one evening, a dull grinding sound comes to his ears behind the wall. He is not alone here, someone is clearly digging a hole in the direction of his dungeon. Edmond begins to dig a counter tunnel. Many days of work are rewarded with the joy of meeting a fellow sufferer. Abbot Faria - that is the name of the prisoner from the next cell - spent four years longer in the Château d'If than Dantes. By digging his hole, he hoped to break through to the outer wall of the prison, jump into the sea and swim to freedom. Alas, he made a mistake in his calculations! Edmond consoles the abbot: there are now two of them, which means they can continue what they started with double energy. The abbot's strength is running out, and soon, when salvation is just around the corner, he becomes seriously ill. Before his death, he initiates Dantes into the secret of the countless treasure hidden by Cardinal Spada on the island of Monte Cristo three hundred years ago.
Having transferred the body of the abbot to his cell, Dantes hides in the bag in which the dead man was placed. In the morning, without noticing the substitution, he is thrown into the sea - this is how the inhabitants of the Chateau d'If have been buried since the founding of the prison. Edmond is saved! He is picked up by smugglers. One of them, Jacopo, becomes Dantes's faithful comrade. A few months later, Edmond finally reaches the island of Monte Cristo. The treasures of Abbot Faria are truly countless.
During the long years of Dantes' absence, significant changes also occurred in the fates of those who were to blame for his suffering; Fernand Mondego rose to the rank of general (now his name is Comte de Morcerf). Mercedes became his wife and bore him a son. Danglars is a rich banker. De Villefort - Crown Prosecutor. Caderousse said goodbye to the tailor's needle and scissors and runs a rural inn. ...God sends a strange guest to Caderousse. Abbot Busoni, who, according to him, confessed the dying Edmond Dantes, must fulfill the last will of the deceased. Dantes handed him a diamond, the money from the sale of which should be divided into five parts: equally - Mercedes, Danglars, Fernand, Caderousse and old Dantes. Caderousse is blinded by the shine of the diamond. He tells Abbot Busoni that Dantes was told by those whom he decided to benefit that Mercedes did not remain faithful to him. Yes, he, Caderousse, witnessed the writing of the denunciation - but what could he do! Danglars and Fernand would have killed him on the spot if he had mentioned the unseemly nature of their malice! As for the old man Dantes, he did not have enough strength to endure the blow of fate (in reality, Caderousse robbed him completely, and Edmond’s father died of hunger). He, he, Caderousse, is the only heir of poor Dantes! Abbot Busoni hands Caderousse a diamond and disappears the next morning...
At the same time, Lord Wilmore, an agent of the banking house Thomson and French, comes to the mayor of Marseille. He asks permission to review the investigation file of the Abbé Faria, who died in the If prison. He also has another assignment: to pay the debts of Mr. Morrel, the owner of a shipping company that is on the verge of collapse. Morrel's last hope was in his flagship - the three-masted Pharaoh, but that - oh, evil fate! - dies in a shipwreck. Wilmore hands Morrell a promissory note for a six-figure sum and issues a deferment for three months. But what can you do in three months? On the day when the reprieve expires, Morrel's daughter receives a letter signed "Sinbad the Sailor" indicating the address where she will find the wallet intended for her illustrious father. In the wallet is a check for the amount owed by Morrel and a diamond the size of a walnut: Mademoiselle Morrel's dowry. Everything that happened is like a fairy tale: but this is not enough. The "Pharaoh" enters the port of Marseilles safe and sound with all sails! The city is a witness to this miracle. Lord Wilmore, aka Abbot Busoni, aka Count of Monte Cristo, aka Edmond Dantes: “Be happy, noble man! You deserve this happiness! Along with the case of Abbot Faria, Edmond leaves Marseille...
The young Parisian aristocrat Baron Franz d'Epinay, going to the carnival in Rome, intended to visit the legendary Elba. However, he changes his route: the ship sails past the island of Monte Cristo, where, according to rumors, a man who calls himself Sinbad the Sailor lives in a fairy-tale palace The owner of the island receives Franz with such hospitality and luxury that, it seems, none of the most powerful inhabitants of the earth have ever dreamed of. In Rome, Franz unexpectedly meets Sinbad, living in the same hotel with him under the name of Franz's friend, Viscount Albert de Morcerf. captured by robbers from the gang of chieftain Luigi Vampa, who terrorizes the inhabitants of Rome. Count of Monte Cristo saves Albert: “Chieftain, you violated our agreement, Vampa is a friend of mine, he is in disarray, he sternly reprimands his thugs: “We are all obliged.” count life! How could you act so rashly!" Albert invites the Count to visit Paris and be his guest of honor.
In the capital (where the count has not appeared before), Albert introduces him to his friends, including Morrel’s son Maximillian. This acquaintance deeply excited the count - young Morrel was no less excited when he learned that the count was using the services of the banking house of Thomson and French, which saved the lives of their entire family.
The Count of Monte Cristo acquires several apartments in Paris and a house in Auteuil, at 28 Rue Fontaine, which previously belonged to the Marquis de Saint-Meran. The count's manager, Bertuccio, perceives their move to this house as an evil fate. Many years ago, he witnessed how de Villefort buried a newborn baby in the garden of his father-in-law's house - an illegitimate son from an unknown lady. Bertuccio hastened to dig up a box - the baby was still alive. Bertuccio's daughter-in-law raised a boy, whom they named Benedetto. The son of eminent parents took the wrong path and ended up in jail. But this is only one of two terrible stories hidden by Bertuccio from the count. In June 1829, he stopped at the Caderousse tavern - the day after Abbot Busoni had visited there (Bertuccio does not realize that the abbot, who rescued him a long time ago from hard labor, and the count are the same person). Abbot Caderousse sold the diamond to a reliable jeweler for 45 thousand francs, and that same night he was stabbed to death. Now Caderousse is where Bertuccio also happened to be: at hard labor. The Count is sure that this is not the last drop in the cup that Caderousse must drink; as for Benedetto - if he is alive, he will serve as a weapon of God's punishment...
