The earl of Monte Christo

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Alexandre Dumas, photo by Nadar

The Count of Monte Christo (orig. Le Comte de Monte-Cristo ) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas .

Between 1844 and 1846 Dumas published the Count of Monte Christo as a serial novel in the magazine Le Journal des débats and achieved unimagined success. Even before the novel was finished, the first reprints appeared, followed by new translations into numerous languages. To this day it is considered one of the most internationally famous works of French literature , which is expressed in a large number of adaptations, some of which have been very successful .

The story takes place in the period after the French Revolution from 1815 to 1838. Napoleon's star has gone down, and the restoration under the kings of Louis XVIII. and Charles X took place. Then follows the July Revolution of 1830 , through which the “citizen king” Louis-Philippe I comes to the throne.

Summary

From the highest happiness to the deepest abyss

The young seaman Edmond Dantès returned to Marseille on February 24, 1815 on the "Pharao", a ship owned by the shipping company Morrel . Dantès, who is the first officer on board , is held in high regard by Morrel and is to be promoted to captain. His personal happiness also seems perfect: he loves the beautiful Catalan woman Mercédès , the couple's wedding is a done deal. In his inexperience, Dantès does not care that his happy living circumstances are increasingly arousing the resentment of people around him, even less does he suspect that he has already made himself vulnerable.

During the voyage, the captain of the "Pharaoh", Leclère, a follower of Napoleon , died. On his deathbed he had previously entrusted a package to Dantès and instructed him to hand it over to Grand Marshal Henri-Gratien Bertrand on the island of Elba , Napoleon's place of exile. Dantès fulfilled the last wish of the captain, received another letter from Napoleon on Elba and the order to deliver it to a certain man in Paris .

Danglars, paymaster on board the “Pharao” and envious of Dantès 'steep career, overhears the conversation between Dantès and Leclère and observes Dantès' activities on Elba with suspicion. Fernand Mondego, a penniless Catalan fisherman with an impulsive temperament, loves Mercédès (who is his cousin) with wild desire and would do anything to get rid of Dantès, only to avoid overt violence, since Mercédès has threatened suicide in such a case. Caderousse, Dantès' neighbor, is also nowhere near as sympathetic to him as he claims to be.

Château d'If (2009)

On the eve of the wedding of Dantès and Mercédès, Danglars, Mondego and Caderousse meet in a pub. Mocking Mondego's inactive desperation, Danglars shows what could be done. He drafts a denunciation letter accusing Dantès of being a Bonapartist agent. When Caderousse protests against this all too dangerous mind game, Danglars calms him hypocritically by crumpling up the letter and throwing it away, but as he correctly calculated, Mondego secretly picks it up and takes it to the post office. So the intrigue takes its course, and in view of the terrible consequences, the confidante Caderousse later no longer dares to reveal himself to Dantès' relatives.

During the wedding ceremony the following day, before the marriage ceremony, Dantès was arrested and brought before the deputy public prosecutor (substitute) Gérard de Villefort. Villefort, who celebrated his engagement to Renée de Saint-Méran before the interrogation , quickly realizes the harmlessness of the young man and is about to release him when he learns to whom Napoleon's compromising letter is addressed: his own Father, Noirtier de Villefort. This is a well-known partisan of Napoleon, while his son represents the interests of the now ruling royal family. If the affair surrounding the letter were to become known, it could seriously damage his career. Villefort burns the letter and sends Dantès to the notorious Château d'If prison , a fortress on the island of Île d'If off the coast of Marseille, without a trial .

Imprisonment, escape and wealth

When Napoleon comes to power again, Morrel immediately tries to get Dantès to be released and innocently count on Villefort's support, but he secretly thwarts her. With the “ rule of the hundred days ”, Dantès' last chance also passes without him even knowing about it. After spending five years in dungeon without any contact with the outside world, he becomes desperate and decides to commit suicide by stopping to eat. Shortly before his death he hears knocking noises and his will to live returns. The noises come from the prisoner Abbé Faria, who is digging an escape tunnel, has made a mistake in his calculations and ends up in Dantès' cell. A close friendship develops between Dantès and Faria, and the old clergyman, a man of great learning, becomes a mentor and fatherly friend for Dantès. He teaches Dante in a wide variety of sciences and languages. Faria succeeds in reconstructing the cause of Dantès' arrest and incarceration. Dantès then swears relentless vengeance on those who destroyed his happiness in life.

