The Count of Monte Cristo

第十四章 The Two Prisoners

Set one year after the restoration of Louis XVIII, this chapter follows a visit from the prison inspector-general to the Château d’If, where two long-held prisoners, Edmond Dantès and the Abbé Faria, are incarcerated.

Prison Inspector’s Arrival and Initial Inspection

The inspector first conducts inspections of the upper dungeon cells, visiting prisoners recommended for clemency due to good behavior or low perceived threat; all complain of terrible food and request release. The governor explains that more dangerous and mentally unstable prisoners are held in lower, more secure dungeons. The inspector, accompanied by the governor, two turnkeys, and two armed soldiers for safety, descends a foul, dark, and humid stairway to begin inspecting the lower dungeon inmates.

Edmond Dantès’s Plea for Trial and Fair Hearing

The inspector’s first stop in the lower dungeons is Edmond Dantès’s cell. Dantès, who has been held for 17 months (since February 28, 1815) without charge, throws himself forward to beg the inspector for a fair trial, explaining he has lost his promising naval career, his upcoming marriage to the woman he loves, and has no news of his elderly father, insisting the uncertainty of his fate is a worse punishment than any crime merited. The inspector is moved by his plea, promises to review his case, and asks to see the documentation against him. The inspector finds a note added to Dantès’s file labeling him a violent Bonapartist involved in the return from Elba, requiring strict monitoring; unable to overturn the existing accusation, the inspector writes “Nothing to be done” on the entry. Dantès leaves the encounter filled with hope for his eventual release.