The city is filled with rumors about the mysterious count and his wealth. The Count opens an “unlimited loan” at the Danglars bank. Danglars questions the Count's capabilities: there are limits to everything in the world. The Count sneers: “For you, maybe, but not for me.” - “No one has counted my cash register yet!” - Danglars is wounded. “In this case, I am the first one who will have to do this,” the count promises him. Monte Cristo becomes close not only with Danglars, who did not recognize poor Edmond in him, but also with the de Villefort family. The Count wins the favor of Madame de Villefort: the Count's servant Ali saved her and Villefort's son from marrying her from an accident (Villefort also has a daughter from his first marriage, Valentina, bound by bonds of love with Maximillian Morrel, but forced by her relatives to marry Franz D." Epine). ) recognizes in the Opera the man who gave the fortress that defended the city where her father ruled to the Turks for two thousand purses of gold, and sold Hayde herself as a twelve-year-old girl into slavery to the Turkish Sultan. This man’s name is now Fernand Mondego, he is now known as Comte de Morcerf, general; -lieutenant, member of the House of Peers, Monte Cristo ransomed him from the Sultan, the count vowed to take revenge on the one who killed her father and she herself languished in captivity. He is not at all surprised that this scoundrel is Fernand: who betrayed him once risks staying. a traitor to the end.
Luxurious lunch at the Monte Cristo house. The first blows prepared by the Count for his offenders. Villefort turns pale when the count informs all the guests that in the garden he found the skeleton of a baby buried alive under the previous owner. Danglars learns that, while playing on the stock exchange, he suffered losses in the amount of over a million francs (the count published false information about the coup in Spain in the newspaper, and Danglars hastened to get rid of the shares of the Madrid Bank). Villefort informs Madame Danglars that the count is apparently privy to their secret: the unfortunate child was their illegitimate son. "You buried my child alive! God, this is your revenge!" - exclaims Madame Danglars. “No, revenge still awaits us, and the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo will have to carry it out!” Villefort undertakes to find out the whole truth about the count at all costs; but Abbot Busoni and Lord Wilmore, who find themselves in Paris, give him very contradictory information. The Count not only remains unrecognized by playing these two roles, but also confuses his tracks. A young man named Andrea Cavalcanti appears in Paris (one count, who showered him with generosity, knows that this is the escaped convict Benedetto). Immediately, Caderousse emerges from the ground, assuring Benedetto that he is his son, and luring money out of the young scoundrel under the threat of ruining the brilliant career that has opened up before him. Cavalcanti-Benedetto de Villefort is forced to obey: he has his eye on Danglars' daughter, a girl with a rich dowry. Isn’t it better, he suggests to Caderousse, to give the count a good shake than to steal from him the money with which the madman Monte Cristo is lending him? Caderousse climbs into the count's house - and comes face to face with Abbot Busoni. The old convict betrays the young one; He writes, under the dictation of the abbot, a letter to Danglars, explaining who his son-in-law actually is. Leaving the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, Caderousse runs into Benedetto's knife. Before he gives up the ghost, the abbot makes sure that he, Monte Cristo and Edmond Dantes are one person...
A hail of misfortunes rains down on de Villefort's head: one after another, his father-in-law and mother-in-law suddenly die, then the old footman who drank lemonade from a decanter in his father Noirtier's room. The doctor comes to the conclusion: they were all poisoned. The criminal lives in this house. All of Villefort's servants immediately ask for their resignation. The case receives wide publicity. And here is a new blow: Noirtier upsets the wedding of Valentina and Franz d'Epinay (he promised this to his beloved granddaughter). Noirtier's secretary contains a document stating that in February 1815 he killed General de Quesnel, Baron d'Epinay in a fair fight who did not want to join the Bonapartist conspiracy.
Now it’s Fernand’s turn. There is a scandal in the House of Peers: newspapers published a report about his low behavior during the Turkish siege of the fortress of Ioannina. Gaide comes to the hearings in the Chamber and presents documents to the peers that confirm: all this is true, General de Morcerf’s position in society was bought at the price of betrayal. Albert de Morcerf challenges the count to a duel, standing up for his father, but after the whole truth about Fernand Mondego is revealed to him, he asks Dantes for forgiveness. Madame de Morcerf, who still loves him, Mercedes, also begs Edmond for this. The Count accepts Albert's apology; on the same day he and his mother leave Paris. Morcerf repeats his son's challenge, but after the Count of Monte Cristo reveals his true name to him, the dishonored general puts a bullet in his forehead.
Danglars is on the verge of ruin. He has to pay all the new bills that the count's proxies come to him with. His last hope is that he will be able to make a decent match for his daughter: young Cavalcanti is Monte Cristo’s confidante, and the giver’s hand is unlikely to become scarce. After the signing of the marriage contract, the words from Caderousse’s letter sound like a bolt from the blue: “Andrea Cavalcanti is an escaped convict!” Eugenie leaves Paris. Danglars no longer has either a daughter or money. He leaves a farewell note to his wife (“I’m letting you go the way I married you: with money, but without a good reputation”) and runs away. Andrea-Benedetto also runs, hoping to cross the border; but the gendarmes stop him. At the trial, he says: his father is prosecutor de Villefort!
The last, most terrible blow of fate in the heart of de Villefort: Valentina is poisoned. He has no more doubts: the murderer is his wife, who obtained an inheritance for herself and her son in such a terrible way (the old man Noirtier declared his granddaughter to be the only heir). De Villefort threatens his wife with the scaffold. In despair, Madame de Villefort takes poison and poisons the boy: “A good mother does not abandon the child for whose sake she has become a criminal.” Villefort loses his mind; wandering through the garden of the Count of Monte Cristo's house, he digs graves in one place or another...
The act of retribution has been completed. Villefort is mad. Caderousse and Fernand are dead. Danglars was captured by robbers from Luigi Vampa's gang and spends his last money on bread and water: the thugs sell him a small piece of bread for a thousand francs, and in total he has less than fifty thousand in his pocket. The Count of Monte Cristo grants him life and freedom. Turning gray overnight, Danglars ekes out the existence of a beggar.
Evil is punished. But why did young Valentina de Villefort, who did not share the guilt of her father and stepmother, burn in his flame? Why should Maximillian Morrel, the son of the one who for many years in a row made attempts to rescue Dantes from prison, grieve for her all his life? Leaving Paris, the Count performs the miracle of Valentina's resurrection. Her death was staged by him in community with the old man Noirtier: the terrible poison was neutralized by a miraculous medicine - one of the generous gifts of Abbot Faria.
Year of writing:
1845
Reading time:
Description of the work:
The novel The Count of Monte Cristo was written by Alexandre Dumas in 1844. It was this novel that brought the author long-awaited fame. Immediately after the publication of the book The Count of Monte Cristo, performances began to be staged.
The novel has been filmed several dozen times. We invite you to read its summary.