Montecristo

During their daily conversations, they dig another tunnel that will lead them to freedom. Faria no longer experiences the completion of the tunnel, but suffers a stroke that paralyzes one side of him. Expecting another fatal attack, he confides his greatest secret to Dantès: the knowledge of a treasure that founded the fortunes of the Spada family and was bought in the 15th century by the then Count Spada for fear of the murderous machinations of Pope Alexander VI. and his son Cesare Borgia was buried on the uninhabited island of Montecristo . Faria was the private secretary of the last count of the now extinct noble family. He designates Dantès as his heir and bequeaths the treasure to him.

After Faria's death, his body is sewn into a sack by the guards and thrown into the sea. In an unobserved moment, Dantès succeeds in taking the place of the corpse and is thrown over the fortress wall into the sea. He frees himself from the sack and is rescued by a smuggler's boat. Edmond Dantès was released on February 28, 1829, exactly fourteen years after his imprisonment. He stayed with the smugglers' gang for a few months and served them as a seaman. During a stopover on the island of Montecristo, he finds the treasure, which turns out to be of immense value, and returns to France a rich man.

Reward the benefactor

This is where he makes inquiries: about his former friends and those whom he swore vengeance. He appears in different disguises and under different names: as the eccentric Lord Wilmore, as an Italian clergyman named Abbé Busoni and as the mysterious Sindbad the seafarer .

He visits Caderousse, his former neighbor, who now runs a run-down country inn. From him, Dantès receives confirmation in the form of the Abbé Busoni that the conspiracy reconstructed by Faria is true. He also learns from him that those involved have risen in society and hold high positions: Danglars has made his fortune through stock market speculation, he is now a baron and the wealthiest banker in Paris; Villefort is the royal procurator and embodies law and order in the kingdom; Mondego has made a military career and has been named Comte de Morcerf for his services in the defense of Janina against the Turks . Even more: Mondego married Mercédès and the marriage resulted in a son, Albert de Morcerf.

Edmond continues to learn that his own father, Louis Dantès, died of hunger and grief. His former sponsor, the shipowner Morrel, who is portrayed as a sincere and morally upright character, has suffered several business setbacks and is on the verge of bankruptcy. Morrel's able children Julie and Maximilian Morrel watch as all their father's hopes are dashed. Morrel wants to shoot himself so as not to have to face the shame of bankruptcy. In this situation of hopelessness and despair, Dantès intervenes as a saving angel: First he buys all of Morrel's promissory notes and thus settles the debts, then he replaces the sunken “Pharaoh” and her cargo with a new ship, thus saving the shipowner's life and honor . In a farewell letter, the mysterious rescuer signs “Sindbad the seafarer”.

Punishment of the conspirators

Dantès spent nine years preparing his campaign of revenge. He explores the living conditions of the hated people down to the smallest detail and, thanks to unbelievable coincidences, discovers even more atrocities committed by them. Everything seems to be fatefully interwoven with everything, so that in the end Dantès hardly sees himself as an avenger on his own behalf, but rather as an instrument of providence or God's personified punishment. He has created a new identity for himself as the Count of Monte Christo, a dark, grim aristocrat of immeasurable wealth, perfect manners and enigmatic origins. In Rome he meets Albert de Morcerf and his friend Franz d'Epinay, with whom he celebrates the carnival. Albert is kidnapped by the Roman band of robbers around Luigi Vampa, who demand a ransom. The Count of Monte Christo, who is on friendly terms with Vampa, “rescues” Albert from his captivity and is then invited to Paris.

Once in Paris, the Count caused a sensation in aristocratic society with his luxurious lifestyle and his exotic, oriental-tinged taste. He is on friendly terms with the Danglars, Morcerf and Villefort families. He has Danglars grant him an “unlimited” loan, which, at Danglar's request, is initially limited to an incredible 6 million francs at the time. By manipulating the stock exchange, spreading rumors about a civil war that has broken out in Spain and a marriage arrangement between Danglars 'daughter Eugenie and the allegedly wealthy nobleman Andrea Cavalcanti, who then turns out to be an escaped convict, he deals severe financial blows to Danglars' existence . Bit by bit he is ruining his reputation as a businessman. The call for the 6 million loan ultimately drives Danglars to ruin. Danglars loses the rest of his fortune, leaves his wife, whom he married for money, and flees to Italy, where he is captured by Luigi Vampa's bandits.

