The Count of Monte Cristo

Villefort’s Ambitions and the Arrest

Villefort’s Ambitions and the Arrest Villefort leaves the salon of his future father-in-law, the Marquis de Saint-Méran, assuming the grave demeanor of a magistrate. Despite his noble countenance, carefully studied before a mirror, he finds it difficult to maintain judicial severity. His happiness is nearly complete: at twenty-seven, he is already wealthy and holds a high official position as deputy attorney. He is to marry the charming Mademoiselle de Saint-Méran, whose family possesses considerable political influence. Her dowry amounts to fifty thousand crowns, with prospects of half a million more upon her father’s death. At the door of his house, which adjoins the Palais de Justice, Villefort meets the commissary of police, who informs him that the prisoner is Edmond Dantès, mate of the Pharaon belonging to Morrel & Son. Dantès is only nineteen or twenty years old and has never served in the marines. All papers found on Dantès have been sealed and placed on Villefort’s desk, though as yet nothing is known of any conspiracy.

Morrel Intercedes for Dantès

Morrel Intercedes for Dantès As Villefort walks toward the Palais de Justice, the shipowner Morrel approaches him with distress, pleading that the arrest of his mate Edmond Dantès is a terrible mistake. Morrel extols Dantès as the most estimable and trustworthy creature in the world, declaring there is no better seaman in the merchant service. Villefort, an aristocratic royalist, regards Morrel with disdain, noting the shipowner’s plebeian origins and suspected Bonapartist sympathies. He delivers a cold reminder that a man may be trustworthy in private life yet politically a criminal. When Morrel employs the collective “give us back” in his plea, Villefort considers this phrasing revolutionary. The magistrate hints darkly that Dantès may belong to a Carbonari society, observing that he was arrested in a tavern with many others. Villefort assures Morrel that he will perform his duty impartially—innocence will be rewarded, but guilt in the current epoch must be punished as a dangerous example cannot be permitted. He departs coldly, leaving Morrel standing petrified on the spot.