On February 27, 1815, the three-masted ship “Pharaoh” returned to Marseille from another voyage. Captain Leclerc was not destined to set foot on his native soil: he died of fever on the high seas. The young sailor Edmond Dantes took command, fulfilling the captain’s other last wish: the “pharaoh” enters the island of Elba, where Dantes passes the package received from the hands of Leclerc to Marshal Bertrand and meets with the disgraced emperor himself. Dantes is given a letter to be delivered to Paris to Mr. Noirtier, one of the conspirators preparing Napoleon's return to the throne.
The owner of the Pharaoh, Morrel, invites Dantes to officially take over as captain of the ship. The accountant of the Danglars shipping company, obsessed with envy, decides to remove Dantes. Together with a retired soldier and now a simple fisherman Fernand Mondego, who competes with Dantes for the right to marry the beautiful Mercedes, and the tailor Caderousse, who robbed Edmond's father during the voyage, Danglars composes an anonymous letter to the assistant prosecutor of Marcel de Villefort. The meaning of the denunciation: Dantes is a secret agent of the Bonapartists. During the interrogation, Dantes, without concealment, everything as it was, tells Villefort about his visit to Elba. There is no corpus delicti; Villefort is ready to release the prisoner, but after reading Marshal Bertrand’s letter, he realizes: his happiness and his very life depend on this game of chance. After all, the addressee, Mr. Noirtier, a dangerous conspirator, is his father! It’s not enough to burn the damned letter, you also have to get rid of Dantes, who might unwittingly publicize this whole story - and as a result, de Villefort will lose not only his place, but also the hand of his bride, Renée de Saint-Meran (she is the daughter of an old royalist; the views of Mr. Noirtier, his relationship with the groom is a secret for them). Dantes is sentenced to life imprisonment in the Chateau d'If, a political prison in the middle of the sea, not far from Marseille...
Five years pass. Dantes is close to despair, he decides to die by starvation. Suddenly, one evening, a dull grinding sound comes to his ears behind the wall. He is not alone here, someone is clearly digging a hole in the direction of his dungeon. Edmond begins to dig a counter tunnel. Many days of work are rewarded with the joy of meeting a fellow sufferer. Abbot Faria - that is the name of the prisoner from the next cell - spent four years longer in the Château d'If than Dantes. By digging his hole, he hoped to break through to the outer wall of the prison, jump into the sea and swim to freedom. Alas, he made a mistake in his calculations! Edmond consoles the abbot: there are now two of them, which means they can continue what they started with double energy. The abbot's strength is running out, and soon, when salvation is just around the corner, he becomes seriously ill. Before his death, he initiates Dantes into the secret of the countless treasure hidden by Cardinal Spada on the island of Monte Cristo three hundred years ago.
Having transferred the body of the abbot to his cell, Dantes hides in the bag in which the dead man was placed. In the morning, without noticing the substitution, he is thrown into the sea - this is how the inhabitants of the Chateau d'If have been buried since the founding of the prison. Edmond is saved! He is picked up by smugglers. One of them, Jacopo, becomes Dantes's faithful comrade. A few months later, Edmond finally reaches the island of Monte Cristo. The treasures of Abbot Faria are truly countless.
During the long years of Dantes' absence, significant changes also occurred in the fates of those who were to blame for his suffering; Fernand Mondego rose to the rank of general (now his name is Comte de Morcerf). Mercedes became his wife and bore him a son. Danglars is a rich banker. De Villefort - Crown Prosecutor. Caderousse said goodbye to the tailor's needle and scissors and runs a rural inn. ...God sends a strange guest to Caderousse. Abbot Busoni, who, according to him, confessed the dying Edmond Dantes, must fulfill the last will of the deceased. Dantes handed him a diamond, the money from the sale of which should be divided into five parts: equally - Mercedes, Danglars, Fernand, Caderousse and old Dantes. Caderousse is blinded by the shine of the diamond. He tells Abbot Busoni that Dantes was told by those whom he decided to benefit that Mercedes did not remain faithful to him. Yes, he, Caderousse, witnessed the writing of the denunciation - but what could he do! Danglars and Fernand would have killed him on the spot if he had mentioned the unseemly nature of their malice! As for the old man Dantes, he did not have enough strength to endure the blow of fate (in reality, Caderousse robbed him completely, and Edmond’s father died of hunger). He, he, Caderousse, is the only heir of poor Dantes! Abbot Busoni hands Caderousse a diamond and disappears the next morning...
At the same time, Lord Wilmore, an agent of the banking house Thomson and French, comes to the mayor of Marseille. He asks permission to review the investigation file of the Abbé Faria, who died in the If prison. He also has another assignment: to pay the debts of Mr. Morrel, the owner of a shipping company that is on the verge of collapse. Morrel's last hope was his flagship - the three-masted Pharaoh, but that - oh, evil fate! - dies in a shipwreck. Wilmore hands Morrell a promissory note for a six-figure sum and issues a deferment for three months. But what can you do in three months? On the day when the reprieve expires, Morrel's daughter receives a letter signed “Sinbad the Sailor” indicating the address where she will find the wallet intended for her illustrious father. In the wallet is a check for the amount owed by Morrel and a diamond the size of a walnut: Mademoiselle Morrel's dowry. Everything that happened is like a fairy tale: but this is not enough. The “Pharaoh” enters the port of Marseilles safe and sound with all sails! The city is a witness to this miracle. Lord Wilmore, aka Abbot Busoni, aka Count of Monte Cristo, aka Edmond Dantes, looks at the sailboat rising from the abyss with a smile: “Be happy, noble man! You deserve this happiness!.. And now - goodbye, philanthropy! Let the god of vengeance make way for me so that I can punish the villains!..” With documents from his investigative file, kept together with the case of Abbot Faria, Edmond leaves Marseille...
The young Parisian aristocrat Baron Franz d'Epinay, going to the carnival in Rome, intended to visit the legendary Elbe. However, he changes his route: the ship sails past the island of Monte Cristo, where, according to rumors, a man who calls himself Sinbad the Sailor lives in a fairy-tale palace. The owner of the island receives Franz with such cordiality and luxury, which, it seems, none of the most powerful inhabitants of the earth have ever dreamed of. In Rome, Franz unexpectedly meets Sinbad, living in the same hotel with him under the name of Count of Monte Cristo. Franz's friend Viscount Albert de Morcerf is captured by robbers from the gang of chieftain Luigi Vampa, who terrorizes the people of Rome. The Count of Monte Cristo saves Albert: “Ataman, you have violated our agreement, my friend’s friend is my friend.” Vampa is distraught and sternly reprimands his thugs: “We all owe our lives to the Count! How could you act so rashly!” Albert invites the Count to visit Paris and be his guest of honor.
