The Count of Monte Cristo / Characters

open/close all folders

The First Generation

Edmond Dantes, AKA The Count of Monte Cristo

“And now, farewell kindness, humanity, and gratitude! Farewell to all the feelings that expand the heart! I have been Heaven’s substitute to recompense the good—now the god of vengeance yields to me his power to punish the wicked!”

Edmond Dantes is a capable young man with a good heart, betrothed to the girl of his dreams, and poised to assume the venerable rank of captain on a merchant ship owned by his benevolent employer. Life seems idyllic as could be for the happy sailor... until secret enemies, driven by jealousy and ambition, wrongly accuse him of treason, condemning him to life in a Hellhole Prison. There, he meets an elderly fellow inmate, who educates Dantes and, on his deathbed, reveals the whereabouts of a magnificent hidden fortune, buried on the island of Monte Cristo. Upon his escape, Dantes claims the priceless treasure, adopts the title Count of Monte Cristo, and begins an epic campaign of merciless vengeance against those responsible for his suffering.

Affably Evil: He is polite and charitable to most everyone he interacts with; to those involved in his unjust imprisonment, however, this is just a veil to hide diabolical intentions.
Anti-Hero: He lives to see elaborate and merciless vengeance done to those who wronged him... who, in all fairness, are downright rotten villains who undoubtedly deserve it. He'd be somewhere near outright heroic, if he cared at all that his victims' innocent families were caught in the crossfire. He does draw the line at harming children. So when his machinations cause Villefort's wife to kill their young son along with herself, he is horrified with what he has done.
Be Careful What You Wish For: All his plans go off almost without a hitch, and he successfully lays low all those whom he would see suffer... as well as several of their innocent relatives. Too late he realizes vengeance is bittersweet.
Best Served Cold: Fourteen years in prison before he escapes, and another nine years before he sets his plans for revenge in motion. Served cold indeed.
British Teeth: In his Lord Wilmore persona, Dantes wears false teeth that are in bad condition, although his actual teeth are in good shape (which Fridge Logic would suggest wouldn't be the case after rotting in prison for over a decade).
Broken Bird: One of the most famous male examples, the vengeful, manipulative, cold Count of Monte Cristo was once the good-natured, honest, passionate Edmond Dantes, and would've stayed that way if not for the conspiracy against him.
Byronic Hero: Dantes is explicitly associated with Lord Byron's King Manfred and with Lord Ruthwen, the anti-hero from Polidori's The Vampyre, who is based on the real-life Lord Byron, and sure enough, when he comes out of the Chateau d'If, he's moody, calculating, cynical, dark in character, while remaining passionate and deeply devoted to his loved ones.
Character Development: The part of the novel dwelling on Edmond's imprisonment and escape from the Chateau d'If showcases a detailed evolution in his character:
- At first, he's hopeful that de Villefort will keep his promise and only focused on becoming free again, but he takes some rash decisions while he's there, like threatening his warden, which lands him in the dungeon.
- Then, after he sinks to the lowest depression, to the point of suicide, he decides to escape, and becomes much more calculating as well as vengeful.
- His friendship with Abbe Faria makes him more hopeful than the last stage of his character, and distracts him from vengeful thoughts, though it's with him that he learns who he should direct them to. However, his growing affection for the old man means he's more desperate to escape quickly after his first access of his mysterious illness.
- When Faria dies, he shows himself to be more cunning and ruthless than he ever did, escaping in his burial cloth. It's also at this moment that he starts associating his thoughts with God's (see A God Am I entry for more details on that), and that he becomes very good at deceiving and charming others with the Genoese smugglers.
Charles Atlas Superpower: While it is believable that Dantes could develop some ability to see in darkness during his long time in prison, it is less so that this ability would instantly return after visiting the Chateau d'If following more than a decade outside of prison. Also, presumably because of all the tunneling he did, Dantes' imprisonment makes him physically stronger and tougher.
The Chessmaster: He is the only one to know exactly everyone and what pieces they are on the story.
Cultured Badass: During his stay in prison, he learned diverse cultures and science with Abbe Faria, on top of being able to pefectly emulate an Englishman to the point his speech mannerism is perfect.
The Determinator: After fourteen years in prison, Dantes spends nine years setting up a new identity, discovering the darkest secrets of his enemies, before finally taking revenge not only on them but their families.
Driven to Suicide: During his stay in the dungeons, he was once so miserable that he resigned himself to starvation.
Fiction 500: The hidden treasure Edmond found was not only incredibly valuable in and of itself, but it multiplied several times over during the years it was hidden (many of the artifacts it held, for example, were made by famous and long dead artisans). He became incredibly wealthy; estimates conclude that he would be filthy rich even by today's standards.
- It's strongly implied over the course of his ruination of Danglars that he compounded the value of an already RIDICULOUS fortune with smart investments; not unlikely, given he was a prodigy in a mercantile trade before his imprisonment and was then tutored by a polymath.
