THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO - CHAPTERS 98-102

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO - CHAPTERS 98-102

For those of you following TCOMC book club posts, I don't know if you noticed, but today's post is covering 5 chapters. I have been holding myself to 3 up to this point, but I can no longer leave myself "hanging" for a week! Several people that I know have been reading this fantastic classic told me that they hit a point and couldn't stop. I have reached that point. I plan on dividing the chapters up over the next 2-3 weeks and wrapping up TCOMC.

Let's open today with a little discussion about relationships! So after following Andrea Cavalcanti's escape. His grab of the jewels. His rides. His fall down the chimney into none other than Eugenie and Mlle d'Armilly's room (was that not brilliant?) it dawned on me that Eugenie and Andrea/Benedetto are half brother and sister. Remember? Villefort and Madame Danglars. I knew who he was, but getting caught up in the whole Cavalcanti charade, and then bringing Caderousse back in made me momentarily lose sight of the Benedetto ordeal. Thank goodness Dumas saved us (and them) from that marriage! Whew!

 Speaking of Madame Danglars let's chase her relationships for a moment. First off to visit Debray (her lover) who is not at home, but at his club listening to his friend's advice about the possibility of marrying her daughter, Eugenie. Then off to see Villefort to remind him of their past relationship in an attempt to get him to let Andrea/Benedetto just disappear, so she can keep her place in society. Of course, that was an utter fail. We'll talk about Villefort's refusal in a minute. Does anyone else feel slimy after dealing with her? Life is all about position in society to her. That position has absolutely nothing to do with being a person of character, of being respectable for standing for something moral. Although there was a tiny thought of another who recently endured such a harsh societal death through no fault of her own wasn't there? Mercedes.

Let's talk about the other wife mentioned in these chapters, Madame Villefort. Murder for material gain for her son. The corruption, the greed, the justification to one's self. Dumas is a master in his telling of Madame Villefort's early morning cleaning up the evidence visit. As she leaves and turns around to take in the scene one more time, his words about the "irresistible attraction" when death is not the mess and stink of decomposition but just the look of stillness are striking. Fast forward past the discovery of Valentine, the mourning that ensues to the glass that was emptied that has mysteriously reappeared with the poison in it. The count's promise of protection if Valentine will completely trust him has us wondering if all is lost. No- the count will not fail us now. We know that our count is master of concoctions.

One last person to discuss before I close today. Villefort. Did you not respect the heart and passion he feels for the job he does? The responsibility, the promise before "the living God" about the punishment of criminals? How dare Madame Danglars ask him to "pardon a guilty man." (But if it was accusing an innocent man, that's another story, right?) He is the law which makes no exceptions (except for himself). The final farewell let's us know that this relationship is over. (I hope you picked up on my sarcasm about respecting Villefort.)