In the capital (where the count has not appeared before), Albert introduces him to his friends, including Morrel’s son Maximillian. This acquaintance deeply excited the count - young Morrel was no less excited when he learned that the count was using the services of the banking house of Thomson and French, which saved the lives of their entire family.
The Count of Monte Cristo acquires several apartments in Paris and a house in Auteuil, at 28 Rue Fontaine, which previously belonged to the Marquis de Saint-Meran. The count's manager, Bertuccio, perceives their move to this house as an evil fate. Many years ago, he witnessed how de Villefort buried a newborn baby in the garden of his father-in-law's house - an illegitimate son from an unknown lady. Bertuccio hastened to dig up a box - the baby was still alive. Bertuccio's daughter-in-law raised a boy, whom they named Benedetto. The son of eminent parents took the wrong path and ended up in jail. But this is only one of two terrible stories hidden by Bertuccio from the count. In June 1829, he stopped at the Caderousse tavern - the day after Abbot Busoni had visited there (Bertuccio does not realize that the abbot, who rescued him a long time ago from hard labor, and the count are the same person). Abbot Caderousse sold the diamond to a reliable jeweler for 45 thousand francs, and that same night he was stabbed to death. Now Caderousse is where Bertuccio also happened to be: at hard labor. The Count is sure that this is not the last drop in the cup that Caderousse must drink; as for Benedetto - if he is alive - then he will serve as a weapon of God's punishment...
The city is filled with rumors about the mysterious count and his wealth. The Count opens an “unlimited loan” at the Danglars bank. Danglars questions the Count's capabilities: there are limits to everything in the world. The Count ironizes: “For you, maybe, but not for me.” - “No one has counted my cash register yet!” - Danglars is wounded. “In this case, I am the first one who will have to do this,” the count promises him. Monte Cristo becomes close not only with Danglars, who did not recognize poor Edmond in him, but also with the de Villefort family. The Count wins the favor of Madame de Villefort: the Count's servant Ali saved her and Villefort's son from marriage from an accident (Villefort also has a daughter from his first marriage - Valentina, bound by bonds of love with Maximillian Morrel, but forced by her relatives to marry Franz d' Epinet). It’s as if fate itself is opening wide the doors to the Count of Monte Cristo in the houses of his sworn enemies, informing him of their other victims. The pupil of Dantes-Monte Cristo, the daughter of Pasha Yanina, the wondrous beauty Gayde (there are rumors in Paris that she is the count's mistress) recognizes in the Opera the man who gave the Turks for two thousand purses of gold the fortress that defended the city where her father ruled, and Gayde herself at the age of twelve sold as a girl into slavery to the Turkish Sultan. This man's name was Fernand Mondego; he is now known as Comte de Morcerf, Lieutenant General, member of the House of Peers. Hayde was ransomed by Monte Cristo from the Sultan, the count vowed to take revenge on the one because of whom her father died and she herself languished in captivity. He is not at all surprised that this scoundrel is Fernand: he who betrays once risks remaining a traitor to the end.
Luxurious lunch at the Monte Cristo house. The first blows prepared by the Count for his offenders. Villefort turns pale when the count informs all the guests that in the garden he found the skeleton of a baby buried alive under the previous owner. Danglars learns that, while playing on the stock exchange, he suffered losses in the amount of over a million francs (the count published false information about the coup in Spain in the newspaper, and Danglars hastened to get rid of the shares of the Madrid Bank). Villefort informs Madame Danglars that the count is apparently privy to their secret: the unfortunate child was their illegitimate son. “You buried my child alive! God, this is your revenge! - exclaims Madame Danglars. “No, revenge still awaits us, and the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo will have to carry it out!” Villefort undertakes to find out the whole truth about the count at all costs; but Abbot Busoni and Lord Wilmore, who find themselves in Paris, give him very contradictory information. The Count not only remains unrecognized by playing these two roles, but also confuses his tracks. A young man named Andrea Cavalcanti appears in Paris (one count, who showered him with generosity, knows that this is the escaped convict Benedetto). Immediately, Caderousse emerges from the ground, assuring Benedetto that he is his son, and luring money out of the young scoundrel under the threat of ruining the brilliant career that has opened up before him. Cavalcanti-Benedetto de Villefort is forced to obey: he has his eye on Danglars' daughter, a girl with a rich dowry. Isn’t it better, he suggests to Caderousse, to give the count a good shake than to steal from him the money with which the madman Monte Cristo is lending him? Caderousse climbs into the count's house - and comes face to face with Abbot Busoni. An old convict betrays a young one; He writes, under the dictation of the abbot, a letter to Danglars, explaining who his son-in-law actually is. Leaving the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, Caderousse runs into Benedetto's knife. Before he gives up the ghost, the abbot makes sure that he, Monte Cristo and Edmond Dantes are one person...
A hail of misfortunes rains down on de Villefort's head: one after another, his father-in-law and mother-in-law suddenly die, then the old footman who drank lemonade from a decanter in his father Noirtier's room. The doctor comes to the conclusion: they were all poisoned. The criminal lives in this house. All of Villefort's servants immediately ask for their resignation. The case receives wide publicity. And here comes a new blow: Noirtier upsets the wedding of Valentina and Franz d’Epinay (he promised this to his beloved granddaughter). Noirtier's secretary contains a document stating that in February 1815 he killed General de Quesnel, Baron d'Epinay, who did not want to join the Bonapartist conspiracy, in a fair fight.
Now it’s Fernand’s turn. There is a scandal in the House of Peers: newspapers published a report about his low behavior during the Turkish siege of the fortress of Ioannina. Gaide comes to the hearings in the Chamber and presents documents to the peers that confirm: all this is true, General de Morcerf’s position in society was bought at the price of betrayal. Albert de Morcerf challenges the count to a duel, standing up for his father, but after the whole truth about Fernand Mondego is revealed to him, he asks Dantes for forgiveness. Madame de Morcerf, who still loves him, Mercedes, also begs Edmond for this. The Count accepts Albert's apology; on the same day he and his mother leave Paris. Morcerf repeats his son's challenge, but after the Count of Monte Cristo reveals his true name to him, the dishonored general shoots a bullet in the forehead.
