The Count of Monte Cristo

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO:

RELIGIOUS LENS

Omar Namani, Ryan Snitzer, Emily Adams, and

Zara Soomro

PARALLEL

Isn't that attractive?;)

PARALLEL BEFORE REBIRTH

Bethrothal feast represents the Last Supper

Betrayal by 3 friends parallels the Denial by Saint

Peter (archetypal)

Three nails into Jesus, three betrayals that

affected Dantes.

Dantes starves himself similar to Jesus’s fasting

prior to revelation

Dantes descent to jail parallels Jesus’s death

Monte Cristo literally translates into Mountain of Christ.

Cavalry was the mountain where Christ was crucified (Dumas, 451) Franz thinks that the Count of Monte Cristo is no friendlier than the Cavalry was to Christ (Dumas, 308).

PARALLEL AFTER REBIRTH

Dantes’s escape from prison represents Jesus’s resurrection

(older and newer Dantes)

Lost identity of Dantes compared to the missing body of Jesus

Monte Cristo’s use of the elixir of life to save lives, and often

times bring them back from the “dead.” Jesus resurrected the

daughter of Jairus (which is told in the three gospels).

Father-Son relationship

DIVINE JUSTICE

Human Justice vs. Divine Justice

The Count of Monte Cristo believes that human

justice is insufficient to what his betrayers deserve.

On pages 551-556, the Count expresses his view of

punishment as an “eye for an eye” which is similar to

what God has ordained upon wrongdoers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=ANQQlP23Dh02:45 Abbe Faria asks Dantes about who caused his imprisonment

8:20 –Abbe Faria gives Dantes his final lesson

GOOD VS. EVIL

Irony of the situation: good doers poor; wrongdoers rich

Pede claudo: “retribution will come slowly but surely”

(551)

“The wicked do not die in that way: God seems to take

them under his protection to use them as the instruments of

his vengeance.” (550)

“a rightesous man is rewarded and a wicked one

punished.” (247)

GOOD VS. EVIL

God’s duty to punish the evil, and bless the good. However, with

Fernand, Villefort, and Danglars, they all appeared successful.

Count also believes that it is his duty (to act as God’s agent) in order to

serve the appropriate justice to his betrayers: Fernand, Villefort, and

Danglars. “I am the hammer of God” “I am the angel of the Lord” (553)

“I was as powerful as if God had allowed me to be born on the steps of

a throne.” (458)

“Mankind will not be perfect until it can create and destroy like God. It

can already destroy: that’s half the battle.”

Dantes wants to punish the evil doers, and reward

the good. He is willing to do anything in order to

accomplish this goal of revenge on his conspirators.

Abbe Faria incites a sense of revenge in Dantes

upon those responsible for his imprisonment.

FATE, PROVIDENCE, DESTINY

Fate decides the future, and is usually predetermined

(fatalism).

Loss of hope. Hope is reinvigorated after submission to

God.

Difficulty, gratitude, etc, characters look up towards the

heavens.

Various cultures: Parisian, Italian, & Oriental

Devotion to destiny, seeking justice over his enemies

would consume the Count’s life.

The Count of Monte Cristo convinces himself that his acts

are approved by God.

Throughout the book, the Count’s faith in God and

Christianity increases. Some cases, he assumes the role of

God, almost controlling fate for vengeance, by using items

like the elixir of life, generosity, manipulation, etc.

TEN COMMANDMENTSYou shall have no other god before God

You shall not make images of God

You shall no take the name of the Lord in vain

Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy

Honor you father and mother

You shall not murder

You shall not commit adultery

You shall not steal

You shall not lie or bear false witness

You shall not desire another man’s wives.

HEAVEN AND HELL

In Edmond Dantes’s decline to the belly of the whale,

represents Dantes’s descent to the pits of Hell.

His reemergence represents his rise to Heaven.

Throughout the book, various characters look towards the

Heavens as a sign of gratitude towards God/Providence.

Similar to light/dark imagery in that Heaven often

represents light, morning, and blessings. Whilst Hell

represents the dark, evils, and night.