The Count of Monte Cristo

Villefort Destroys the Letter and Betrays Dantès

Villefort Destroys the Letter and Betrays Dantès After multiple readings of the fatal letter, Villefort makes a terrible decision. He tells Dantès that he can no longer restore him immediately to liberty and must consult the trial justice. To Dantès’s gratitude, Villefort then reveals what appears to be kindness—he holds out the letter and explains that the principal charge against Dantès is this very letter. Villefort approaches the fireplace and casts the letter into the flames, waiting until it is entirely consumed. “You see, I destroy it?” Dantès, overwhelmed with gratitude, exclaims that Villefort is “goodness itself.” But this apparent mercy is a betrayal. Villefort warns Dantès that he must be detained until evening, and if anyone else interrogates him, he must deny all knowledge of the letter. “Deny it boldly, and you are saved,” Villefort instructs. Dantès promises to deny it. The guard enters, and Dantès is taken away. Alone, Villefort falls half-fainting into a chair, murmuring about ruin and his father’s past career. Then a light passes over his face—a smile plays around his mouth. “This will do, and from this letter, which might have ruined me, I will make my fortune.” He hastens to the house of his betrothed, having condemned an innocent man to prison while saving himself through treachery.

第八章 The Château d’If

This chapter chronicles Edmond Dantès’ wrongful imprisonment journey, beginning with his transfer from the Palais de Justice to a prison cell, followed by a nighttime carriage escort to the Marseilles waterfront, a boat journey to the notorious Château d’If fortress, and his initial imprisonment and emotional descent into despair after realizing he has been betrayed and denied the freedom he was promised.