Danglars is on the verge of ruin. He has to pay all the new bills that the count's proxies come to him with. His last hope is that he will be able to make a decent match for his daughter: young Cavalcanti is Monte Cristo’s confidante, and the giver’s hand is unlikely to become scarce. After the signing of the marriage contract, the words from Caderousse’s letter sound like a bolt from the blue: “Andrea Cavalcanti is an escaped convict!” Eugenie leaves Paris. Danglars no longer has either a daughter or money. He leaves a farewell note to his wife (“I’m letting you go the way I married you: with money, but without a good reputation”) and runs away. Andrea-Benedetto also runs, hoping to cross the border; but the gendarmes stop him. At the trial, he says: his father is prosecutor de Villefort!
The last, most terrible blow of fate in the heart of de Villefort: Valentina is poisoned. He has no more doubts: the murderer is his wife, who in such a terrible way obtained an inheritance for herself and her son (old Noirtier declared his granddaughter to be the only heir). De Villefort threatens his wife with the scaffold. In despair, Madame de Villefort takes poison and poisons the boy: “A good mother does not abandon the child for whose sake she became a criminal.” Villefort loses his mind; wandering through the garden of the Count of Monte Cristo's house, he digs graves in one place or another...
The act of retribution has been completed. Villefort is mad. Caderousse and Fernand are dead. Danglars was captured by robbers from Luigi Vampa's gang and spends his last money on bread and water: the thugs sell him a small piece of bread for a thousand francs, and in total he has less than fifty thousand in his pocket. The Count of Monte Cristo grants him life and freedom. Turning gray overnight, Danglars ekes out the existence of a beggar.
Evil is punished. But why did young Valentina de Villefort, who did not share the guilt of her father and stepmother, burn in his flame? Why should Maximillian Morrel, the son of the one who for many years in a row made attempts to rescue Dantes from prison, grieve for her all his life? Leaving Paris, the Count performs the miracle of Valentina's resurrection. Her death was staged by him in community with the old man Noirtier: the terrible poison was neutralized by a miraculous medicine - one of the generous gifts of Abbot Faria.
Returning to the island of Monte Cristo, having given happiness to Maximillian and Valentina, Edmond Dantes, the martyr of the Chateau d'If and the Parisian angel of vengeance, leaves a letter to the young people that sounds both like his confession and as a command to two pure hearts: “There is neither happiness nor happiness in the world.” misfortune. Everything is relative. Only one who has suffered immensely can experience bliss. One must feel the taste of death in order to taste life with pleasure. All wisdom is in two words: wait and hope!..”
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This article talks about an adventure novel that was created in 1844-1845. The topic of our story today is the characteristics of its heroes and a summary. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a work authored by A. Dumas (father). This is a recognized classic of French literature. Many of his works, including “The Count of Monte Cristo,” receive the most positive reviews from readers. First, we will introduce you to a brief summary, and then move on to the characteristics of the heroes of the work that interests us.
Let's imagine the main character of the novel that (the father) wrote. He is Dantes, a Marseilles sailor from the ship Pharaoh. He stopped by during the next flight to Elba, where he met with Marshal Bertrand, who instructed Edmond (this is the name of the main character) to deliver a letter to Paris. Dantes also met Napoleon Bonaparte here. Edmond agreed to deliver the letter, thereby fulfilling the last will of the captain of the ship "Pharaoh", who died shortly before. Morrel, the owner of the ship, upon arrival in Marseille, decided to appoint Dantes in charge.
Denunciation of Edmond
Edmond was going to marry Mercedes, a Catholic from a neighboring village. However, Fernand, her cousin, also wants to throw in his lot with this girl. Accountant Danglars (Edmond suspects him of deception) begins to fear for his place. Danglars, Fernand and the tailor Caderousse, Dantes' envious neighbor, meet in a tavern. Danglars comes up with a plan to inform Dantes that he is supposedly a Bonapartist subordinate. To do this, he writes an anonymous letter to the prosecutor, but Caderousse is against this plan. Therefore, Danglars has to pretend that he destroyed the denunciation. He tells Fernand to deliver a letter to the prosecutor, which Mercedes’ cousin does.
Arrest and imprisonment in the castle
During the wedding with his chosen one, Dantes is arrested. Caderousse understands everything, but remains silent, because he is afraid that they will think that he is involved in a political matter. The main character is taken to Villefort, the assistant royal prosecutor, who is trying to conduct the case honestly. He is about to release the innocent man, but learns that Dantes was supposed to deliver the letter to his father Noirtier, a Bonapartist. Villefort realizes that if this fact becomes known, his career could end. Therefore, he decides to sacrifice Edmond in this situation. Villefort burns the letter, and Edmond is sent without trial to the Chateau d'If, in custody. He himself hurries to Paris in order to warn about the impending coup of King Louis XVIII.
Fateful meeting
We continue to describe the summary. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a work that is very interesting to read. Events keep you in suspense until the very end. Alexandre Dumas (father) further talks about how, after several years in prison, Dantes decides to commit suicide. He starts throwing food out the window. However, a few days later, when he was almost dying, Edmond suddenly heard someone digging the ground near his cell. The main character begins to dig a tunnel on his side.
He meets a scholar-clergyman from Italy, Abbot Faria. The abbot is considered crazy because he always talks about how there is a multimillion-dollar treasure, and only he knows where it is. Faria's personality makes a huge impression on the main character. This already elderly man is full of hope and love for life. He works all the time: he writes scientific papers, even while in prison, makes tools and steadily prepares his escape. Faria, after listening to the story of the protagonist, restores the course of events. He reveals to Dantes the culprits and the reason for his imprisonment. Edmond swears an oath to take revenge on his enemies. He asks Faria to become his mentor in life and teacher in science. We will not dwell on this in detail, describing the summary. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a voluminous work, so we can only talk about the main events.
Edmond learns about the treasure
The Abbot and Edmond prepare to escape together. When everything is ready, Faria suddenly has a seizure. The right side of the abbot's body is affected by paralysis. The main character refuses to escape alone and decides to stay with Faria. They communicate, the abbot teaches Edmond foreign languages and sciences. In addition, he reveals to the main character the secret of the treasure, which is buried on the island. Monte Cristo. Faria learned about it when he served as a librarian for one of the descendants of Cardinal Spada, who hid his wealth from Pope Alexander VI and Caesar Borgia, his son.
Edmond's escape, meeting with smugglers
The abbot dies after another seizure. When preparing to bury the deceased in the evening, the guards sew his body into a bag. Dantes, who came to say goodbye to the deceased, is struck by an idea. Edmond Dantes decides to transfer the body of the abbot to his cell, and, having ripped open and sewed up the bag with the help of tools made by Fabia, he takes his place. The main character is thrown into the sea like a dead man. With difficulty Edmond gets out of the bag. He manages to swim to the neighboring island. Thus, the main character leaves the Chateau d'If. Local smugglers pick him up in the morning. Dantes meets new comrades. He was rated as a skilled sailor by their captain. Dantes, once free, learns that he spent 14 years in prison.
