Mercédès and Albert
Above Debray’s room, Mercédès and Albert de Morcerf occupy a modest apartment into which poverty has cast the fallen countess. Though she does not display the trappings of misery, Mercédès’s eyes no longer sparkle and her lips no longer smile; she has become like a queen reduced to a hovel, unable to reconcile herself to her humble surroundings. Albert, too, is ill at ease, his fair hands and polished boots marking him as unsuited to his reduced state. Yet united by maternal and filial love, the two have tacitly arranged their straitened life, with Albert able to speak to his mother about their situation without causing her to change expression.
第一百零六章 Dividing the Proceeds
Chapter 106, “Dividing the Proceeds,” follows Albert de Morcerf and his mother Mercédès as they confront their poverty in Paris after the scandal of his father’s treachery. Albert itemizes the 3,000 francs hidden in the garden of the Allées de Meilhan house in Marseilles, calculates travel costs, and reveals that he has enlisted as a substitute in the Spahis for 2,000 francs, half already paid. After a tender farewell, the two encounter Debray on the staircase, and Mercédès departs for Marseilles. An unseen observer in Lafitte’s banking house laments the happiness he has inadvertently destroyed.
Mother, We Have No More Money
Albert opens the chapter with the stark declaration, “Mother, we have no more money.” With Madame Danglars having just descended the stairs, Albert asks Mercédès to take stock of their resources so he can build his plans upon a clear foundation. Mercédès responds with a mournful smile, “Capital—nothing!” but Albert insists their capital amounts to 3,000 francs, hidden in the garden of the little house in the Allées de Meilhan at Marseilles.
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