A God Am I: Not literally, but the Count initially sees himself as an avenging angel, sent by God to reward the just (the Morrel family) and punish the wicked (Danglars, Villefort, Caderousse and Mondego). His hubris comes back to haunt him in the worst way possible.
Had to Be Sharp: The naive, earnest Edmond was changed in many ways by the Chateau d'If, and became the cold, cunning Count of Monte Cristo.
He Who Fights Monsters: He targets not only his enemies, but their children as well, who not only don't deserve to be held accountable for their parents' sins, but are actually rather nice people.
Manipulative Bastard: No one remains unaffected by the Count when he wills it. No one.
Master Actor: After he escapes, Dantes demonstrates that he is a masterful actor, being able to convince pretty much anyone of what he wants them to.
Master of Disguise: In addition to nobody (except Mercedes) recognising him as Dantes, he has a number of conversations with people who've seen one of his other identities, and nobody realises they're talking to someone they've met before (sometimes only a couple of hours before).
My God, What Have I Done?: When he realizes Villefort's young son, Edouard was fatally poisoned as well as Heloise (and his elixir fails to revive the boy). He didn't count on his Rampage making him one who Would Hurt a Child and almost a Heel Realization when he finds out the boy died.
Omniglot: Thanks to Faria's teaching.
Pet the Dog: Undeniably and overwhelmingly ruthless to his enemies, he still does have a heart for those who aren't the target of his revenge:
- While torturing Danglars, he forces him to give up his ill-gotten fortune and donates it back to the hospitals he was embezzling money from.
- Upon concluding that Morrel wasn't in on the conspiracy to have him imprisoned, he uses his vast fortune to rescue him from his debts.
Protagonist Journey to Villain: He starts out as an innocent man whose life was unjustly ruined to a cruel and ruthless avenger willing to ruin the lives of other innocent people for the crime of simply being associated with his enemies.
Psychotic Smirk: Reference is made to his "ghastly smiles".
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Big time. The entire story is following Dantes' path to revenge and all that it encompasses.
Secret-Identity Identity: Not only is Dantes' personality swallowed up into the persona of the Count, but he also has other personas (Lord Wilmore and Sinbad the Sailor) which he takes on when performing charitable actions, not to mention that of a priest, the Abbe Busoni, who has a similar personality to Abbe Faria. (Gankutsuou pushes this trope to the extreme by making the Count unable to identify with or as Edmond Dantes, whom he repeatedly says "died in prison and was reborn as the Count of Monte Cristo".) In the end, he reconciles the two identities, signing his last known letter as "Your friend Edmond Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo". The Wilmore one is particularly weird, since Wilmore has light hair as opposed to the Count's dark hair, and identifies himself as an enemy of the Count- so basically, the main personality (The Count) is the evil (or at least ruthless) one and Wilmore is Dantes' suppressed good side.
Sympathetic Slave Owner: He claims not to be one, saying he has right of life and death over his slaves, though his actual slaves don't seem to consider him a bad master (Ali is too grateful for the count saving his life, Haydee considers herself his slave to the point of refusing freedom and wishes he'd love her as she loves him). As slavery is outlawed in France, it only adds to his mysterious Oriental schtick (everyone who works for him has their own theory as to where he's from, but they all believe he's from the Eastern Mediterranean).
Took a Level in Badass: When Dantes transforms into the Count of Monte Cristo, he becomes incredibly formidable.
Took a Level in Jerkass: Somewhat, and justifiably so given the sheer magnitude of what happened to him. Edmond was at first a kind, loving, and honest man, but upon his return as the Count, he becomes murderously vindictive, extremely manipulative, and very cold. Around those he considers his close friends and allies, though, you can still tell it's Edmond beneath all the layers of blind hatred and bitterness.
Who's Laughing Now?: His life is completely destroyed by a couple of jealous rivals over basically nothing, and the royal prosecutor lets it happen (even though he feels bad about it) because saving him would wreck his ambitions. He rots away in a Hellhole Prison for fourteen years, said rivals steal his job and fiancée, respectively, his father dies of starvation during his false imprisonment, and everyone except his girl and his boss forgets about him. His rivals all flourish while he languishes away in a dark dungeon, becoming very rich and high society, then he nearly dies escaping from the place. Then he finds hidden treasure, becomes unimaginably wealthy, returns, and casually goes about ruining their lives.
Wicked Cultured: Even while crossing the line of morality he never loses his sophisticated mannerisms.
Wouldn't Hurt a Child: He is fully okay with his schemes hurting the adult children of his enemies, but harming actual children is something even he still considers heinous. So when Villefort's wife performs a murder suicide with her child, Dantes is horrified at what his machinations have caused.
You Owe Me: Conscious of the benefits of having a mute slave or servant at his disposal, the Count intervened in Ali's three stage punishment after his tongue was cut out, but before he could lose a hand or his life.

Gerard de Villefort

The magistrate who, to further his own ambitions, sent Dantes to an indefinite incarceration.

