The Count of Monte Cristo

Passing the Barrier

Despite the earlier tensions, Andrea agrees to drive Caderousse into Paris since separating would draw more attention than traveling together. He accepts Caderousse’s disguise scheme despite the indignity of losing his hat. They proceed toward the barrier, with Caderousse maintaining his servant disguise. The passage occurs without incident, and they successfully pass through the barrier without exciting suspicion.

The Parting at the Cross Street

At the first cross street within Paris, Andrea stops his horse. Caderousse prepares to leave, and Andrea asks for his servant’s coat and hat back. Caderousse refuses, joking that he cannot risk taking cold. When Andrea protests, Caderousse simply declares they are young while he is getting old, offers a final farewell to Benedetto, and runs into a court before disappearing entirely. Andrea sighs, reflecting that one cannot be completely happy in this world.

CHAPITRE 65. A Conjugal Scene

Chapter 65, “A Conjugal Scene,” follows Debray from a social parting with Morrel and Château-Renaud to the Danglars household, where an intimate moment between the baroness and her lover is interrupted by the unexpected return of the banker. Danglars ejects Debray and then confronts his wife over a catastrophic 700,000-franc speculative loss, exposing years of her covert financial advice and infidelity. The chapter culminates in Danglars asserting absolute dominance over his household, declaring that he has long been aware of her conduct and will no longer tolerate the depletion of his fortune. When the name of Villefort is uttered, the baroness turns pale and rises as though confronted by a ghost, pressing her husband for an explanation of how he came to learn the secret of her first marriage to M. de Nargonne. Danglars, cold and brutal, lays out the facts of her former husband’s death and shifts the conversation to his own grievances, demanding that Debray share the loss of 700,000 francs or be financially ruined. Stunned by this exposure and overwhelmed by the accumulation of recent disasters in her household, Madame Danglars sinks into a chair and attempts to faint, but her husband ignores her, shuts the bedroom door, and returns to his own apartments, leaving her to wonder whether the confrontation was merely a disagreeable dream.

CHAPITRE 65. A Conjugal Scene

Chapter 65, “A Conjugal Scene,” follows Debray from a social parting with Morrel and Château-Renaud to the Danglars household, where an intimate moment between the baroness and her lover is interrupted by the unexpected return of the banker. Danglars ejects Debray and then confronts his wife over a catastrophic 700,000-franc speculative loss, exposing years of her covert financial advice and infidelity. The chapter culminates in Danglars asserting absolute dominance over his household, declaring that he has long been aware of her conduct and will no longer tolerate the depletion of his fortune.

Parting of Morrel, Château-Renaud, and Debray

At the Place Louis XV, the three young men part ways: Morrel heads toward the Boulevards, Château-Renaud toward the Pont de la Révolution, and Debray toward the Quai. Morrel and Château-Renaud presumably return to their domestic lives, but Debray takes a different route.

Debray Arrives at Danglars’ House

Rather than going home, Debray crosses the Carrousel, passes through the Rue Saint-Roch, and arrives at M. Danglars’ door at the same moment as Villefort’s landau, which drops off the baroness at her house. Debray enters the courtyard with the air of a familiar guest, hands his horse to a footman, and offers his arm to escort Madame Danglars to her apartments.

Baroness Checks on Daughter Eugénie

Once alone in the courtyard, Debray questions the baroness about her agitation during the count’s story. She attributes her state to “shocking spirits” all evening, but Debray suspects a deeper cause and resolves to press her later. At her apartment door, the baroness meets her confidential maid, Mademoiselle Cornélie, who reports that Eugénie practiced all evening and then went to bed, though the sound of the piano can still be heard—it is Mademoiselle Louise d’Armilly playing.