Honor in TCoMC

Christina DeSario
9•10•09
Mr. George- AP English
Honor in Monte Cristo

In The Count of Monte Cristo, honor plays a big part in the decisions that the characters make. In the case of Morrel, when his money had dwindled down to a small pool of pocket change in comparison to his debts, he resorted to suicide. “‘I will await you, monsieur,’ said Morrel, ‘and you will be paid or else I shall be dead’” (178). Morrel meant these words, and so when he felt that he was out of money, he resorted to his gun.
Monsieur Morrel would have rather been dead that have such a mark on his soul as not being able to pay the debts he had promised to pay off. Instead of living with the reputation of someone who could not repay his debts, which would undeniably overtake his reputation of a good, moral person because people usually remember the bad and not the good, he chose to quit while he was ahead and die the honest person everyone would remember.
Honor makes you who you are. With honor, people respect and look up to you. When you are a business man, like Morrel, the opinions of other people matter a lot. Honor is not only the way others perceive you, but the way you perceive yourself. “‘See to it, my son, that our name will not be dishonoured’” (184). Even though Monsieur Morrel is planning to kill himself, he is still worried about his family name and what would happen to it after his death.
To Morrel, honor is a huge deal. If he would rather be dead than be considered dishonest by his peers, that shows exactly how much he values the goodness of his name. In The Count of Monte Cristo, especially with Morrel, honor is the same as oxygen. Without it, life is just not worth living, or rather, it is impossible to live without it.
Morrel said, “‘Yes... I bless you in my own name and in the name of three generations of irreproachable men’” (184). Recalling that history and hoping for a longer history filled with honesty, Morrel wanted to die with his highest value still in tact: his honor.