Ambition Is Evil: At first, he's portrayed sympathetically, with many parallels to Dantes. However, he becomes a villain when he discovers Dantes has information that makes him a threat to his reputation, and, panicking, sends an innocent man to rot in a dungeon.
Armor-Piercing Question: By the time Dantes reveals himself Villefort had none of that and shows him his youngest child poisoned corpse and asks him if he has his revenge. The Count realizes that he went too far and that there is no justice in his revenge now.
Fate Worse than Death: Characters even lampshaded that at least Fernand's bullet to the head was quick and it killed and that's before the final drama is discovered.
Heel–Face Door-Slam: To an extent. After his life starts falling apart and he finds out about Benedetto being his son, he realizes what a hypocrite he is for ordering his murderous wife to commit suicide to save the family honor, and starts to think about fleeing the country or possibly turning himself in. But then he returns home to find his wife killed herself along with their young son. That, coupled with Monte Cristo revealing himself drives him into a complete breakdown and he goes insane
Hanging Judge: He starts out as a subversion. While he's sent many men to the guillotine, they were all guilty of the crimes he charged them with and deserved their fates. He immediately plays this straight when Dantes unwittingly brings him a golden opportunity to further his career, and it's implied he continues to be this when he goes from being a Crown prosecutor to a judge.
Hypocrite: For a stern judge he sure committed a bunch of crimes.
My God, What Have I Done?: In an unusual twist, this trope is applied to Villefort at the start of the novel. He initially feels a terrible guilt at framing Dantes and sending him to prison, but he represses it and lets Dantes rot anyway. Even then, though, it's implied that his guilt doesn't go away so easily.
Offing the Offspring: Almost. He tried burying his illegitimate child because he thought the boy was dead.
Patricide: Contemplated it when his father break a wedding arrangement. He left the room running to stop himself from doing it.
Pet the Dog: After his initial surprise when Morrel reveals himself as Valentine's secret lover after her supposed death, Villefort acknowledges his genuine grief and treats him gently.
Properly Paranoid: Of all the Dantes- enemies, he is the only one who does serious legwork to investigate the Count. Unfortunately for him, the Count was ready for that.
Villainous Breakdown: The most severe of any of Dantes' enemies. By the end of the book, he's babbling nonsense and digging holes in his yard, completely insane.
What You Are in the Dark: Would you sentence an innocent man to a Hellhole Prison for life for a crime you know he didn't commit (and it is entirely within your power to prove just that) to advance your own career, even though you could have just destroyed the false evidence against him and set him free at no cost to yourself? Villefort decides yes and lives to regret it.

Danglars

Dantes's jealous shipmate who betrays him to advance his own career.

Ambition Is Evil: He is motivated by reaching higher station.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: Monte Cristo's revenge on Danglars consists of having him kidnapped and imprisoned by Luigi Vampa. Vampa and the Count then put Danglars through the same hell that Dantes went through, with the added twist of forcing him to choose between his money and his life by charging him exorbitant prices for his food. Monte Cristo takes the money and returns it to the French hospitals Danglars embezzled it from.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: See the banker entry.
Driven by Envy: Did not take Dantes being promoted over him well.
Expy: For Shakespeare's Iago.
Locked into Strangeness: After the ordeal the Count puts him through, Danglars' hair turns completely white.
Manipulative Bastard: He's actually the mastermind of the plot against Dantes, but arranges things so Fernand is the one with his fingerprints left on it.
Morally Bankrupt Banker: Embezzled the money of the French hospitals.
Nouveau Riche: Being a shipmate at first who sold out Dantes so he can become richer.
Redemption Equals Life: After learning the hard way to value his life more than his money, Danglars repents and begs for forgiveness. Monte Cristo ultimately grants Danglars' request, and lets him leave with 50,000 francs he earned honestly. The Count lampshades the fact that Danglars got off more easily than Mondego and Caderousse (who are both dead), and Villefort (who's completely insane).
The Resenter: While Danglars is ruthless with everyone, his personal hatred for Dantes is due to recognising that Dantes is quite simply better than Danglars in every way.
Ungrateful Bastard: He got where he was thanks to Morrel recommending him for a post in Spain, giving him the chance to start his own fortune, but when Morrel was in deep financial troubles and asked him to vouch for him (not even money, just to vouch for him) so he could gain enough time to return solvent Danglars refused.
Villainous Breakdown: His time in Luigi's jail broke him.

Fernand Mondego de Morcerf

Dantes's romantic rival. So he can have Mercedes to himself, he betrays Edmond.

Ambition Is Evil: A Hot-Blooded Catallan at first but after betraying Edmond he found backstabbing a fast way to success.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Practically everything he values — his military commission, his vast fortune, his title, his wife — he got by cheating somebody else out of it.
Driven to Suicide: After his wife and son disown him. Once it becomes known how Fernand made his fortune, his name is mud in polite society and he's back to square one, so he tops himself.
Expy: For Shakespeare's Roderigo, to some extent.
Fake Ultimate Hero: Most of his decorated military career actually consisted of backstabbing and fraud.
Kissing Cousins: He betrays Edmond and gets him imprisoned on false charges all so he can marry Mercedes, who is also his cousin.
Murder the Hypotenuse: Or rather, Falsely Denounce the Hypotenuse as a Traitor, but since so few people have ever come back from Chateau d'If...
Rags to Riches: At the start of the book, he's a poor fisherman. During Dantes's time in prison, he becomes rich and powerful.
Rival Turned Evil: Pretty much everyone who betrayed Edmond counts, but Fernand is the strongest example, as he embarks upon a career built upon betrayal after this action.
Self-Made Man: Earned everything he had by himself. Thanks to him being a remorseless traitor.

