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Get every literary device explanation for The Count of Monte CristoPlus so much more...
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Hyperbole
Explanation and Analysis—In the Beginning, Was Me!:
In Chapter 89, Mercédès finally declares the Count to be Edmond Dantès, her betrothed from all those years ago. In a flourish of hyperbole, the Count can finally reveal the extent of his quest for revenge:
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 [...]
In answer to Mercédès, who wonders why he must seek revenge from Albert as well, the Count lets slip the full extent of his grandiose ambitions: he sees himself like God, with his quest for revenge akin to God's plan to create the world itself. For the Count to stop short of his plan for Albert's sake would be like God stopping one-third of the way through Creation for the sake of one angel. This is the most explicit parallel between the Count and God in the Count of Monte Cristo, despite other hints throughout the novel that the Count sees his mission in these divine terms. The role of God's will in the Count's redemption process and the role of revenge in the attempt to seek justice are major themes in The Count of Monte Cristo, and this passage leaves no doubt that, at least in this moment, the Count sees himself on a divinely-ordained path to justice that relies exclusively on ruthless revenge.
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