The Count of Monte Cristo

第九十章 The Meeting

Chapter 90, “The Meeting,” gathers Monte Cristo in the quiet hours before his duel with Albert de Morcerf. After Mercédès’s departure the previous evening, the Count wrestles with despondency and a resolve to appear to die by his own hand rather than be killed in combat, a decision that compels him to revise his will, confide his daughter Haydée to Maximilian Morrel, and submit to the grim morning ritual of honor as Morrel arrives early, pistols are verified, and the seconds converge at the appointed dueling ground outside Paris.

Count’s Gloom and Resolve

Count’s Gloom and Resolve After Mercédès leaves, Monte Cristo falls into profound melancholy, his mind numb and his lamp burning low as he questions the vanity of his long-nursed revenge. The thought that Mercédès might throw herself between the duelists and make him appear ridiculous drives a surge of pride: he would sooner die than be humiliated. Concluding that his death must be seen as deliberate rather than self-inflicted cowardice, he resolves to publicize the suicide of his plan—and thereby his own end—by adding an explanatory codicil to his will.

Drafting the Will Codicil

Drafting the Will Codicil In the small hours, Monte Cristo unlocks a secret drawer and writes a codicil beneath his Paris will, framing his death as the chosen withdrawal of an agent of Providence whose vengeful scheme has been overtaken by love. He then composes a second clause bequeathing twenty millions hidden in the grotto on Monte Cristo to Maximilian Morrel, with the expressed wish that, if Maximilian is free, he marry Haydée, daughter of Ali Pasha, who is already constituted heiress of the remaining roughly sixty millions in lands, foreign funds, and palaces.