Mercedes

Edmond's fiancée. Ends up marrying Fernand after Edmond is falsely imprisoned in Chateau d'If.

Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: She couldn't bear the loneliness of waiting on Edmond.
Fatal Flaw: She cannot bear loneliness, and marries Fernand out of desperation rather than love while still grieving for Edmond. After Fernand's death and Albert joins the army, leaving her all alone once more, she sinks into depression before joining a convent.
Like Brother and Sister: Initially, keeps insisting to Fernand that they are this.
Princess in Rags: At the end, she loses most of her possessions and joins a convent.

Gaspard Caderousse

Dantes's drunken next-door neighbor in the beginning of the novel. Later, he turns to a life of crime and becomes a mentor to Benedetto.

Death Equals Redemption: Dantes' revealing his identity causes him to realize the existence/goodness of God and pray for forgiveness as he dies
A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: Played for Drama. After Dantes returns from prison, he visits Caderousse in disguise and gives him a gem worth a small fortune. After selling the gem, Caderousse murders the jeweler who bought it and ends up going to jail.
Gold Fever: Seeing riches in front of him never fails to distract him and getting him to act impulsively.
Green-Eyed Monster: Caderousse, the one member of the conspiracy who doesn't become fabulously wealthy, is both very greedy and very jealous of those who have wealth. His avarice leads him to commit at least one murder and several robberies, the last of which is his attempt to rob Monte Cristo's house.
Karmic Death: Caderousse gets one of these when he's murdered by Benedetto after a botched attempt to rob Monte Cristo's house.
Mr. Exposition: In disguise as the Abbe Busoni, one of the Count's first actions after his escape is to visit Caderousse, who by now is working as an innkeeper in a provincial town. Caderousse brings both the Count and the audience up to speed on what's been happening while the Count was in the Chateau d'If.
My Friends... and Zoidberg: His only role in the conspiracy was to have Danglar and Mondego meet, he was too drunk to realize what was happening and he even asked Danglar if it is their fault that Dantes is in jail. There is a reason why he didn't make much of the conspiracy.
Pet the Dog: When Dantes meets up with him again incognito, Caderousse admits he regrets doing nothing to stop the man's imprisonment when he could have. This is what prompts Edmund to give him a diamond and another chance at life. He fails utterly.
Stepford Smiler: It's implied that Caderousse is one of these, intensely jealous of Dantes' rising career while he's stuck as a low-end tailor, despite his friendly and affable demeanor. When he's alone with Danglars and Mondego, his drinking arguably reveals his true nature, as he drunkenly points out the damage they could do to someone with a pen and paper. He even sings a song about how wicked people drink water, since alcohol leads them to reveal their true natures. Many years later, Caderousse is a convicted felon and burglar, who's as bad as he ever was. Lusting after Monte Cristo's riches, Caderousse attempts to rob the Count's house. It doesn't end well.
Villains Want Mercy: After trying to stab "Abbe Busoni" (and blunting his knife on the Count's hidden chain mail), he is genuinely incensed that the Count didn't warn him that his own accomplice was waiting to betray and murder him when he left. The Count contemptuously points this out.

The Second Generation

The children, by blood or adoption, of the above characters and their friends.

Benedetto

The illegitimate son of Villefort and Madame Danglars, raised by one of the Count's servants. A pawn in the Count's schemes, he takes on the alias Andrea Cavalcante to become part of the French aristocracy.

