Wait and Hope

Edmond Dantes, the Count ofMonte Cristo, appears to readers as “a young man of between eighteen and twenty, tall, slim, with fine dark eyes and ebony-black hair. His whole demeanor possessed the calm and resolve peculiar to men who have been accustomed from childhood to wrestle with danger” (Dumas, p.7, 8).   

M. le Comte portrays the Byronic hero primarily in his “destructive passion” (Carson-Newman University, 2013) of revenge. After being falsely accused, rudely torn from his betrothed, and cruelly imprisoned, Dantes emerges from fourteen years of incarceration unrecognizable. His “face had lengthened and his once merry lips had adopted a fixed, firm line that spoke of stern resolve. . . . His eyes themselves were imprinted with deep sadness [and out of them flickered] dark flashes of misanthropy and hatred” (Dumas, p. 214).

The Count, by means of his newly acquired wealth, vows to avenge himself of past wrongs. He is a solitary, brooding figure that arouses indignation at his relentless quest for revenge and yet satisfaction in his terrible justice. He is a “man of powerful feelings” (Dumas, p. 236), and evokes those same gripping emotions within the reader. Although he intends to extend no mercy in his retribution, the Count’s feelings at times thwart his own purposes: “Senseless! . . . The day when I resolved to take my revenge . . . senseless, not to have torn out my heart!” (Dumas, p. 986).

Citations:
Carson-Newman University. (2013). Byronic hero. Accessed November 16, 2013, from
     http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_B.html
Dumas, A. (2003). The count of Monte Cristo. London: Penguin Books.