Edmond finds treasure, gifts smugglers
No one lives on the island of Monte Cristo. It is used as a transit point by smugglers from the work, authored by Alexandre Dumas ("The Count of Monte Cristo"). Edmond pretends to be sick and, using this trick, remains on the island, where he finds a buried treasure. Having become rich, the main character did not forget those who were kind to him. He told his fellow smugglers that he had received an inheritance and rewarded them all generously.
The main character begins an investigation
After this, Edmond decides to start his own investigation in order to find out what happened after his arrest with his fiancee, father, friends and enemies. He visits Caderousse under the guise of a priest, who allegedly fulfills Dantes' last will and bequeaths the diamond to his friends: Mercedes, Danglars, Fernand and Caderousse. The latter runs a tavern. When he sees a diamond, he is overwhelmed by greed and forgets about caution. Caderousse tells Edmond the truth about his arrest, as well as what happened after that. Dantes's father fell into despair and died of hunger, Mercedes was also very sad.
Morrel tried to fight for Dantes' release and supported his father. Caderousse also said that Mercedes married Fernand, and Monsieur Morrel, Edmond's former owner, was practically ruined. Fernand and Danglars are now rich. They belong to high society and must be happy. Danglars became a millionaire banker and has the title of baron. Fernand is now a general, peer of France, Count de Morcerf.
Rescue of Morrel
Edmond returns to Marseille. Here he learns that Morrel is really on the verge of ruin. He only hopes for the return of the Pharaoh with its cargo, the ship on which Dantes once sailed. However, news arrives that the ship sank in a storm (although the captain and crew miraculously escaped). Dantes finds out about all this when he comes to the armorer under the guise of agent Morrel. The protagonist, on behalf of himself, gives the last reprieve to Morrel. It is already coming to an end, and he cannot pay. Morrel, in order to avoid shame, decides to commit suicide. At the last moment, however, the canceled bills are brought in, and the new Pharaoh enters the port. Morrel and his family were saved. Dantes is watching them from afar. Out of gratitude, he closed Morrel's account, and now wants to take revenge on his enemies.
The mysterious Count of Monte Cristo
9 years pass. Alexandre Dumas continues to describe further events. The Count of Monte Cristo, eccentric and mysterious, succeeds Edmond Dantes. This is just one of the images that the main character created. He is also known to some as Abbot Busoni, Lord Wilmore and others. Italian smugglers and robbers, whom he was able to unite and subjugate, as well as many travelers and sailors, know the main character under the name Sinbad the Sailor. Over the past years, he has already visited many parts of the world and significantly expanded his education. The Count of Monte Cristo, in addition, learned to skillfully manipulate people. He is the owner of a fast boat. And in the caves on the island of Monte Cristo he has a hidden underground palace. Here he receives travelers.
Dantes, disguised as a count, enters French high society. He is intrigued and fascinated by his unusual lifestyle and wealth. The main character has a mute servant Ali, about whom he says that if he disobeys him, he will be killed. The count's affairs are managed by Giovanni Bertuccio, a Corsican smuggler who has his own scores to settle with Villefort. Meanwhile, Villefort had already become the royal prosecutor of Paris. The Count, in addition, maintains Hayde, a slave, whom he treats at first as a daughter. This is the daughter of Pasha Ali-Tebelin, who was treacherously killed by Fernand.
Execution of the revenge plan
The main character begins to gradually implement his plan of revenge. He believes that the death of enemies is insufficient payment for the suffering caused. The count views himself as an instrument of Providence, an instrument of justice. He inflicts subtle blows on his victims. As a result, Fernand is disgraced, his wife and son leave him, and he ultimately commits suicide. Villefort goes crazy and loses his entire family. Danglars goes bankrupt and flees France. The robbers who obey Monte Cristo take him prisoner in Italy. They rob Danglars of the last remnants of his fortune. The Count, however, was already tired of revenge. He realized that justice for the criminals caused irreparable harm to many innocent people. The consciousness of this fell heavily on the conscience of the protagonist. Therefore, he releases Danglars and even allows him to take 50 thousand francs with him.
Final Events
Now we have come to the end, describing the summary. "The Count of Monte Cristo" ends with the hero, who realized that he loves Hyde not with a father's love, sailing away with her on a ship. He leaves the island of Monte Cristo with all its riches as a gift to Maximilian, Morrel's son, and also to Valentina de Villefort, his beloved, daughter of the prosecutor.
Count of Monte Cristo (Edmond Dantes)
Monte Cristo (aka E. Dantes) is the main character of the work written by A. Dumas (father). The history of its real prototype was gleaned by the author from the archives of the Paris police. The victim of a prank, the shoemaker was imprisoned in a castle. Here he courted a prisoner, a prelate, who bequeathed him a large fortune. The shoemaker, finding himself free, took revenge on his enemies, but died himself at the hands of the last survivor. The name Monte Cristo was inspired by the name of a small island located near Elba.
It should be noted that by the end of the work, when the guilty are mercilessly punished, neither Monte Cristo himself nor the reader experiences the necessary satisfaction (with the exception, perhaps, of the youngest reader for whom this image is intended). The main character of the novel undergoes such a dramatic transformation that he acts unrecognized among the people who knew him before. The motive of internal transformation is the structuring motive of his character. We can only talk about an implicit, dotted “shine through” of Edmond’s direct unselfishness through the image of the calculating and cold avenger Monte Cristo. He can be combined typologically with such characters as Joseph the Beautiful and Odysseus, who were met by loved ones after many years and were not recognized by them. Mercedes, unlike Penelope, could not wait for her lover and decided that he was dead. And unlike Jacob, the old father did not endure separation from his son. Dumas's hero is reborn, not matured. Edmond's gullibility and simplicity are transformed into romantic mystery and demonism. In addition, his way of being changes: Edmond lives a natural life, and the Count of Monte Cristo, whose character is described in some detail in the novel, manages the lives of other people without having his own.