Affably Evil: Despite being an amoral cutthroat who when younger was an Enfant Terrible who abused his adoptive parents, Benedetto has the personality of a handsome and charming rogue and is able to masquerade with ease as an educated aristocrat.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In his Cavalcante identity, he pretends to be a nice guy. There's one moment where this slips, during the point where Albert is being manipulated into seeking a Duel to the Death, and he notices that "Andrea" seems a little too amused by the situation.
Enfant Terrible: He had a lot of rage that Bertuccio attribute to having his father abandoning him thinking he was deadborn.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: For as wicked as he is, he is legitimately loyal to the Count and sees him as a Parental Substitute. Unfortunately for him, the Count only sees him as another pawn.
Evil Redhead: Benedetto has strawberry blond hair, and his adoptive father, Bertuccio, cites a proverb about redheads either being completely good or completely evil (Benedetto being the latter).
Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Murdering Caderousse. The Count considers this a sign from God that Caderousse deserved it.
Luke, You Are My Father: Twice. At first, he believes the Count is his father, since he supports him financially and provides him with a socially-acceptable "father" (an old Italian major who had lost his son long ago — it takes Benedetto less than a page to realize that Major Cavalcanti is just as much a fraud as himself, albeit a titled fraud). Near the end, Bertuccio reveals the truth to him and he very cheerfully reveals Villefort as his father at his own trial.
Mock Millionaire: Part of the Count's scheme involves making him seem like one, solely to get his enemies to betrothe a daughter to him and then humiliate them with The Reveal.
Moses in the Bulrushes: His discovery by adoptive parents and desire to find his real parents is traditional, but against tradition, he's a villain rather than a hero and instrumental in bringing great harm to his actual parents.
No Hero to His Valet: His rapid rise to prominence in Parisian society doesn't faze his old fellow prisoner Caderousse, who still calls him Benedetto and more or less ignores his new status as a prince.
Psycho Sidekick: The Count isn't exactly morally spotless himself, but Benedetto is a pretty bad guy and the Count is happy to use him to his ends. For his part, Benedetto is very loyal to the Count because of his generosity and because he thinks the Count is his true father.
Self-Made Orphan: He killed his foster-mother. By burning her alive. It was sort of an "accident" (he was torturing her with fire to find out where she hid money and she ended up closer to the flames than he intended).
Tenor Boy: In the musical adaptation he is played by one, to add to his innocent facade.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Benedetto commits robbery, torture, and murder and although he is arrested and put on trial the verdict is not revealed to the readers following the revelation that Villefort, his judge, is his own father who tried to bury him alive as a newborn. Considering that Dantes promised to Bertuccio that Benedetto will not go unpunished, and that Benedetto is rewarded by finally discovering who his father is, it is surprising that Benedetto's presumed execution is not made more explicit.
Wicked Cultured: Has absolutely no problem passing himself off as a member of the upper crust, despite having spent all his life with criminal lowlifes.
You're Not My Father: Which is the reason Bertuccio can't bring himself to discipline Benedetto.

Albert Morcerf

Mercedes and Fernand's son.

Arranged Marriage: To Eugenie Danglars. To say that neither cares for the idea is an understatement.
Broken Pedestal: He's incensed that the Count would slander his father's honor and challenges him to a duel over this. When he finally learns what his father did to Dantes, he calls off the duel (even if he'll lose face) and completely disowns Fernand.
Casual Danger Dialogue: "p.s. I now believe in Italian banditti."
Couldn't Find a Lighter: when leaving the bandit encampment, Albert pauses and turns back to light his cigar at the torch one of them is carrying.
Duel to the Death: Challenges first his friend Beauchamp, and then the Count to one.
Hidden Depths: After being suckered into a trap by Italian bandits, he still managed to nearly strangle one of them.
Honor Before Reason: Zigzagged; he is determined to duel someone when his father first gets insulted (even after discovering that his father really is guilty of what he's accused of) and bounces between potential targets until he finds one who will accept. However, after finding out that the Count does have a perfectly legitimate grievance, and that his father was worse than he thought, he endures public disgrace and impoverishment rather than go through with the duel and live off his father's ill-gotten gains.
Like Father, Like Son: Nope. Albert's actually a brave and decent guy who wants to earn what he gets in life. Must be he takes after his mom.
Nerves of Steel: Albert remains calm, composed, and when in the hands of the bandits. In the 2002 film, he remains so even when they have a knife to his throat. In the film and the book, the Count later praises him for his bravery.
Redemption Quest: Joins the army to escape the shame of his father's actions.
Relative Button: Hearing his father accused of Chronic Backstabbing Disorder.
Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Discussed. Albert is said to believe that any problem of logistics can be solved by application of money.
Unsettling Gender-Reveal: During the Carnival, a male bandit disguises himself as a young lady to lure Albert into a trap. One of the bandit's comrades assures readers that this is no discredit to Albert, as the cross-dresser in question is extremely good at the game...
Upper-Class Twit: Has shades of this early on, though in the end he reveals himself to actually have a rather steadfast and noble character beneath it all. At the end of the book he even denounces his father's name and riches after he finds out what the man did to Dantes, and joins the army to make his name and fortune on his own merits instead.

Valentine Villefort

Villefort's daughter, Franz's fiancée, and Maximilien Morrel's lover.

Acquired Poison Immunity: Noirtier helps her build up a resistance to brucine when he suspects she'll be the next victim of the poisoner.
Alliterative Name: Valentine Villefort
The Caretaker: To Noirtier, to the point that they have developed a language that allows Noirtier to communicate with her.
Daddy's Girl: Well, Granddaddy's Girl. Valentine adores her grandfather since her own father's got his own ambitions preoccupying his time, and Monsieur Noirtier adores her back and would do anything to protect her.
Extreme Doormat: When it appears that she is going to be required to marry Franz D'Epinay, Maximillian asks if she is going to refuse. The narration notes that it has never occurred to Valentine to refuse.
Faking the Dead: The Count helps her to do this to escape murder, with a pill that produces the same effect as the potion in Romeo and Juliet.
Hidden Depths: While she's demure and obedient to the point that it goes against her own best interests, she's also very resourceful and worked out a language that allows her paralysed grandfather to communicate not only with her but other people.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Even after seeing who her poisoner is, and having earlier mentioned that her stepmother resents her inheritance and wants her son to get it, she still needs a darker mind to connect the dots and explain to her why someone is trying to murder her.
Proper Lady: She is demure, polite and totally obedient to the wishes of her parents.
Taking the Veil: Valentine attempted to in the past, but stayed for her grandfather's sake.

