Previous
Edmond Dantes (The Count of Monte Cristo, the Abbe Busoni, the Envoy, Lord Wilmore, Sinbad the Sailor)
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 desires because she doesn’t know what other option might exist for her. Mercedes and Fernand have a son, Albert, whom the Count befriends in Rome and who brings the Count back to Paris (in disguise), where he meets Mercedes again. Mercedes seems to know immediately that the Count is really her ancient love, Dantes, in disguise, but she does not address him as Edmond until very late in the novel—perhaps because she knows just how much Dantes has changed after his imprisonment. Although Mercedes and Dantes never reunite romantically, they reconcile in the closing chapters of the novel, after Dantes agrees not to harm Albert as part of his revenge on Fernand. Mercedes then pledges to live out her life quietly, as if she were a nun, in the city of her birth, Marseille.
Mercedes (de Morcerf) Quotes in The Count of Monte Cristo
The The Count of Monte Cristo quotes below are all either spoken by Mercedes (de Morcerf) or refer to Mercedes (de Morcerf). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2 Quotes
Come, now ... I have a better opinion than you of women in general, and Mercedes in particular, and I am persuaded that, whether I were a captain or not, she would remain faithful to me.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Dantes insists to Caderousse that, although it has been rumored that Mercedes has been spending a good deal of time with Fernand, Dantes is not worried about it – because Mercedes has told Dantes she is betrothed to him. Dantes therefore indicates that he trusts Mercedes, and that, in turn, he believes her to be faithful. At this stage of the novel, Dantes is not suspicious of anyone, especially those close to him, and instead chooses to see the good qualities in people. For example, he even has kind words to report to Morrel about Danglars, although Danglars is beginning Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetu
Chapter 71 Quotes
How can you live like that, with nothing attaching you to life?
It is not my fault, Madame. In Malta I loved a girl and was going to marry her, when the war came and swept me away from her like a whirlwind. I thought that she loved me enough to wait for me, even to remain faithful to my tomb. When I came back, she was married.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In this passage, Mercedes wonders how the Count can live the life he lives, without friends or lovers or family, and with, it seems, a near-total understanding of the customs and activities of Parisian social life. In response, the Count describes to Mercedes what has actually happened to the two of them, and both characters indeed know this to be the case – although the Count continues to insist that he is not Dantes, and that the woman he loved actually lived in Malta. Mercedes is clearly affected deeply by this exchange, even though she too maintains the fantasy that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusan
Chapter 89 Quotes
What would you say if you knew the extent of the sacrifice I am making for you? Suppose that the Lord God, after creating the world, after fertilizing the void, had stopped one-third of the way through His creation to spare an angel the tears that our crimes would one day bring to His immortal eyes. Suppose that ... God had extinguished the sun and with His foot dashed the world into eternal night ...
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This quotation offers a piece of extremely grand language from the Count. Mercedes has asked that the Count forgo killing Albert in a duel, and the Count, saying that he will agree to this, feels he must give up the entire course of his revenge. For this revenge, as the Count sees it, has been planned for over 15 years, and to change even the smallest part of it now would be akin to destroying a beautiful creation, a world the Count has been building in his mind over the course of many nights in solitude, in the dungeon and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in.
Chapter 91 Quotes
Yes, I share your hope: the wrath of heaven will not pursue us, you who are so pure and I so innocent. But since we are resolved, let us act promptly. Monsieur de Morcerf left the house around half an hour ago; so, as you see, we have a good opportunity to avoid scandal or explanations.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Here, Albert tells his mother that he has a plan for both of them after Fernand’s disgrace. Although this plan will not be easy to carry off, and it will involve their total loss of social prestige in Paris, at least they will be able to leave the city alive. And, as Albert notes, the two of them are innocent parties – they have not committed the same kinds of sins as Fernand, who has been revealed to the French public as a terrible sinner, a coward, and a liar. Albert has already demonstrated gentlemanly devotion to his friend the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum
Chapter 106 Quotes
Oh, yes, now. That’s where the trying times will begin. You know what is agreed?
Have we agreed something?
