The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count’s Impending Departure

Monte Cristo announces to Julie and Emmanuel that he will leave France within a week, noting the injustice of a country where those who deserved heavenly vengeance lived happily while his own father perished of hunger and grief. He observes that Morrel remains unmoved by the news.

A Private Word with Maximilian

Realizing Morrel needs more direct intervention, Monte Cristo asks Julie and Emmanuel to leave him alone with Maximilian. Julie seizes the opportunity to take the purse Monte Cristo had pressed into her hands, which she treasures as a relic.

The Return of Suffering

Alone with Morrel, Monte Cristo asks if he is a man again; Morrel replies that he is, for he has begun to suffer. The count frowns at this answer, recognizing another battle against his friend’s grief.

Morrel’s Lost Will to Live

Morrel reassures Monte Cristo that he will not attempt suicide again, but his despair remains: he has found that grief alone will kill him. He has no interest in pistols or knives, only the slow death of losing Valentine.

Monte Cristo’s Plea to Hope

The count shares his own past despair and Morrel’s father’s similar crisis, insisting that he and the elder Morrel both eventually blessed life after being told to hope. He entreats Morrel to look forward, declaring that he orders him to live in the conviction he will one day be grateful.

The Depth of Morrel’s Love for Valentine

Morrel reveals the intensity of his two-year love for Valentine, saying that to possess her would have been a happiness too complete for this world, which is why it was denied him. Without Valentine, the earth is desolate. Monte Cristo’s response to suggest hope only stirs the ghost of belief in supernatural restoration.