With the intervention of the Count of Monte Christo, the truth comes to light about the circumstances under which the highly respected officer Fernand Mondego made his fortune. During the siege of Janina by the Turks, he betrayed his commander Ali Pasha , the ruler of Janina. He sold his daughter Haydée and her mother as slaves. Haydée, who was later ransomed by Monte Christo and leads a secluded life with him in princely luxury, appears as a witness before the high chamber of peers : Mondego is dishonored, and his son then challenges the Count of Monte Christo to a duel. As a result, the Countess of Morcerf, Mercédès, turns to the Count of Monte Christo and begs him for mercy for her son. She now also confesses that she knew nothing of Mondego's betrayal and that she recognized him, the Count. She appeals to the count's conscience and calls him by his real name, Edmond Dantès, who, due to this sudden revelation, undertakes not to kill Albert. But he makes it clear to her that it will now be he who will die in the duel, which Mercedes assumes. In the upcoming duel on the morning of the next day, Albert humbly apologizes to the Count of Monte Christo and explains to him that he now knows and understands the real motives for the dishonor of his father. He also thanks Monte Christo for not taking any major revenge, because he would understand that now. Mondego then confronts the Count of Monte Christo in his property and challenges him to a duel. This reveals his true identity to him, whereupon Mondego flees and a short time later commits suicide.

The Count of Monte Christo reveals another terrible secret: Villefort and the Baroness Danglars had a relationship twenty years earlier. She secretly gave birth to a child in a country house in Auteuil . Villefort lets the baroness believe it was stillborn and buries it in a suitcase in the garden. At that moment, Bertuccio, a Corsican smuggler who had been treated unfairly by Villefort months earlier, lies in wait for him, whereupon he swears blood revenge. Bertuccio stabs Villefort and steals the suitcase, but is amazed when he does not find any treasure in it, but a child. He discovers that the newborn in it was still alive and gives it to his sister-in-law, who calls the child "Benedetto" and raises it.

Benedetto developed into a criminal at an early age, became a convict, escaped captivity and was brought to Paris by the Count of Monte Christo. It turns out that Benedetto is identical to the fake Andrea Cavalcanti. In his trial, at which Villefort represents the prosecution, Cavalcanti reveals the story of his origins and plunges Villefort into perdition. Also present is the Danglars dismissed Baroness von Danglars, who faints at the revelation of Benedettos, since the man who was previously intended for her daughter is also her child. But it gets worse: Villefort's wife Héloise commits several poisonous murders in order to give her idolatrously beloved son Edouard the entire family inheritance. Ironically, it was caused by Monte Christo, who made them aware of the poison. Death hits the Count and Countess de Saint Méran (the parents of Villefort's first wife, with whom he has a daughter named Valentine) and, instead of Villefort's father Noirtier, his servant Barrois. But when Monte Christo learns of Maximilian Morrel's love for Valentine von Villefort, he tries desperately to protect her and Noirtier from the murderous hand, which he succeeds. When Héloise Villefort is convicted of poisoning by her husband, she commits suicide and takes Edouard with her to death. Villefort, shaken by these blows of fate, goes insane.

After this terrible course of events, the Count of Monte Christo gets the feeling that he has gone too far in his revenge. A visit to the dungeon, in which he was innocent for 14 years, calms his conscience again. However, he orders Vampa to release Danglars and reveals himself to him. He leaves Danglars a modest fortune after having the fortune stolen from him when he fled Paris, and refrains from starving him, as his father did after Edmond Dantès' arrest and he thought it was Danglars who caused his tragedy would have. He gives his goods in France to the lovers Maximilian Morrel and Valentine de Villefort and retires to an unknown place with Haydée, who loves him. Mercédès and her son Albert also leave: Mercédès to Marseille to be accepted into a monastery there, Albert to Algeria, where he enrolls in the army under the maiden name of his mother in the hope that the disgrace his father was inflicted on the family has brought to pay off. After relentless vengeance, the novel ends in a forgiving and thoughtful mood.

Network of relationships

Relationship network in the novel The Count of Monte Christo

There are a large number of people in the book, some of whom have very special relationships with one another.

background

This is the only contemporary novel by Dumas. The hero's return falls in the post-Napoleonic period, when the motto “enrich yourselves” (Enrichissez-vous) prevailed. The epoch up to the July Revolution of 1830 , i.e. the time before the reign of Louis-Philippe I , is presented precisely and in part also satirically . But the protagonist is not exempt from criticism either. The Count, now appearing as Mammon , ruler of life and death, fueled by wealth and an uncanny thirst for revenge, flees into solitude after renouncing the world.