Yes, it is agreed that you will live in Marseille and I shall leave for Africa. There, instead of the name I have given up, I shall make for myself the name I have adopted.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After the death of Fernand, Albert decides that his mother must leave for a nunnery, and he will make his fortunes abroad as a soldier. Although Albert does not say so explicitly, he indicates that, since his father was a disgraced soldier, a traitor, and a coward, Albert might make up for his father’s shame by proving his own mettle with the French forces on foreign battlefields. Mercedes, in contrast to her son, wishes not to embrace life but to hide from it, to leave the social world of Paris behind and to spend time with her thoughts and memories, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum v
Get the entire The Count of Monte Cristo LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Mercedes (de Morcerf) Character Timeline in The Count of Monte Cristo
The timeline below shows where the character Mercedes (de Morcerf) appears in The Count of Monte Cristo. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1 – Marseille – Arrival
...about whom he’s worried, and to his fiancée, a beautiful woman of Catalan descent named Mercedes. Morrel asks if Dantes has a letter from Leclere to give to him, and Dantes...
(full context)
Chapter 2 – Father and Son
...will be made captain of the Pharaon, and he hints to both them, too, that Mercedes might be falling in love with an unnamed man who lives in her neighborhood. Caderousse...
(full context)
As an uneasy Dantes leaves to find Mercedes, Caderousse leaves Dantes’ father and heads downstairs where Danglars has been waiting. It is revealed...
(full context)
Chapter 3 – Les Catalans
...Spanish settlers have lived for years, in “Moorish” houses. He sets a scene in which Mercedes, with long, black hair, is speaking to Fernand, her cousin. Mercedes tells Fernand, “for the...
(full context)
At this, Dantes comes upon Mercedes and Fernand. Not seeing Fernand at first, Dantes embraces Mercedes, and she, like his father,...
(full context)
...that Dantes will be named captain of the Pharaon soon and that he will marry Mercedes. At this, Dantes and Mercedes walk out happily past the tavern where the three men...
(full context)
Chapter 4 – The Plot
...is in fact his friend and that he wouldn’t want anyone to harm Dantes and Mercedes. At this, Danglars pretends that the letter has been a joke and crumples it up,...
(full context)
Chapter 5 – The Betrothal
The next day, Dantes and Mercedes prepare for the feast of their betrothal. They walk to a banquet hall in a...
(full context)
...the “betrothal” feast is essentially a feast in anticipation of their wedding, as he and Mercedes are to marry later that day. This upsets Danglars, who appears to worry whether his...
(full context)
...it and left it near Fernand. Although Danglars tries to speak to Dantes’ father and Mercedes, saying it must be a small item with the customs bureau that’s causing this trouble,...
(full context)
Chapter 8 – The Chateau D’If
...after his days spent in the horrid conditions of the Chateau D’If, thinking only of Mercedes and his father.
(full context)
Chapter 9 – The Evening of the Betrothal
Mercedes waits outside the door of Villefort’s home, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man,...
(full context)
...a Bonapartist sympathizer, no one is willing to risk their own imprisonment to help him. Mercedes, the narrator remarks, is back in her hut with Fernand in a state of near-swoon,...
(full context)
Chapter 13 – The Hundred Days
...shipped to Spain. Fernand signs up for Napoleon’s army at Waterloo, and when he leaves Mercedes, she tells him that he must not die, since she depends upon him for help—although...
(full context)
Chapter 15 – Number 34 and Number 17
...very little by way of formal learning. In prison, he can only think of himself, Mercedes, his father, and Morrel, and they seem like ghosts to him. After a time, he...
(full context)
Chapter 21 – The Island of Tiboulen
...nothing said between sailors. Dantes swears to himself that he will find his father and Mercedes, and seek revenge on Fernand, Danglars, Caderousse, and Villefort.
(full context)
Chapter 25 – The Stranger
...sail to Marseille and report on the presence of his father and a woman named Mercedes, then to meet Dantes back on the island of Monte Cristo. Jacopo agrees to this...
(full context)
...initial investment, and tells him the sorry news: Old Dantes is no longer alive, and Mercedes has “vanished.” Dantes conceals his response from Jacopo, going off into the center of the...
