The Counte of Monte Cristo 1 pg notes

Rachael Kerr
AP 11 English Language
September 9, 2009
Dantes' Role as God (NOTES)
The idea of taking the role of God came from Dantes’ time at Chateau D’If; being in solitude for so long, knowing he was innocent began to change him. In the beginning, Dantes was a virtuous man, but being wrongly imprisoned led him to believe that God is unjust and not as omnipotent as he had been led to believe. By wrongly being left to rot, Dantes felt that God could do nothing for him. He no longer felt that God was someone to be praised, but to be fought: “I exerted all my efforts to escape it, and I combined all my man’s strength with all my sailor’s skill in that terrible fight against God” (79). Not too long after this passage, Dantes turns once again to God in praise, but also begging for mercy: “have pity on me, oh, my God! and let me not die of despair!”(84). This shows his still strong belief in the existence of God, but the tone has changed to a darker, more ominous God; He is seen more as a punisher than a protector. This angle is what leads Dantes to what he is to become. In Chateau D’If, Dantes learns that he is a neighboring prisoner to a man of the cloth, Abbe Faria Once Abbe Faria reveals to him about what may have happened to him, he proclaims to Dantes; “I almost regret having helped you in your researches and having told you what I did…Because I have instilled into your heart…vengeance” (97). Abbe can clearly see what the hostility towards those who imprisoned Dantes will do to him, and desperately tries to touch and keep that last hold on Dantes’ virtue and level-headed thinking. Whilst teaching Dantes and adopting him as his son, Abbe reveals to Dantes that he has found a hidden fortune on an island, Monte Cristo, that he hopes to escape and retrieve. Abbe promises to Dantes that: “it will be you who takes me [to Monte Cristo]” (114); this means that he will be splitting the vast wealth with (what Abbe refers to Dantes as) his child from God. When Abbe dies, Dantes feels that this will be his only chance to escape and that is what Abbe would have wanted. He plans to head to Monte Cristo and use his acquired wealth as a perfect opportunity to enact the justice that God misses, while at the same time rewarding the good. Finally, after making his way to Monte Cristo, finding his treasure, taking enough with him to do his job, but leaving enough for future use, Dantes returns to Marseilles to being his onslaught of his idea of justice. He is relieved to find that no one recognizes him, leaving him free to enact his punishment. After receiving the information of what he has missed since he was gone (Mercedes getting married, his father dying, et cetera), he is further motivated to punish and reward. Under the alias of an Italian priest named Monsieur l’Abbe, Dantes learns from his friend Caderousse of who his conspirators were and who his first benefactor would be. C Caderousse explained that he took care of Dantes’ father while he was away and tried his best to keep him alive. In fact, in this dialogue, Dantes demonstrates the importance of Christians at that time when he declares: “a man, a Christian, has died of hunger amidst men who call themselves Christians!”(151). This clearly exemplifies that Christian morality was expected of you at this time in history, perhaps another factor for Dantes need to act as God. Caderousse explains that “it is thus that God reward virtue, monsieur. Just look at me. I have never done a wrong action…yet I live in poverty, while Fernand and Danglars (Dantes conspirators) are rolling in wealth” (157). By hearing this situation that is lacking so much justice, Dantes feels that he must intervene and right whatever wrong he can. Dantes leaves Caderousse a large sum of money as to make him equal to the wicked in reward.