Alexandre Dumas got the idea for his novel from a book published in 1838 by Jacques Peuchet, a French police archivist. It tells the story of the shoemaker Pierre Picaud, who lives in Nîmes in 1807 and plans to marry a rich woman when three jealous friends accuse him of spying for England. Pierre Picaud was arrested at the Fenestrelle fortress in Piémont , where he was employed as a servant to a wealthy Italian cleric. He teaches Picaud, treats him like his own son and leaves him with his enormous fortune, hidden in Italy. Ten years after his release, Picaud takes revenge on the three men. He stabs the first and poisons the second. He lures the son of the third man into a crime and his daughter into prostitution. In the end he stabs the man himself, who married his fiancée during Picaud's arrest. He himself is kidnapped and killed by a fourth man named Allut, who knows about the intrigue but does not report it. Allut confesses to the crime on his death bed.

Dumas, who was still enjoying himself with harem ladies in Monte Christo Castle, had to lead a life fleeing from believers. Despite his over 300 novels, he died at the age of 68 without a sou .

effect

Dumas's work has influenced many subsequent artists and has become a classic in world literature . The very famous best-selling Cuban cigar brand Montecristo was named after his work. In the Cuban cigar factories it was (and is) part of the work organization that on every working day one of the torcedores reads from books instead of rolling cigars. The “Count of Monte Christo” was also very popular - this is how the cigar brand got its name.

The French literary prize Prix ​​Monte-Cristo , awarded for the first time in 2019 , refers to the novel in its name, as the prize is awarded by a jury made up of inmates from the Fleury-Mérogis prison .

Editing of the fabric

Current issues

Many of the book editions offered are abridged without this being indicated.

At dtv-Verlag there is the currently only available unabridged German translation (as of August 20, 2012) :

  • Alexandre Dumas: The Count of Monte Christo. With an afterword by Thomas Zirnbauer and a timetable. Complete edition. dtv 13955, Munich 2011, paperback, ISBN 978-3-423-13955-7 .

The latest translation was published by Fischer-Verlag in 1994:

  • Alexandre Dumas: The Count of Monte Christo. With all illustrations of the French edition of the Edition Jules Ruoff et Cie., Paris 1887. New unabridged translation by Xénia Gharbi and Martin Schoske. Fischer 11940/11941/11942, Frankfurt am Main 1994, paperback (3 volumes; Volume 1: ISBN 3-596-11940-5 , Volume 2: ISBN 3-596-11941-3 , Volume 3: ISBN 3-596-11942 -1 ).

Film adaptations

There are a large number of film adaptations of the novel, some of which are very close to the novel, some of which take out a lot of freedom in the script editing. The eight-part television adaptation from 1966 and the six-hour television adaptation from 1979 are the most faithful films to date.

year Movie title Country of production Director main actor Remarks
1908 The Count of Monte Christo United States Francis Boggs , Thomas Persons Hobart Bosworth Silent movie
1912 Monte Christo United States Colin Campbell Hobart Bosworth Silent movie
1913 The earl of Monte Christo United States Joseph A. Golden , Edwin S. Porter James O'Neill Silent movie
1918 The earl of Monte Christo France Henri Pouctal Léon Mathot Silent film series, 15 episodes
1922 Monte Christo United States Emmett J. Flynn John Gilbert Silent movie
1928 The earl of Monte Christo France Henri Fescourt Jean Angelo Silent movie
1934 The riddle of Monte Christo United States Rowland V. Lee Robert Donat first sound film version
1942 The earl of Monte Christo Mexico Roberto Gavaldón Arturo de Cordova
1943 The earl of Monte Christo France, Italy Robert Vernay Pierre Richard-Willm two-part
1946 Escape from Devil's Island / The Return of Monte Christo United States Henry Levin Louis Hayward
1950 Amir el-Inteqam Egypt Hinri Barakat (as Henry Barakat) Anwar Wagdi
1953 El conde de Montecristo Argentina León Klimovsky Jorge Mistral
1954 The earl of Monte Christo France, Italy Robert Vernay Jean Marais two-part
1956-1958 The earl of Monte Christo Icon fernsehproduktion grau.png United Kingdom George Dolenz 39 episodes
1961 The earl of Monte Christo France, Italy Claude Autant-Lara Louis Jourdan
1964 Amir el dahaa Egypt Hinri Barakat (as Henry Barakat) Farid Shawki
1964 Count of Monte Christo United Kingdom Peter Hammond Alan Badel TV series, 12 episodes
1964 Il conte di Montecristo Icon fernsehproduktion grau.png Italy Antonello Falci Virgilio Savona TV series, only one episode appeared in
black and white film
1966 The earl of Monte Christo Icon fernsehproduktion grau.png Italy Edmo Fenoglio Andrea Giordana eight episodes
1968 Hunted like Monte Christo France André Hunebelle Paul Barge carried over into the 20th century
1975 The earl of Monte Christo United Kingdom David Greene Richard Chamberlain TV movie only
1979 The earl of Monte Christo Icon fernsehproduktion grau.png France
Italy
Germany 		Denys de La Patellière Jacques Weber six episodes
1979-1980 The samurai's revenge Icon fernsehproduktion grau.png Japan Toshihiko Kishida Masao Kusakari 15 episodes
1988 The prisoner of Château d'If Icon fernsehproduktion grau.png Soviet Union Georgi Jungwald-Chilkewitsch Viktor Avilov two-part
1998 The earl of Monte Christo Icon fernsehproduktion grau.png France
Italy
Germany 		Josée Dayan Gérard Depardieu four episodes
2002 Monte Cristo United Kingdom
USA
Ireland 		Kevin Reynolds James Caviezel
2004-2005 Gankutsuō Icon fernsehproduktion grau.png Japan Mahiro Maeda Animated series, 24 episodes