Danglars
This is an accountant who served on the Pharaoh. This man is envious. It was he who initiated the denunciation of Dantes. It can be said that Baron Danglars is the most fallen hero of all in the novel, but he did not feel remorse. He managed to leave Marseille. Danglars supplied supplies for the French army during the Spanish War and became rich from it. The hero's only love was money. That is why Monte Cristo used this weakness of his as revenge. The robber Luigi Vampa, a friend of the count, at his request, kidnapped Danglars and began to starve him, offering the hero to buy food for millions. When Danglars had no money left, the count decided to let him go. Thus, this character was the first of those to be spared by the main character. However, he was the last person who deserved to be forgiven by the Count of Monte Cristo. The book that Alexandre Dumas wrote makes you think about the reasons for this.
Gaspard Caderousse
Who was the neighbor of the main character and his father. Gaspard is one of the participants in the denunciation of Dantes. But he can be justified by the fact that he was drunk and therefore did not take the writing of the denunciation seriously, believing that it was a joke. Later the hero became the owner of the tavern. Greed forced him to kill a man and become a criminal. Edmond several times in different guises gave Caderousse a chance to improve. In fact, he didn’t even take revenge on him, but only gave him the right to choose, which was a test for him. The Count of Monte Cristo, as revenge, presented Caderousse with a choice - to leave his criminal past or continue his wicked path. He could not refuse the profit and decided to rob the count, but fell from Benedetto, his “friend,” with whom he committed the robbery.
Gerard de Villefort
This hero of the work is an assistant royal prosecutor. He put Edmond in prison only because he had a letter from Napoleon, which was addressed to Villefort's father. He then rose to the position of Crown Prosecutor. This hero's past was flawed, which the Count of Monte Cristo took advantage of for revenge. Gerard had a love affair with Madame Danglars. She gave birth to an unwanted child. Villefort buried him in the garden of a house located in Auteuil. Monte Cristo first bought this house. Then, inviting the light of Paris, he showed the audience a re-enactment of the night when the child was buried alive. With his help, Benedetto became a defendant, and it turned out that he was the son of Villefort. Gerard's wife turned out to be a poisoner. All this led to Villefort going crazy.
Fernand Mondego
This hero is a fisherman, Mercedes' cousin. He was in love with her, so he decided to betray Edmond. After this, Fernand became a recruit. He managed to rise to the rank of general and also receive the title of count. When Greece rebelled against Turkey, Fernand betrayed Ali-Tibelin, Pasha of Ioannina. Monte Cristo's revenge was sophisticated. He announced the circumstances under which Ali-Tibelin died. This led to the contempt of Albert and Mercedes. Fernand's story ended with a shot to the temple.
Abbot Faria
The novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" introduces us to another interesting character. This is an Italian priest who became a second father for Edmond. He was his cellmate at the Chateau d'If. Faria is the sage who taught Dantes everything. Everyone thought he was crazy because he was offering treasure for his freedom. And only Edmond learned that these treasures actually existed.
Pierre Morrel
Of course, the positive hero in the work “The Count of Monte Cristo” is Morrel. Pierre (that was his name) is Edmond's best friend, the owner of the ship "Pharaoh". Dumas portrayed him as a noble man ("The Count of Monte Cristo"). When Dantes was arrested, he went to Villefort several times to plead for him. When Morrel did not have the money to pay off his debts, he was ready to wash away the shame with his blood. However, Dantes saved him. Pierre was sure that he should thank Edmond for saving his honor, although he came to him under the guise of an agent of a banking house.
So, you have met the main characters of the novel. The Count of Monte Cristo is a book worth reading. It will be especially interesting to young readers. Many of them are simply delighted with the work of Alexandre Dumas - “The Count of Monte Cristo”. This novel is known throughout the world for a reason.
We have described only briefly the work “The Count of Monte Cristo”. We omitted parts that are not so important for the development of the plot. However, this retelling gives an idea of the main events of the novel.
Count of Monte Cristo
On February 27, 1815, the three-masted ship "Pharaoh" returned to Marseille from another voyage. Captain Leclerc was not destined to set foot on his native soil: he died of fever on the high seas. The young sailor Edmond Dantes took command, fulfilling the captain’s other last wish: the “pharaoh” enters the island of Elba, where Dantes transfers the package received from the hands of Leclerc to Marshal Bertrand and meets with the disgraced emperor himself. Dantes is given a letter to be delivered to Paris to Mr. Noirtier, one of the conspirators preparing Napoleon's return to the throne.
The owner of the Pharaoh, Morrel, invites Dantes to officially take over as captain of the ship. The accountant of the Danglars shipping company, obsessed with envy, decides to remove Dantes.
Together with a retired soldier and now a simple fisherman Fernand Mondego, who competes with Dantes for the right to marry the beautiful Mercedes, and the tailor Caderousse, who robbed Edmond's father during the voyage, Danglars composes an anonymous letter to the assistant prosecutor of Marcel de Villefort. The meaning of the denunciation: Dantes is a secret agent of the Bonapartists. During the interrogation, Dantes, without concealment, everything as it was, tells Villefort about his visit to Elba. There is no corpus delicti; Villefort is ready to release the prisoner, but after reading Marshal Bertrand’s letter, he realizes: his happiness and his very life depend on this game of chance. After all, the addressee, Mr. Noirtier, a dangerous conspirator, is his father! It’s not enough to burn the damned letter, you also have to get rid of Dantes, who could unwittingly publicize this whole story - and as a result, de Villefort will lose not only his place, but also the hand of his bride Ren...
In February 1815, the ship "Pharaoh" returns to Marseille. On the way, the captain of the ship unexpectedly died, and a young sailor named Edmond Dantes was forced to take command. Along the way, fulfilling the request of the deceased captain, Dantes stops by Elba, meets with Napoleon Bonaparte, who is in disgrace, who gives him a letter for one of his supporters, Mr. Noirtier, who lives in Paris and is preparing, together with like-minded people, to return the deposed emperor to the throne again .
Morrel, the owner of the Pharaoh, highly appreciates the quick-witted, brave Dantes, who copes with his duties excellently, and invites the young man to officially become the captain of the ship and receive all the privileges and powers due in this case. This appointment infuriates Danglars, who works as an accountant on the ship and has long dreamed of becoming a captain.
Danglars begins to search for those who hate Edmond Dantes in the same way and dream of getting rid of him. He easily finds a common language with the Marseille fisherman Fernand Mondego, who is in love with the young beauty Mercedes. The girl firmly tells Fernand that she loves Dantes, is his bride and can only offer him friendship, which further increases the despair and rage of the young man.
Fernand and Danglars are also joined by a tailor named Caderousse, who shamelessly robbed and ruined Edmond's father while his son was at sea. Dantes' enemies file a denunciation against him that he is a secret agent of the Bonapartists and is plotting against the existing political system.
