The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo

by

Alexandre Dumas

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Count of Monte Cristo makes teaching easy.

Edmond Dantes (The Count of Monte Cristo, the Abbe Busoni, the Envoy, Lord Wilmore, Sinbad the Sailor)

Edmond Dantes, the novel’s protagonist, is a French sailor who is wrongfully imprisoned at age 19, escapes, and then spends his life getting meticulous revenge on the men who wronged him. He is fiercely loyal… read analysis of Edmond Dantes (The Count of Monte Cristo, the Abbe Busoni, the Envoy, Lord Wilmore, Sinbad the Sailor)

Mercedes (de Morcerf)

Initially Dantes’s betrothed, Mercedes marries her cousin Fernand when she believes Dantes will never return from prison. Mercedes is utterly devoted to Dantes; she never wanted to be with Fernand, but she relents to his… read analysis of Mercedes (de Morcerf)

Old Dantes / Dantes’ Father

Old Dantes is Dantes’ beloved father. After his son is thrown in prison for an indefinite amount of time, Old Dantes dies in poverty, despite Mercedes and Old Morrel trying to help. Old Dantes thinks… read analysis of Old Dantes / Dantes’ Father

Fernand (de Morcerf)

One of the plotters who places Dantes in prison, Fernand begins life as a lowly fisherman in the Catalan neighborhood of Marseille. He is Mercedes’ cousin and he is desperately in love with her, all… read analysis of Fernand (de Morcerf)

Albert (de Morcerf)

Fernand’s and Mercedes’s honorable son, Albert meets the Count of Monte Cristo in Rome and eventually befriends him, believing the Count to be one of the most interesting and mysterious men he has ever met… read analysis of Albert (de Morcerf)
Get the entire The Count of Monte Cristo LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Count of Monte Cristo PDF

(Baron) Danglars

Another of the plotters, Danglars rises from the position of cargo manager on a ship to being an esteemed banker in Paris. He has made his fortune via financial speculation, and this is enough for… read analysis of (Baron) Danglars

M. de Villefort

The deputy crown prosecutor in Marseille at the start of the novel, Villefort condemns Dantes to prison after he realizes that Dantes could publicize Villefort’s father’s relationship to Bonaparte. From the beginning, Villefort is ruthlessly… read analysis of M. de Villefort

Caderousse

The most feckless of the conspirators, Caderousse is a jealous and cowardly man. He does not have the courage to stand up to the other plotters when Danglars initially condemns Dantes, nor is he… read analysis of Caderousse

Abbe Faria

The Count’s comrade in prison, Abbe Faria is extremely learned and wise, as he has worked for a noble family in Italy before being thrown into prison for supposed sympathy with the forces of independence… read analysis of Abbe Faria

Old Morrel

The owner of the ship on which Dantes initially sails, and a father figure for Dantes, Old Morrel raises Dantes to captain of the vessel. Morrel cares for Dantes, and when the young man is… read analysis of Old Morrel

Maximilien Morrel

Old Morrel’s only son, Maximilien makes a career as a soldier, falls in love with Valentine de Villefort, and befriends the Count of Monte Cristo. Young Morrel is a man of great bravery and… read analysis of Maximilien Morrel

Haydee

Haydee is the Count’s “slave,” whom he originally purchased in Constantinople because he knew she was the daughter of the Ali Pasha (who once knew Fernand). Haydee is devoted to the Count for… read analysis of Haydee

Julie Morrel and Emmanuel

Julie is Old Morrel’s daughter and Emmanuel is his best, most devoted employee. Julie Morrel and Emmanuel marry and set up house in Paris, where the Count and Maximilien Morrel often visit them. Both are… read analysis of Julie Morrel and Emmanuel

Baroness Hermine Danglars

Married to the Baron Danglars, Hermine Danglars once had an affair with Villefort that resulted in the birth of a child, Benedetto (now called Andrea Cavalcanti). Hermine, later, has an affair with… read analysis of Baroness Hermine Danglars

