How Dantes’ Revenge is Justified in Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo

In the Count of Monte Cristo written by Alexander Dumas, the protagonist, Edmond Dantes, was falsely imprisoned for 14 years until he escaped. Ferdnand, Danglers, and Villefort were his conspirators, writing a letter a denunciation that would denounce him as a Bonapartist. Edmond would later find out in prison, coming in contact with an Abbe who gave him great knowledge. When Edmond escaped, he found a great sum of money on the island of Monte Cristo. He would then go visit his old friend to confirm his suspicions, Danglers and Ferdnand framed him. This would plant a seed in his head that would start to grow and grow as more time passed. Edmond is justified in seeking revenge for the outrageous acts against him, since he was betrayed by some of his best friends, such as Danglers and Fernand, and he let that anger sit for years after he got out. 

Edmond was denounced by some of, what he thought, were his closest friends. He would then have to stay in prison for fourteen years, finding out who framed him for his crime. Being betrayed by your closets and most trusted friends has to have an impact on you. Not only that, but he found out by investigation, his conspirators didn’t even confess. The feeling of betrayal and anger Edmond must have felt when he heard Caderouse describe his dad’s death as “of Hunger,” and hearing that Mercedes had married Fernand soon after his prison sentence, must have been indescribable. The only feeling Edmond was feeling when hearing those words was vengeance, just like any regular human. Edmond took 10 years to seek revenge after escaping prison. This seed of revenge was planted in prison and he let it sit in his head growing as time passed and as more ideas flowed through his mind. In Mine enemy is Growing Old (Emily Dickinson), the last 2 lines say, “Anger as soon as fed is dead, ‘T is starving makes it fat.” In terms of Count of Monte Cristo, if Edmond had taken revenge straight out of prison, his anger would have quickly died. Edmond though, waited several years after his escape to take revenge meaning he wants his conspirators to suffer, even after he exacts revenge. While Edmond was treated terribly, there is an argument that he was not justified in seeking revenge. 

According to Of Revenge, by Sir Bacon, revenge makes you dwell on the past and leads to more wrongdoing. While this may be true, Edmond did many great deeds for slaves and servants around Europe. He was wise and knew that his anger might lead to wrongdoing, so he kindly freed slaves and is generous to his servants. Edmond has a great heart for people he believes to be just, you can see this when he saves the man who helped the bandits. The man only gave the bandits bread and is punished to death, but is saved because Edmond believes him to be just. Edmond may not be the greatest human in the world, but he does have a heart, whereas his conspirators don’t even think twice about abandoning him, so why should he think twice about hurting them. 

Edmond was the subject of an unspeakable conspiracy, making his thoughts vengeful, which lead to revenge against his conspirators. Edmond is justified in seeking revenge for the acts against him since he was betrayed by some of his best friends and he let that anger sit for ten years after he got out. Edmond was abandoned by his conspirators and left to rot in prison, with not an ounce of remorse or decency. He should be justified in showing the same amount of remorse that they showed to him.