Marquise de Saint-Méran’s Bonapartist Critique
The Marquise de Saint-Méran, a stern woman of fifty with a forbidding eye, denounces the revolutionists who drove the nobility from their possessions before purchasing those same lands cheaply during the Reign of Terror. She contrasts the royalists’ sincere devotion—sacrificing rank, wealth, and station to follow their fallen monarch—with the opportunism of those who worshiped the “rising sun.” She brands Napoleon as the “evil genius” and “Napoleon the accursed” of his followers, then turns to Villefort for confirmation.
Villefort’s Comparison of Napoleon and Robespierre
Villefort, who had been distracted by Renée, responds to the marquise’s condemnation of Bonapartism with measured political analysis. He concedes that Bonapartists possessed fanaticism rather than genuine devotion, calling Napoleon “the Mahomet of the West.” When the marquise protests that Napoleon cannot be the type of equality and invokes Robespierre, Villefort distinguishes between the two: Robespierre represents the equality that degrades and brings kings to the guillotine, while Napoleon represents the equality that elevates and raises the people to the level of the throne. He places Robespierre on his scaffold in the Place Louis Quinze and Napoleon on the column of the Place Vendôme, then concedes that both were “revolutionary scoundrels” whose downfalls on 9 Thermidor and 4 April 1814 were fortunate for France.
Villefort’s Disavowal of His Father’s Politics
When the marquise accuses Villefort of revolutionary talk and reminds him that he is the son of a Girondin, Villefort’s face flushes crimson. He acknowledges that his father was a Girondin but insists he did not vote for the king’s death. The marquise counters that their families suffered persecution from opposite sides, noting that while the Saint-Mérans remained loyal to the exiled princes, the Citizen Noirtier had joined the new government and become Senator Count Noirtier. Villefort requests that the past be buried, declaring that he has himself discarded his father’s name and political principles. Renouncing his father the Bonapartist “Noirtier,” he asserts his identity as a staunch royalist named “de Villefort,” hoping the old revolutionary stock will die while the new royalist shoot flourishes apart from it.
Plan to Exile Napoleon to Saint Helena
The Marquise accepts the amnesty but demands that Villefort prove firm and inflexible in his royalism. She reminds him that the royal family has pledged itself to the king for his loyalty, and that the king has consented to forget the past at the marquis’s recommendation. The Comte de Salvieux mentions that the Holy Alliance intends to remove Napoleon from Elba, and when asked the destination, reveals it to be Saint Helena—an island on the other side of the equator, at least two thousand leagues away. The marquise approves, noting that Elba is dangerously close to Corsica and Italian territory.
Political Tensions in Post-Napoleonic Marseilles
Villefort expresses concern that Marseilles is filled with half-pay officers who daily provoke quarrels with royalists, leading to duels among the upper classes and assassinations among the lower. He notes that the strong arm of the law can only act after the fact and frequently cannot repair the damage done, only avenge it. The marquise urges Villefort to purify Marseilles of Napoleon’s partisans, insisting that the king must be upheld in peace and tranquillity through the most inflexible agents.
Villefort’s Harsh Judicial Stance
When a young lady, daughter of the Comte de Salvieux, begs Villefort to arrange a famous trial for her entertainment, he responds with chilling enthusiasm. He describes the law court as a drama of life, where the pale, agitated prisoner is led away to prison and the executioner rather than supping peacefully at home. He boasts of having already pronounced five or six death sentences against political conspirators, acknowledges that daggers may await him in return, and declares it his pride to see the accused pale and beaten out of composure by his eloquence. The company praises his oratory, and Renée grows increasingly terrified.
Renée’s Plea for Mercy
Renée pleads with Villefort, begging him always to show mercy to those she intercedes for. The marquise silences her daughter, telling her to attend to her doves, lap-dogs, and embroidery rather than meddle in matters she does not understand, citing the Latin proverb “Cedant arma togae” (let arms yield to the toga). Villefort reassures Renée that they will always consult upon their verdicts. The marquis expresses hope that Villefort will prove the moral and political physician of the province, an achievement that would efface the memory of his father’s conduct. Villefort hopes that his father has atoned for past errors and become an even better royalist than himself.
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