(full context)
Dantes then heads to Les Catalans and asks after Fernand and Mercedes. No one has heard anything of those two either for about 15 years. Dantes, to...
(full context)
Chapter 26 – At the Sign of the Pont du Gard
...briefly, envied the younger Dantes for his “good fortune” in being named captain and marrying Mercedes, and that Dantes was placed in prison for a crime he did not commit. Caderousse,...
(full context)
...among Dantes’ “last friends on earth.” The Abbe claims these friends were: Caderousse, Danglars, Fernand, Mercedes, and Dantes’ father. The Abbe notes that Dantes’ father is dead, and that Mercedes can...
(full context)
Chapter 27 – Caderousse’s Story
...of grief and partially to save money, and wound up pawning most of his goods. Mercedes came over many times to help him and offer to take care of him, and...
(full context)
Caderousse goes on to say that Mercedes was eventually won over by Fernand, who continually returned to her in Les Catalans. As...
(full context)
Chapter 41 – The Introduction
The Countess de Morcerf soon enters. Of course, she is Mercedes, whom the Count has not seen for many years. And although Fernand seems to have...
(full context)
Chapter 54 – Rise and Fall
...figure out, his mother does not want him to do so. The Count wonders if Mercedes Morcerf believes that the Danglars family is “low-born,” but Albert wonders if it isn’t something...
(full context)
Chapter 68 – A Summer Ball
Albert returns from his trip to the country with his mother, Mercedes, and visits with the Count to invite him to a ball he’s planning on throwing...
(full context)
...Count, after some cajoling, says that he will in fact go to the ball because Mercedes requests his attendance.
(full context)
Chapter 70 – The Ball
The Count finally makes his way to Mercedes, who greats him kindly if formally. The Count offers to open the windows and doors...
(full context)
Chapter 71 – Bread and Salt
The Count and Mercedes walk outside together and into a greenhouse on the Morcerf property. There Mercedes asks the...
(full context)
...the greenhouse saying that a disaster has occurred: Valentine de Villefort’s grandfather has passed away. Mercedes goes back inside to calm the guests, and Albert asks if something has passed between...
(full context)
Chapter 85 – The Journey
...some good is indeed coming to Albert there. But on the third day, one of Mercedes’ footmen reaches Albert at the Normandy home, saying that a piece has run in another...
(full context)
Chapter 88 – The Insult
...goes home to see his mother, who is devastated by Fernand’s social reversals. Albert tells Mercedes he has realized that the Count never eats in the home of his sworn enemies,...
(full context)
Chapter 89 – Night
Mercedes visits the Count that evening, and all of a sudden, in a burst of emotion,...
(full context)
The Count goes on to tell Mercedes that Fernand is one of the men responsible for his false imprisonment, and he shows...
(full context)
At this Mercedes thanks him, telling him that this act of grace reminds her of the Edmond Dantes...
(full context)
Chapter 90 – The Encounter
...Albert but allow Albert to kill him, thus preserving his honor while also doing what Mercedes asks—preserving the life of her son. That night he adds a codicil to his will,...
(full context)
...night, but also because of Fernand’s treachery of many years before, in which he stole Mercedes away from the Count. The Count can barely believe his ears, but he thanks Mercedes...
(full context)
Chapter 91 – Mother and Son
...might need, then heads over to his mother’s rooms, avoiding his father, and noting that Mercedes too is packing a few small items to take with her in flight.
(full context)
...in Marseille, 150 francs from the initial voyage of the Pharaon. In a dramatic gesture, Mercedes accepts this money from the Count, telling Albert she will use it to “pay her...
(full context)
Chapter 92 – Suicide
As Albert and Mercedes prepare to leave for another country, Fernand heads to the house of the Count of...
(full context)
Chapter 106 – The Share-Out
In an apartment above, Albert tells Mercedes of his plans for the future. Albert has pawned some of his objects, enough that...
(full context)
Chapter 112 – Departure
...father’s grave, the Count makes his way to his father’s old apartment, where he finds Mercedes living in grief at the loss of her son. The two have a heartfelt conversation,...
(full context)
Chapter 113 – The Past
Leaving Mercedes, the Count takes his vessel and sails out into the harbor to the Chateau D’If,...
(full context)