After the arrest, the young man is interrogated by the assistant prosecutor, Mr. de Villefort. He understands perfectly well that Dantes is actually not guilty of anything, but his personal interests, by coincidence, are intertwined with this story. He is the son of the conspirator Noirtier, to whom the letter is addressed, and is well aware that he will lose both his service and his bride, the daughter of a devoted supporter of the monarchy, if the truth about his relationship with Noirtier, which Villefort carefully hides, is revealed. The assistant prosecutor decides to permanently send Dantes, who is a dangerous witness, to prison, and thus the young sailor finds himself imprisoned in the Chateau d'If, located on an island near Marseille. His enemies are happy, now each of them hopes to achieve the fulfillment of their desires without interference.
Five years after his imprisonment, Dantes no longer hopes for anything; he decides to starve himself to death, because he is no longer able to lead a meaningless existence in prison. But unexpectedly the young man discovers that he is not alone in captivity, that he has a companion in misfortune. Edmond meets Abbot Faria, who has lived in the Château d'If for four years longer than he has. The abbot tells Dantes that he has already tried to escape from prison by swimming, but failed. Edmond promises him that together they will surely be able to get free, they just need to be patient and strong.
After some time, Faria, whose strength was already completely exhausted by his long imprisonment and attempts to escape, becomes seriously ill and realizes that he will no longer be able to leave the castle. Before his death, he initiates his comrade into the secret that on the island of Monte Cristo there are countless treasures that no one knows about.
After the death of the abbot, Dantes hides in the bag in which Faria is to be buried. In the morning he is thrown into the sea, and he begins to swim to the shore. Edmond is picked up by smugglers, and after some time he finally reaches the island of Monte Cristo and actually discovers the treasure that his late friend told him about.
During the fourteen years that Dantes spent in captivity, the lives of the people responsible for his tragic fate also change significantly. Fernand Mondego had an excellent military career, now he holds the rank of general and the title of Comte de Morcerf. Mercedes still married him, without waiting for Edmond, and the couple had a son, Albert. Danglars became a successful banker; he and his wife have a beautiful and very wayward daughter, Eugenie, who does not want to follow her father’s will and marry whomever he chooses to be her husband. Villefort now holds the important post of royal prosecutor, and Caderousse has also ceased to be an ordinary tailor, now he is the owner of a small village inn.
One day, a certain Abbot Busoni comes to Caderousse and tells him that he allegedly confessed to the dying Dantes. He shows the innkeeper a large diamond, and he tells him the truth about the slander of an innocent young sailor that happened many years ago. It is from him that Edmond learns that his old father simply died of hunger, since Caderousse brought him to utter poverty, and that his bride Mercedes failed to remain faithful to him.
Further, the rich Dantes, who has now taken the name of the Count of Monte Cristo, comes to the aid of his old acquaintance, the shipowner Morrel, who is on the verge of ruin. At the last moment, he saves his company from collapse, while the shipowner was about to take his own life, having lost his last hope of avoiding bankruptcy. Monte Cristo watches from afar the salvation of Morrel, which seems to everyone around him a real miracle, and promises himself from now on to devote his whole life and all his enormous capabilities to sophisticated revenge on those because of whom he was imprisoned in his youth.
During a trip to Italy, young Albert de Morcerf, the son of Fernand and Mercedes, is captured by a gang of robbers of the chieftain Luigi Vampa, famous throughout the country. The Count of Monte Cristo saves him from kidnappers, and Albert invites him to Paris, where he makes many acquaintances, although he behaves very reservedly and cautiously with everyone.
The Count finds a common language not only with the Morcerfs, but also with the Danglars family and the Villeforts, constantly visiting them. Of course, no one has any idea who he really is. Valentina, Villefort's daughter from his first marriage, is in love with Maximilian Morrel, the son of a shipowner, the young man is also crazy about her, but the family forces the girl to marry someone else. The Count of Monte Cristo intends to help them, but he plans to do this in a very peculiar way.
Together with the count, a charming girl, Hayde, comes to Paris, the daughter of the pasha of the state of Ioannina, who tragically died when she was still just a child. Seeing the Comte de Morcerf at the Opera, the girl is horrified to recognize in him the man who once betrayed her father to the enemies. At the same time, Monte Cristo hints to Villefort that he knows about the long-standing misdeed of the royal prosecutor, who buried alive his illegitimate son, whose mother is the wife of the banker Danglars. In reality, the boy survived and became a dangerous criminal; the Count of Monte Cristo gives him a certain role in his complex plan for revenge.
Villefort loses his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and elderly footman in a short period of time; the doctor openly says that they were all poisoned and that Valentina, who is trying to get an inheritance, is most likely to blame for everything. The royal prosecutor does not want to believe him, but he begins to suspect his daughter.
Everyone becomes aware of how basely and vilely Fernand behaved during the Turkish siege of Ioannina, Hayde speaks before the House of Peers and tells the whole truth. After this, Albert de Morcerf challenges the Count of Monte Cristo to a duel, but the young man is forced to ask for forgiveness from his opponent after learning the truth about his father. Albert and his mother Mercedes, who never stopped loving Edmond Dantes, leave Paris, and Fernand is forced to shoot himself; he now has neither a good name nor close people.
Through the efforts of Count Monte Cristo, Danglars finds himself on the verge of ruin. The final blow is that the young man he had planned to marry his daughter turns out to be an ordinary escaped convict. Eugenie immediately leaves Paris, planning to become an actress; the girl was never attracted to marriage.
Villefort discovers that his daughter Valentina also became a victim of poisoning; he no longer doubts that all his relatives were poisoned by his wife Eloise, who wanted to get a decent inheritance for her son Edward. When a woman realizes that her husband knows about everything, she gives poison to the child and takes it herself, seeing no other way out. The royal prosecutor, unable to withstand these tests, loses his mind.
Danglars finds himself captured by the same gang of Italian robbers who once visited Albert de Morcerf. They starve him, selling a piece of bread for huge money. When the Count of Monte Cristo finally orders the exhausted banker to be released, Danglars sees that he has turned into an old man and from now on he will have to drag out the most miserable and beggarly existence.
The Count of Monte Cristo, having taken full revenge on his enemies, at the same time saves Valentina de Villefort from death by staging the girl’s death. In the finale, she unites with her lover Maximilian Morrel, and they read the letter left by the count, which says that one must always wait and hope, no matter how cruel the trials and blows of fate.