Equal Vengeance How far would a person go to get revenge on someone who has done wrong to them? Hammurabi’s code states ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. In Alexander Dumas disguise and justice novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, the main character is Edmond Dantes. Dantes is a young 19-year-old and is soon-to-be captain of the Pharaon, after Captain Leclere dies of brain fever off the Isle of I1 Giglio. Dantes is imprisoned when a suspicious letter is sent to Villefort, the state prosecutor, which claims Dantes is a Bonapartist. Dantes is sent to the Chateau d’If where he spends fourteen wretched years. Shortly after gaining his freedom, Dantes seeks vengeance on Danglar. Danglar is the ringleader in Dantes’s false imprisonment. Danglar is the purser for the Pharaon. At age twenty-five he was ready to be the captain after the death of Captain Leclere. He is infuriated that the ship owner, Monsieur Morrel, would choose Dantes over him to be the new captain over him. After all, Danglar considered Dantes to be naïve since he was about six years younger than him. “Danglars, possessed by the demon of hatred…” (6) is jealous that Morrel and the crew favor Dante over him. While drinking with Ferdinand and Caderousse, Danglar began thinking about Dantes and how, “He’ll marry the girl, become captain of the Pharaon and have the laugh on all of us unless- unless I take hand in things” (13). Driven by greed and jealously Danglar came up with a master plan on how Dantes could be sent away and that would give him the window of opportunity to be the captain. He sent a letter that alleged Dantes of being a Bonapartist while the monarchs were in charge. As an outcome, Dantes was in prison for fourteen years. The impact of being imprisoned for such a long time made drastic impact of Dantes’s life. Dantes lost his father who died while he was in jail due to starvation. He lost his fiancée Mercedes, as well as his freedom and his
Cited: Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. 1844. Trans. and abr. by Lowell Bair. New York: Bantam, 1981. Print.