Mr. George- AP 11
7•14•09
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo
The all-powerful view of God is an awe-inspiring concept that latches onto the mind and prods the curiosity of man. Only humans have the ability to even understand what a god is, and it is for that very reason that we believe. It is because we reign over animals with such a large difference in our mental abilities that we believe only something much more powerful than ourselves could have made the world this way. God is the one to give us our final judgment, depending on how good or bad one was during life. When one is betrayed to an unforgivable amount, revenge becomes the sinned-against person’s goal. That person usually will take on the role of God, believing that God must be on their side and that they are infallible. Would a just God allow such culprits to get away with their crimes and live their happy lives until the fires of hell overtake them in death? Never! Eternal suffering, sometimes, is not enough. When a human tries to play God, which often happens in stories of suspense and action, the person is fighting for someone. It could be for the good of all or selfish. In The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantés’ motives were both selfish and for the good of others, as he was fighting for vengeance for himself and for those who were hurt by his fourteen years in Chateau d’If. Although humans can play God, they may not always be a perfect presentation of His will.In this story, Edmond Dantés, a betrayed and brilliant man with more money than many of the rich families in the story put together, holds the world in the palm of his hand. He plays God, deciding who deserves to be punished and how in a way only fate should be able to chose. As a shell of his former happy-go-lucky self, he hides his true identity from all those who could remember him under the guise of the Count of Monte Cristo, the rich, lonely, and mysterious man that knows everyone and everything.
In many stories when someone tries to play God, there is magic involved. Some sort of magician or king or human with spectacular powers and a god complex decides to take over the world and dole out punishments in whatever way, shape, or form they choose. Those people decide to surpass God, and lose all faith in the once-amazing figure. The Count fits none of these stereotypes. He does not try to surpass God, he does not use magic, and he does not lose his faith. He believes God to be his sidekick, directing him from an unseen spot, telling him to do what He can not while also having an incredible amount of money at his disposal. Edmond says once to Maximilian, after Villefort goes mad. “’No,’ replied the Count, ‘and God grant that I have not already done too much!’” . This shows how his faith is still strong, and how all he wants to do is give people what they deserve, no more and no less.
Villefort’s insanity was one of the mistakes that were made. Another was seen most prominently in the innocent death of Edward, who was killed by smothering maternal love. Had the Count confessed that Valentine was alive or kept watch on the de Villefort family, as it was obvious they were all unstable after the deaths that cursed the house, Madame de Villefort and Edward would have lived, and Monsieur de Villefort would not have lost his mind. God would not make mistakes, for if God is what believers say He is, mistakes are impossible. The Count realized his own mishaps in the quote, “realizing that he had passed beyond the bounds of vengeance, he felt he could no longer say: ‘God is for me and with me.’”
The Count did a marvelous job of trying to personify God, giving everyone their just punishments and rewards. In a way, the Count was like God in that he never intended anyone to suffer more than he believed necessary, although the good were rewarded with as much as they could possibly desire, even if, in the case of Mercedes after Albert went overseas, they had to suffer on their way to happiness. Danglars was forced to ruin and left without a wife or daughter. Fernand was left much like Danglars, and he watched his love and his son leave him in a hurry, without even claiming their side of his fortune. Maximilian and Valentine and Monsieur Noirtier were together in happiness, and Julie and Emmanual were married. The Count wished only happiness for those who were kind to him and those he loved, and willed harm to a fair degree to those who wrongly imprisoned him.
By the end of the book, the Count of Monte Cristo and Haydee fall in love and the two sailed away together. The Count becomes happy with her love and proves that man can play God when they are justified and live a happy life with a clear conscience even after problems as God’s messenger. The person may not play God perfectly, but when that person’s actions are intended to be good, they can be God’s earthly vessel and punish those who have done wrong and be proud and content with themselves afterwards.
Dumas is trying to show that God can be played by humans. The decisions of God can be made with a human mind, as long as that mind is not corrupted with evil thoughts. Edmond was a good person who had felt so betrayed that he needed to see his persecutors punished before his eyes and by his own hand. Without relying on God’s eternal punishment as being enough, he bore the cross of revenge and held his soul captive in his angry, but restrained, mind. He had to hold back his compassion, because it would have interfered with the justice Villefort, Danglars, and Morecef so rightly deserved after their terrible actions of greed and jealousy. He could have easily killed them, as he was a chemist and could have slipped poison into their drinks, but instead he set a few things in motion and allowed everything to follow the path he had set. In the case of Mercedes, Albert, and Fernand, Edmond was to have a duel with Albert, when Mercedes told him the story of Edmond, and the duel was called off, as a soul is saved from God’s wrath through the desperate prayers of the Lord’s sweetest angels.
Later, Mercedes and Albert left Fenand, giving Edmond the revenge he deserved without Edmond actually telling them to leave or forcing them to. In that way, like God inspiring the writers of the Bible, the Count inspired others to open their eyes and do what was right for themselves. He stopped two of the Morrels from killing themselves, and then saved their financial situations twice. He was their angel of God, saving them where God could not have. Had the Count not have come back to get his revenge, Monsieur Morrel would have killed himself, Maximilian would have killed himself, and Valentine would have been killed. Haydee would have lived her life as a slave, Abbé Faria would have died alone, and Edmond himself would have died of loneliness and grief. Edmond was a person to love and fear, as one loves and fears the hand of God.
Although humans can play God, they might not always be a perfect presentation of his will. Edmond Dantés was fair and just, firm and kind, as God is. He acted as God, not to change the world or conquer it, as is so often the case, but to fix the lives of those he left behind- some for the better, others for the worse. He did not allow himself to become too violent, although many others would not have been able to hold back their disgust. He had a plan, like God’s plan, and, as if he was untouchable, everything went his way, other than the Villefort sacrifices. The Count of Monte Cristo, with a will as strong as his strongest diamond and a wit as sharp as the pain he felt in his solitude, went from a nobody to a somebody and set his world right, where those around him had disrupted his peaceful flow.
