The Count of Monte Cristo

CHAPITRE 13. The Hundred Days

This section opens the narrative of the Hundred Days period, framing Napoleon’s unprecedented return from Elba as an event that renders Louis XVIII’s fragile restored monarchy immediately untenable. Villefort is spared removal from office only through the influence of his father Noirtier, a powerful Bonapartist figure at court, and is granted the Legion of Honor (which he prudently declines to wear), while the sitting king’s procureur is dismissed for suspected royalist leanings. Shortly after Napoleon re-enters the Tuileries (finding Louis XVIII’s half-filled snuff box left on his desk), Marseilles erupts in unrest despite official suppression efforts, as long-simmering pro-Bonapartist sentiment in southern France reignites into low-grade civil conflict, with crowds assaulting visible royalists.

Hundred Days Onset, Villefort’s Retained Status, and Marseilles Unrest

The onset of the Hundred Days shifts regional power dynamics in ways that create a narrow opening for Dantès’ release: shipowner Morrel, though personally moderate, gains enough influence among Bonapartists to formally advocate for his former employee. Villefort retains his post as deputy procureur but deliberately delays his upcoming marriage to Mademoiselle de Saint-Méran, calculating that aligning with whichever regime ultimately prevails will better advance his career. He remains Marseilles’ highest-ranking magistrate when Morrel arrives at his office to make his appeal.

Morrel’s Formal Appeal to Villefort for Dantès’ Release

Morrel formally petitions Villefort for Edmond Dantès’ release, arguing that Dantès’ previously condemned Bonapartist ties are now a mark of loyalty to the restored Napoleon. Villefort initially feigns ignorance of Dantès’ case, then claims the young man has been transferred to a remote prison, before finally offering to draft and sign a formal petition to the minister exaggerating Dantès’ patriotic service to the emperor, which he claims will guarantee his release. In reality, Villefort hides the signed petition, hoping for a second Bourbon restoration that will let him permanently eliminate Dantès and the dangerous secret he carries.

Dantès’ Continued Imprisonment and Fates of Supporting Characters

Dantès remains imprisoned and unaware of the political upheavals unfolding outside his dungeon: Morrel makes two additional appeals for his release during the Hundred Days, but ceases all efforts after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. When Louis XVIII retakes the throne, Villefort secures a new post as king’s procureur in Toulouse and marries Mademoiselle de Saint-Méran shortly thereafter. Danglars, terrified of Dantès’ potential vengeance after Napoleon’s return, abandons his position in Marseilles and relocates to Madrid to work for a Spanish merchant. Fernand, who had resolved to kill Dantès and then himself if his rival returned, is conscripted into the army; his show of devotion to Mercédès as he departs earns her gratitude, giving him hope Dantès will never come back. Mercédès is left isolated and grieving, nearly driven to suicide but held back by her religious faith, while Dantès’ elderly father dies of grief five months after his son’s arrest, with Morrel covering his funeral costs and small debts at great personal risk in the pro-Bonapartist south.

CHAPITRE 14. The Two Prisoners

Set one year after the restoration of Louis XVIII, this chapter follows a visit from the prison inspector-general to the Château d’If, where two long-held prisoners, Edmond Dantès and the Abbé Faria, are incarcerated.

Prison Inspector’s Arrival and Initial Inspection

The inspector first conducts inspections of the upper dungeon cells, visiting prisoners recommended for clemency due to good behavior or low perceived threat; all complain of terrible food and request release. The governor explains that more dangerous and mentally unstable prisoners are held in lower, more secure dungeons. The inspector, accompanied by the governor, two turnkeys, and two armed soldiers for safety, descends a foul, dark, and humid stairway to begin inspecting the lower dungeon inmates.

Edmond Dantès’s Plea for Trial and Fair Hearing

The inspector’s first stop in the lower dungeons is Edmond Dantès’s cell. Dantès, who has been held for 17 months (since February 28, 1815) without charge, throws himself forward to beg the inspector for a fair trial, explaining he has lost his promising naval career, his upcoming marriage to the woman he loves, and has no news of his elderly father, insisting the uncertainty of his fate is a worse punishment than any crime merited. The inspector is moved by his plea, promises to review his case, and asks to see the documentation against him. The inspector finds a note added to Dantès’s file labeling him a violent Bonapartist involved in the return from Elba, requiring strict monitoring; unable to overturn the existing accusation, the inspector writes “Nothing to be done” on the entry. Dantès leaves the encounter filled with hope for his eventual release.