The Count of Monte Cristo

Danglars’ Refusal

Danglars protests against showing himself in a ministerial box, declaring that his political principles and his parliamentary position as a member of the opposition party will not permit him to commit himself in such a manner. The baroness therefore despatches a note to Lucien Debray, bidding him call for them, since it is wholly impossible for her to go alone with Eugénie to the opera. A very unfavorable construction would have been put upon the circumstance if the two women had gone without escort, but the addition of a third person in the form of her mother’s admitted lover enables Mademoiselle Danglars to defy malice and ill-nature—one must take the world as one finds it.

The Curtain Rises

The curtain rises, as usual, to an almost empty house, it being one of the absurdities of Parisian fashion never to appear at the opera until after the beginning of the performance. The first act is generally played without the slightest attention being paid to it, the portion of the audience already assembled being too much occupied in observing fresh arrivals, while nothing is heard but the noise of opening and shutting doors and the buzz of conversation. Fashion’s indifference to art contrasts sharply with the splendor of the gathering taking shape in the boxes and stalls.

The Countess G——

As the door of a box on the first circle opens, Albert declares that it must be the Countess G——, prompting Château-Renaud to inquire who she is. Albert pretends to be on the verge of picking a quarrel for the question, since all the world ought to know who she is. Château-Renaud recovers himself, naming her as the lovely Venetian. The countess, perceiving Albert, returns his salutation with a smile, and Albert explains that Franz introduced him to her at Rome, readily offering to do the same for Château-Renaud in Paris. A cry of “Shut up!” from the audience produces no effect on the two young men, who continue their conversation undisturbed.