The Count of Monte Cristo Anticipation Guide

Anticipation Guide No one can “have it all”; eventually something will happen to spoil such happiness. A person is usually aware of his or her enemies. Out of every bad situation, a bit of good emerges. If a person has been seriously wronged by another person, the victim needs to seek revenge in order to reestablish peace and serenity. Death or murder is the ultimate form of revenge.

Anticipation Guide Children should be punished for the sins or crimes of their parents. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is the best method of dealing with others. Money is the key to happiness. In times of despair, the only thing a person can hold on to is hope. The experiences of your past will haunt you for the remainder of your life.

The Count of Monte Cristo Background Information

The Author Alexandre Dumas was born July 24, 1802 as a third child of a French revolutionary general. He took part in the revolution in 1830 that placed the Duc d’Orleans on the French throne, as King Louis Philippe. He wrote hugely successful plays and produced many travel books of his travels in Switzerland and Italy. During the 1840’s, he wrote a series of romanticized historical novels designed to teach French history. Some of those novels were The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Count of Monte Cristo. In his lifetime, he wrote over 300 volumes, including plays and novels. He married two of his mistresses and had two children, one from each mistress. He died on Dec. 5, 1870 of a stroke.

The History in The Count of Monte Cristo

Napoleon and French History French Revolution – 1789 Result of such acts as France becoming a republic (1792) & King Louis XVI beheaded (1793) Napoleon Bonaparte rises to power. Seizes control of France in 1799. Declares himself emperor in 1804 Widely beloved by the people - abolished serfdom and feudalism and guaranteed basic human rights. He simplified the court system, took steps to make education universally available, and standardized national codes of law to ensure that the rights and liberties won during the French Revolution—equality before the law and freedom of religion— could not be taken away. Declaration of the Rights of Man

With increasing enemies and a looming military defeat, on April of 1814, Napoleon abdicated the throne and was exiled to the island of Elba. Louis XVIII ascended to the French throne, restoring the Bourbon dynasty and bringing about the First Restoration. Napoleon remained on Elba for only ten months, when he escaped and landed with 1, 100 men near Cannes on March 1, 1815. Napoleon crosses the Alps and marched on Paris where Louis XVIII fled. However, Napoleon was defeated in battle by the British general, Wellington, at the battle of Waterloo in June of 1815. Napoleon was only in power for 100 days. He was sent into exile to the Island of St. Helena where he died six years later. Louis XVIII returned to the French throne, known as the Second Restoration and persecuted those who had helped Napoleon during his return (supporters called Bonapartists - now considered traitors).

The Inspiration for the Story

Alexandre Dumas felt affects of Napoleon’s reign. His father was a General in Napoleon’s army, fell out of favor, was poisoned, imprisoned, and died young leaving the Dumas family in poverty. Heard stories of father’s wild adventures and triumphs spawning imagination and love for adventure and heroes.

Francois Picaud Dumas found a memoir written by a Jacques Peuchet which related the story of a shoemaker named Francois Picaud. Picaud was living in Paris in 1807 and engaged to marry a rich woman. Four jealous friends falsely accused him of being a spy for England. He was imprisoned for seven years, during which a dying fellow prisoner bequeathed him a treasure hidden in Milan. When Picaud was released in 1814, he took possession of the treasure, returned to Paris under another name, and spent ten years plotting successful revenge against his former friends. After he had gained all of his revenge, he was taken prisoner by a former friend and forced to pay 25,000 francs for each meal. However, the kidnapper ended up going into a rage and beating Francois by strangling him, stabbing his eyes with a knife, and cutting open his chest.

Facts About the Novel

Author’s Purpose & Historical Influence: Considered historical fiction Uses historical facts as a canvas on which to place fictional characters and plot. Dumas’ goal was to teach French people their historical heritage. Novel discusses European societal customs as they were during that time and earlier. Novel begins in 1815. Effects of Napoleon’s reign play a role in the plot. Written during the Age of Romanticism People rejected science and reason. Focused more on nature, emotion, individual experience (ideas considered “rebellious”).

The Book… The book was originally published in serial form with cliff-hanger endings. People would wait in long lines to buy the latest installment. It took him 18 installments and two years to publish the entire book. Within a few months, the novel was translated into ten languages. The book is acclaimed as one of the most popular novels ever written, usually ranking in the top ten novels of all time. The book has been described as the “greatest revenger’s tragedy in the whole history of the novel” (Hemmings). Avriel H. Goldberger states about The Count of Monte Cristo that it ranks with the great revenge stories of all time, but states: “This is not because Monte Cristo has equal merit as a work of art or as a probe of the psyche, but because it speaks so powerfully to our need to fantasize impossible victories of the individual against injustice.”