theatre

German premiere at Oper Leipzig 2012, directed by Cusch Jung
  • Monte Christo, stage version by Susanne F. Wolf. World premiere on June 19, 2013 at the Melk Summer Games, directed by Alexander Hauer with Denis Petkovic as Count von Monte Christo.
  • The Count of Monte Christo, stage version by Carsten Ramm and Larissa Benszuweit, premiered at the Badische Landesbühne Bruchsal, premiere on June 15, 2016; Stückgut Bühnen- und Musikverlag, Munich.

Radio play / audio book

  • 1971: Der Graf von Monte Christo, radio play adaptation: Peter Folken, director: Konrad Halver, EUROPA record, reissued on CD in 2005.
  • 1997: Der Graf von Monte Christo, radio play adaptation : Helmut Peschina , director: Walter Niklaus , coproduction: MDR / BR / ORF-Vienna as audio book on 3 CDs by: Der Hörverlag 2003, ISBN 978-3-89940-252-0 .
  • 2003: The Count of Monte Christo, abridged reading with Dietmar Mues , JUMBO Neue Medien & Verlag GmbH, ISBN 978-3-8337-3110-5 .

Literary adaptations, arrangements and sequels

The millionaire bride. Continuation in 2 volumes of The Lord of the World .
  • Alfred Bester : The Cosmonaut's Revenge. A utopian novel. 1965. Later issues appeared as Tiger! Tiger! (1983) and The Burning Man (2000).
  • Comic: Yves Sente , Grzegorz Rosiński : Skarbek. Fictional story of Count Skarbek, whose fate is said to have prompted Dumas to write the novel. 2004–05, German 2006.
  • Comic: Pierre Boisserie, Philippe Guillaume, Erik Juszezak: Dantès . Relocation of history to the present and among stock market traders. From 2007 to 2012, German from 2010.
  • Essay: Peter Sloterdijk : Wrath and Time. Political-psychological attempt, Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 3-518-41840-8 (Chapter: The message of Monte Christo. P. 274).

Jules Verne dedicated his novel to Mathias Sandorf Alexandre Dumas and referred to it as the Monte Christo of the Voyages extraordinaires.

Web links

Wikisource: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo  - Sources and full texts (French)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dieter Lamping, Simone Frieling: General education. Works of world literature. You have to know that. Arena Verlag, Würzburg, 2008, p. 159.
  2. ↑ Lighthouse Journal - Story Behind the Story: Count of Monte Cristo.
  3. ↑ Barbara Sichtermann, Joachim Scholl: 50 classic novels before 1900. Gerstenberg Verlag, Hildesheim 2005 (2nd, revised version), p. 154.
  4. ↑ The Count of Monte Christo. In: Cinema.de. Retrieved June 23, 2020 .
  5. ^ Musical The Count of Monte Christo in St. Gallen. At: musical-world.de. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  6. ^ German premiere of the musical Der Graf von Monte Christo in Leipzig. At: musical-world.de. Retrieved June 23, 2020.