Maximillian Morrel

The son of Dantes's old employer. He joined the army and became a decorated officer. During his life in Paris, he has a platonic affair with Valentine Villefort in the hope of marrying her. The Count considers him like a son.

Alliterative Name: Maximillian Morrel
Driven to Suicide: He's about to commit suicide over Valentine's "death" when the Count stops him.
Officer and a Gentleman: He walks in one of the circles of Parisian high society, and became a decorated officer before then, with his own honors for valor.

Haydee

The Count's slave and surrogate daughter.

Beautiful Slave Girl: She is technically free to go, but she is so devoted to him that she'd sooner be dead than being away from him. It's also convenient for his cover, since she is presented as his concubine in order to justify why a man of his standing isn't courting women.
Costume Porn: More so than any other character, her Eastern/Grecian costumes are lovingly and lengthily described.
Daddy's Girl: States that she has loved only two men in her life— her father and Monte Cristo.
Gorgeous Greek: The Trope Codifier for literature, even though she is technically half-Albanian/Turkish and half-Greek, she is repeatedly described as "the lovely Greek" and ends up becoming Edmond's love interest.
Happiness in Slavery: "Slavery" in name only. The Count saved her life and treats her exceptionally well. So much that when he offers Haydee her freedom, more than once, she adamantly refuses.
Historical Character's Fictional Relative: Ali Pasha and Vasiliki were historical characters, with Haydee being their daughter.
May–December Romance: Between her and the Count; he's in his forties, while she's nineteen or twenty.
Morality Pet: To the Count.
Proper Lady: A model of feminine decorum, she shows she can fit in with Parisian high society whenever she cares to despite being foreign to it.
Riches to Rags: As her mother, Vasiliki, laments, Haydee would have been almost a queen, and the Count muses that she was a princess in her country. When her father is killed, she and her mother are enslaved.
You Killed My Father: Mondego betrayed her father, Ali Pasha, leading to his death.

Eugenie Danglars

Albert's unenthusiastic fiancée. Daughter of the Danglars.

Abduction Is Love: Joked about; while (completely willingly) escaping with her, Louise jokingly describes herself as being abducted. This trope is mainly used to emphasise that they are lovers, even if the author couldn't explicitly state it.
Arranged Marriage: To Albert. She's as disgusted with it as he is.
Bedmate Reveal: During his attempted escape, when Benedetto accidentally winds up in their hotel room, he finds her in bed together with Louise, when there were two beds in their room.
Butch Lesbian: "Butch" would be an overstatement by modern standards, but she has a very masculine directness to her speech and attitude, is tall and strong for a woman, and cuts her hair short and disguises herself as a man with no hesitation or difficulty.
Crazy-Prepared: She had been making preparation for her escape with Louise d'Armilly for quite a while, being able to spring everything into action within the hour of the shit hitting the fan at her engagement party.
Does Not Like Men: Such a prominent trait that it's one of the main reasons why Albert rues the marriage.
"I tell you what, my dear fellow," said Chateau-Renaud, "I cannot imagine what objection you can possibly have to Mademoiselle Danglars—that is, setting aside her want of ancestry and somewhat inferior rank, which by the way I don't think you care very much about. Now, barring all that, I mean to say she is a deuced fine girl!"
"Handsome, certainly," replied Albert, "but not to my taste, which I confess, inclines to something softer, gentler, and more feminine."
"Ah, well," exclaimed Chateau-Renaud, who because he had seen his thirtieth summer fancied himself duly warranted in assuming a sort of paternal air with his more youthful friend, "you young people are never satisfied; why, what would you have more? your parents have chosen you a bride built on the model of Diana, the huntress, and yet you are not content."
"No, for that very resemblance affrights me; I should have liked something more in the manner of the Venus of Milo or Capua; but this chase-loving Diana continually surrounded by her nymphs gives me a sort of alarm lest she should some day bring on me the fate of Actaeon."
Earn Your Happy Ending: Just about the only character in the novel to achieve a happy ending to her storyline through her own agency, without any help from Monte Cristo and despite of the fallout of his schemes falling in her path.
Hide Your Lesbians: Just barely. The narration does everything short of outright stating that she is a lesbian, instead using several metaphors from Classical Mythology to get the point across while ducking censorship at the same time.
Ice Queen: Eugenie is unfailingly cold and distant to every character she interacts with other than Louise d'Armilly.
The Lad-ette: One of the main criticisms laid against Eugenie is that despite her great beauty, she has the brain of a man, which her peers find disturbing.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Just about the point where everything is starting to go downhill, Eugenie reveals that she has long since been making plans to move to Italy with Louise. Which is wise.
Sweet Polly Oliver: Disguises herself as a man to get out of the country. Apparently, the disguise is quite convincing.

Franz D'Epinay

Albert's best friend since childhood and Valentine's fiancée.

