The Count of Monte Cristo

Caderousse Complains of His Insufficient Allowance

Over the breakfast, Caderousse, weeping tears that may be of joy or onion-induced origin, complains bitterly of the wretched life Andrea’s money has consigned him to. He points out that Andrea keeps a servant and dines at fashionable establishments while he must cook for himself, polish his own shoes, and live in a shabby room with four straw chairs and three-franc images. Though he is supposedly a retired baker, he insists that a truly wealthy retired baker would have an annuity worth living on. Andrea’s offer of 200 francs per month humiliates him, as it is a grudging and uncertain pittance that may soon dry up. Caderousse reveals that he knows of Andrea’s impending marriage to Danglars’ daughter and darkly hints that he once dined with Danglars and Morcerf when they were humble employees of the good M. Morrel—suggesting he could cause considerable embarrassment if he chose to “cultivate” his high connections.

Caderousse Plots to Extort Additional Funds

Caderousse’s plan crystallizes over the meal as he confesses to Andrea that he is tormented by remorse at being dependent on another’s charity. He claims he refused the 200 francs out of genuine remorse and struck by an idea: the misery of always waiting until the end of the month. He advises Andrea to ask for six months’ advance under the pretext of buying a farm, then decamp with the money. When Andrea caustically suggests that Caderousse himself could do the same and retire to Brussels as a bankrupt using its privileges, Caderousse mocks the impossibility of living on twelve hundred francs and declares that the appetite grows by what it feeds on. He grins like a monkey or a growling tiger, bites off an enormous mouthful of bread, and announces that he has formed a plan—one clearly aimed at extracting a far larger sum from his old accomplice than the modest stipend he currently receives.