Eugenie Danglars

Daughter of Hermine and the Baron Danglars, Eugenie is supposed to marry Albert de Morcerf, then Andrea Cavalcanti, but she winds up running away with her musician friend to live in a… read analysis of Eugenie Danglars

Mme Heloise de Villefort

The second wife of M. de Villefort, Heloise de Villefort is found guilty of poisoning members of the Villefort and Saint-Meran family in order to protect the interests of her son, Edouard. Heloise… read analysis of Mme Heloise de Villefort

Valentine de Villefort

Daughter of M. de Villefort and his first wife, Valentine is the devoted companion of Maximilien Morrel, whom she later pledges to marry. Valentine is pledged again her wishes to Franz, a dashing nobleman… read analysis of Valentine de Villefort

M. de Noirtier-Villefort

Father of M. de Villefort, Noirtier-Villefort was a Bonapartist sympathizer now rendered mute by a stroke. He is a devoted grandfather to Valentine and does what he can to protect her from the predations… read analysis of M. de Noirtier-Villefort

Louis XVIII

The King of France at the start of the novel, “restored” to the throne after the French Revolution and the first reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. Louis XVII is portrayed in the text as an… read analysis of Louis XVIII

Major Cavalcanti

An elderly military man, of some social standing in Paris, who has believed for years that he has an unknown child out of wedlock. The Count arranges it so that Major Cavalcanti and “Andrea” Cavalcantiread analysis of Major Cavalcanti

Boville

The former inspector of prisons in France, and now a leading charitable figure in the country. Danglars tries to swindle Boville when Danglars is nearly bankrupt, but the scheme fails, Danglars is caught by Luigiread analysis of Boville