Exact Eavesdropping: Part of the reason he's uneasy about the Count— he overhears his conversation with Luigi Vampa in Rome.
Historical Character's Fictional Relative: General Quesnel was a real person, a French general whose corpse was found floating in the Seine with its valuable items still on it.
Only Sane Man: Of his peers, Franz is the only one who seems to be a bit uneasy about the Count.
Tell Me About My Father: Noirtier tells him the truth about his father, who he believed was murdered by Bonapartist agents in an ambush after refusing to go with them. Noirtier himself was the Bonapartist agent that killed him, but over a trivial matter in a duel and not by ambush. Franz's father provoked Noirtier by calling him a Dirty Coward for bringing three men with him to coerce him into going with them. Noirtier didn't like that and decided to show him that he could kill him all by himself.
You Killed My Father: Noirtier killed his father. This discovery leads him to break off his engagement with Valentine.

Mentors

Abbe Faria

Dantes' Mentor when he is in prison; tells Dantes the location of the treasure that eventually makes him rich.

Almost Dead Guy: Has a long, valuable final conversation with Dantes while on the verge of a fatal stroke.
Eccentric Mentor: Appears somewhat quirky, though it is largely due to being imprisoned for many years. Some adaptations tend to highlight this more than the others.
Historical Domain Character: But fairly dissimilar to the actual guy.
MacGyvering: The Abbe is surprisingly self-sufficient for a man living in a dungeon; he manages to make his own candles, paper, pens and ink, needles and thread, chisel, knife...
Mentor: To Dantes while they are in prison, teaching him the finer points of how to conduct oneself in upper-class society and critical thinking skills that would serve Dantes well once he got out and got a hold of the treasure at Monte Cristo.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: He dies just before they complete their escape plan, so in the end only Dantes escapes.
My God, What Have I Done?: He experiences a minor one when he's just finished helping Dantes figure out who's responsible for getting him locked-up. One look in Dantes's eyes tells him the young man wants revenge and he promptly expresses regret in telling him anything concerning who's responsible.
The Old Convict: Has been in prison for a very long time, and has a lot of wisdom to pass on.
Omniglot: Fluent in a number of languages, he gives Dantes much of the linguistic knowledge he later uses in his multiple disguises.
The Professor: Faria is knowledgeable on a number of subjects such as multiple languages, economics, history, and clearly some science as well. He writes a book on Italian politics while in prison. On paper he made out of old shirts, with pens he made out of bones and ink he made out of ashes, using light from a homemade oil lamp lit with fat from the meat he was fed.

Monsieur Noirtier de Villefort

Villefort's father; Valentine's grandfather and confidant. Fully paralyzed except for his eyes, he communicates by blinking.

Acquired Poison Immunity: He survives a murder attempt using brucine because he has been taking it as medicine, and has built up a resistance to it.
Amazingly Embarrassing Parent: For Villefort, as Noirtier's political views are a liability to his ambitious son.
Cool Old Guy: Even his condition didn't stop him from saving his grandaughter.
Handicapped Badass: Stopping an unhappy marriage for his beloved granddaughter that Villefort's family wanted put through by using his duel of the groom's father as the means, and while paralyzed completely.
Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: His method of killing Franz's father is in line with this. He could have easily just killed the guy on sight, since he was a royalist spy, but perhaps in deference to their shared aristocratic background, instead fought him honorably in a duel to the death.
Nerves of Steel: After his son semi-hysterically informs him that the police are looking for a man exactly corresponding to his description, Noirtier calmly proceeds to shave his whiskers, change his coat, and then call for breakfast. He even took a bunch of hits in his duel without even moaning in pain.
Retired Monster: He killed a man not because he was an enemy but because he bitched that having four people against one is the same as forcing him to sign the document or die. Noirtier simply called him out that if he wants to put his money where his mouth is, he was ready to have a fair duel (where Noirtier would be at a disadvantage using just a cane against a sword), and killed him.
Sword Cane: Used it in a duel and still won against a regular and proper sword.

M. Morrel

The owner of the ship that Edmond Dante captained before his imprisonment.

Benevolent Boss: When the Count determines that Morrel wasn't in on the conspiracy to imprison Edmond Dantes, he rescues the man from his debts in a most dramatic fashion.
Cassandra Truth: He's the first person in the story to realize The Count is actually Edmond Dantes... on his death bed, when everyone assumes he's just delirious.
Doting Parent: To Julie.
Driven to Suicide: He would die before he defaults on his debts.
Honor Before Reason: Subverted: while avoiding the shame of defaulting on his debts is part of his choice to commit suicide, he also knows this way his creditors would find themselves forced to wait and give his son enough time to make the money to pay the inherited debts and get some financial security.
Karmic Jackpot: He's the only one to attempt to help Dantes. Years later, Dantes, as the Count, repays him royally.
Interrupted Suicide: Played with. Maximilian arrives to try and talk him out of it, but they end up agreeing that it's the only honorable thing to do. And then real help arrives.
Team Dad: He is revered by both his family, and the sailors who work for him for his excellent treatment and support for his employees.

Servants, Pawns, and Allies

Bertuccio

The Count's servant and an ex-smuggler. The adoptive father of Benedetto.

