The Count of Monte Cristo

Monte Cristo’s Remorse

When Monte Cristo emerged from placing the child beside its mother, he encountered Morrel wandering about like a ghost awaiting the heavenly mandate for return to the tomb. The count’s face, usually so calm and serene, was overcast by grief. He spoke of having perhaps done too much, that God alone could judge whether his vengeance had gone beyond proper bounds. For the first time, Monte Cristo questioned whether he had the right to do what he had done—whether the suffering he had inflicted had exceeded any moral justification he might claim.

Preparations for Departure

Monte Cristo turned to Morrel and said with a smile, “Prepare yourself, Maximilian—we leave Paris tomorrow.” When Morrel asked if he had nothing more to do there, the count replied, “No. God grant I may not have done too much already.” The next day they indeed left, accompanied only by Baptistin. Haydée had taken away Ali, and Bertuccio remained with Noirtier. The count’s long-planned vengeance was complete, but at a cost that left him questioning whether justice had truly been served or whether he had become something monstrous in his pursuit of retribution.

第一百十二章 The Departure

Chapter 112, “The Departure,” follows the Count of Monte Cristo as he collects Maximilian Morrel from the Morrel household in Paris, embarks on a journey to Marseilles, and ultimately visits the home of Mercédès. The chapter intertwines farewells, reflections on divine providence, and the count’s departure from Paris, culminating in his discovery of a weeping Mercédès in her garden. Chapter 112. The Departure In this chapter, the Count of Monte Cristo encounters Mercédès at the old Dantès home in Marseille, where she has come to bid her son Albert farewell before he departs for Africa. Their deeply emotional conversation addresses her grief, her refusal to reproach him, her self-blame for past wrongs, his understanding of his role as an instrument of divine vengeance, her sole wish for her son’s happiness, her decline of financial assistance, and their final farewell. Mercédès ends the chapter watching her son’s ship sail away while murmuring Edmond’s name.