Captain Leclere

The captain of a ship on which, at the beginning of the novel, Dantes serves as first mate. Leclere dies of a fever while at sea, which many ways sets the plot of the novel… read analysis of Captain Leclere
Minor Characters
Edouard de Villefort
Son of M. de Villefort and Heloise, Edouard is an insouciant young boy. He is eventually killed by his mother, who believes she is poisoning him to “protect him” from further danger.
Baron Franz D’Epinay
A young society man and friend of Albert’s, Baron Franz D’Epinay meets the Count on the island of Monte Cristo and is later pledged to marry Valentine, although Noirtier-Villefort ends this engagement by revealing that he, long ago, killed Franz’s father.
Ali
Another of the Count’s “slaves,” Ali is a silent and devoted follower of the Count’s, greatly skilled in all manner of deeds, including horsemanship and adventuring.
Bertuccio
One of the Count’s servants, Bertuccio, a Corsican, discovers Villefort’s child, whom he has tried to bury. He later adopts the boy and raises him, naming him Benedetto.
Benedetto / Andrea Cavalcanti
The child born out of wedlock to Villefort and Hermine, Benedetto is raised by Bertuccio but turns ill, leading a life of crime until he passes in Parisian society as Andrea Cavalcanti—all this, before his real identity is revealed in court.
La Carconte
Wife to Caderousse, La Carconte plots with her husband to murder the jeweler who has appraised the diamond given to them by the Abbe Busoni.
Doctor D’Avrigny
Doctor to the Villefort household, D’Avrigny believes that there is a poisoner in the home, though initially he is unsure who it might be.
Renee Saint-Meran
Villefort’s first wife, Renee Saint-Meran dies early in the novel, and M. de Villefort marries Heloise. Renee gives birth to Valentine, her only daughter.
The Saint-Meran Grandparents
The parents of Renee, they are ardent royalists, who support Louis XXVIII. They are beloved by Valentine. The Saint-Meran grandparents both die of strokes under suspicious circumstances, and Villefort later determines that Heloise has poisoned them.
Luigi Vampa
Originally a shepherd boy, Luigi Vampa becomes one of the most violent bandits in all of Italy, and he befriends the Count of Monte Cristo.
The Jeweler
Brought in to appraise the diamond the Abbe Busoni gives to Caderousse and La Carconte, the jeweler is later killed by the couple when he spends the night at their inn.
M. Pastrini
Host to Franz and Albert in the hotel in Rome, M. Pastrini later introduces the two men to the Count of Monte Cristo.
The Countess G
A society lady of Rome and Paris, the Countess G fears the Count of Monte Cristo, comparing him to ghoulish characters in the poems of Lord Byron.
Peppino
A lookout for Luigi Vampa, Peppino is saved from execution by the Count of Monte Cristo.
Chateau-Renaud
A society nobleman of Paris, Chateau-Renaud is a friend of Albert de Morcerf’s.
Beauchamp
A friend of Albert de Morcerf’s, Beauchamp is a journalist, whose paper publishes a story decrying Fernand de Morcerf as a fraud and a cheat.
Lucien Debray
A friend of Albert de Morcerf’s and a government employee, Lucien Debray is having a romantic affair with Hermine Danglars.
Napoleon Bonaparte
The former Emperor of France, who is in exile on the island of Elba when the novel begins, then returns to power for a “Hundred Days” of rule, and then is finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo (while Dantes is imprisoned).
Jacopo
A sailor on the Jeune-Amelie, the boat that rescues Dantes after he has escaped from the Chateau D’If. Jacopo befriends Dantes because, although he does not know Dantes’ true identity, he senses from the beginning that the young man has a “noble” air about him.
Captain Baldi
The captain of the Jeune-Amelie. Like Jacopo, Baldi also reveres Dantes, in part because Dantes is an extremely accomplished sailor. Baldi wonders if, in fact, Dantes has recently escaped from the Chateau D’If, but he says nothing to authorities, because Dantes is so valuable a worker on his vessel.
Cocles
A loyal employee of Old Morrel’s. Cocles remains with the firm even after it suffers serious financial setbacks.
Gaetano
A guide and smuggler who works with the Count of Monte Cristo. Gaetano gives Franz a tour of the island of Monte Cristo, and arranges for Franz and the Count (who goes by the name of Sinbad the Sailor in this scene) to meet and dine together.
Teresa
The wife of Luigi Vampa, famed brigand of Rome. Teresa pretends to have fallen in love with Albert during Roman Carnival, thus luring Albert into Vampa’s lair, where he is held for ransom (until being bailed out by the Count).
Cucumetto
A famed criminal in the Roman countryside when Luigi Vampa was a young man. Cucumetto kills his fellow criminal Carlini in a dispute over Carlini’s mistress.
Carlini
A deputy in Cucumetto’s band of criminals. Carlini kills his mistress after she is assaulted by Cucumetto, to “protect her honor.” Carlini, in turn, is killed by Cucumetto for this deed.
Rita
Carlini’s mistress. Cucumetto assaults Rita, and Carlini, despondent, kills Rita in what he considers an act of benevolence, since otherwise Rita would have been ostracized by her community.
Assunta
Wife to Bertuccio’s deceased brother Benedetto. Assunta and Bertuccio later adopt the child Bertuccio finds buried in the garden at Auteuil, and they named this child Benedetto after Bertuccio’s brother.
Olivia
The wife of Major Cavalcanti. Andrea pretends to believe that Olivia is in fact his biological mother in the scheme arranged by the Count, making the Major and Andrea legally father and son.
Baptistin
A loyal servant to the Count. Although the Count at one point tells Baptistin he knows that he steals from him on occasion, the Count considers this theft no more than the average amount for a Parisian servant. Baptistin, chastened, only increases his dutiful service to the Count.
The Notary
A Parisian official. Noirtier brings in the notary to amend his will, making it so that, if Valentine marries Franz, he will officially disinherit her. Valentine arranges this as the first step toward marrying Maximilien.
Barrois
A dutiful servant of the Villefort home. Barrois accidentally drinks from a pitcher that Mme de Villefort has poisoned, and dies, thus casting further suspicion on Mme de Villefort in the home.
Louise
The female companion to Eugenie Danglars. By the end of the novel, it is revealed that Eugenie and Louise are having a romantic relationship, and they wish to run off together to live outside France as a couple.
Penelon
A loyal sailor of Morrel's.