Hot-Blooded: Well, yes, he was from Corsica.
Morality Pet: One of the only people who keeps the Count somewhat reigned in and from completely descending into darkness.
Prepare to Die: Swore a vendetta on Villefort after he refused to investigate his brother's murder. He hit him in the ribs instead of the heart with is knfe.
Undying Loyalty: To the Count.
The Watson: Actually Inverted. He's the one who tells the Count about Benedetto.

Ali

The "Nubian mute" and the Count's servant.

Chekhov's Skill: Ali's skill with a lasso is sufficient to catch and bring down a tiger or a lion during a hunt; two runaway horses dragging a carriage at full gallop is nothing. This is a key part of the Count's scheme to introduce himself to the Villeforts; the Count sets up a "carriage accident" and Ali intervenes to "save" the passengers.
The Speechless: Ali's tongue has been cut out, and he communicates mainly either through nodding or charades.
I Owe You My Life / You Owe Me: How he entered the Count's service. Ali went too near the quarters of the harem of the Bey of Tunis; for this crime, he was sentenced to have his tongue torn out one day, his hand removed the second day, and his head removed on the third day. The Count of Monte Cristo intervened to save Ali's life, and take him into his service - but he did so ONLY after the first stage of the punishment was carried out, because he always wanted a mute servant. Nevertheless, Ali appears loyal, grateful, and with no sign of resentment, despite the Count openly discussing his choices and motives in the intervention.

Heloise de Villefort

Villefort's second wife.

Doting Parent: She spoiled her son rotten.
Master Poisoner: To say she is interested in poison is a bit of an understatement. The Count helps her get even better at it.
Manipulative Bastard: Gets a number of people to increase Valentine's inheritance, all with the goal of murdering her so it will then revert to Villefort, and thus go to her son.
Offing the Offspring: Attempted to cold-bloodedly murder her stepchild, and when forced to poison herself or face the gallows, she takes her son with her.
Perfect Poison: Averted. The Count (while "innocently" discussing medicines with her and how careful one must be with the doses) tells her everything she needs to poison without a trace. However, a combination of the sheer number of people who mysteriously fall fatally ill in her house, combined with a competent doctor examining the bodies, reveals that somebody is poisoning people quite early into her murder spree, it just takes a while for the finger to point at her, and longer still for Villefort to take necessary action.
Stupid Crooks: The need to dispatch all her victims before Valentine has a chance to get married prompts Heloise to carry out her murder spree in such a ham-fisted manner that foul play is suspected almost immediately. If she had been able to complete her scheme as planned she would’ve certainly been caught.
Taking You with Me: She poisons her young son rather than die without him.
Tampering with Food and Drink: She deliberately kills two, accidentally another one, and attempts to kill a further two with this method.
Wicked Stepmother: Valentine is the daughter of Villefort's first wife, not her. And she is not happy that Valentine is getting so much of the inheritance.

Hermine Danglars

Danglar's wife. She has many affairs, one with Villefort resulting in the birth of Benedetto.

Drives Like Crazy: Urges her carriage driver on rather recklessly, and has two horses so high-spirited that a less competent driver nearly gets all his passengers killed.
Nobility Marries Money: Is a Baroness in her own right, and married Danglars, who was rich.
Stacy's Mom: Her lover is in the friend group of her daughter's fiance.
Parental Abandonment: Averted. She had no idea that her son by Villefort was still alive, and on learning that there was a possibility, wanted nothing more than to find and be reunited with him. She eventually is.
Unwitting Pawn: The Count manipulates her into contributing to her husband's bankruptcy by dropping false information.

Luigi Vampa

A former shepherd who became chief of the Italian bandits, and a friend and ally to the Count.

Affably Evil: Luigi is perfectly polite to his prisoners in the time they have for their ransoms to arrive.
Badass Bookworm: A fearless and fearsome bandit who also reads a great deal.
Childhood Friend Romance: With Teresa.
From Nobody to Nightmare: From simple peasant to feared bandit and he's not yet thirty.
Genius Book Club: Established by reading Caesar's Commentaries while waiting for his kidnap victim's ransom to show up.
Hidden in Plain Sight: During the Carnivale, a group of bandits and their women drive through the city in peasant disguises. Vampa, however, is disguised as the coachman.
Honor Among Thieves: Vampa is introduced plotting the rescue of an accomplice who had been captured and sentenced to death.
Improbable Aiming Skills: He taught himself to shoot. And when his girlfriend gets captured by a dangerous bandit chief, Luigi nails the man in the heart just as he's about to reach the tree-line. He had to aim around his love too when making that shot.
Just Like Robin Hood: Except for the whole deal with kidnapping random foreigners for ransom...
Rags to Riches: So to speak.
Wicked Cultured: He's a bandit chief who reads ancient classics, namely Caesar's Commentaries.
Young Conqueror: He's jokingly compared to one, but he does kind of fit the descriptor (albeit on a small scale) and it probably explains his choice of reading.

Characters / The Count of Monte Cristo

The First Generation

The Second Generation

Mentors

Servants, Pawns, and Allies

Previous

Index

Next

Characters / The Count of Monte Cristo

Edit Locked

The First Generation

The Second Generation

Mentors

Servants, Pawns, and Allies

Previous

Index

Next