“Count of Monte Cristo” by A. Dumas in brief summary
February 27, 1815 in Marseille from the next voyage returns three-masted ship “Pharaoh”. Captain LeClair was not destined to set foot on his native land: he died of fever in the open sea. The young seaman Edmond Dantes took over the command and executed another last will of the captain: “Pharaoh” comes to the island of Elba, where Dantes hands over the packet received from Leclerc’s hands to Marshal Bertrand and meets with the disgraced Emperor himself. Dantes receives a letter to be delivered to Paris, Mr. Noirtier, one of the conspirators preparing the return to the throne of Napoleon.
The owner of the “Pharaoh” Morrel suggests Dantes to officially assume the post of captain of the ship. Obsessed with envy, the ship’s company accountant Danglars decides to remove Dantes. Together with a retired soldier, and now a simple fisherman Fernand Mondego, who competes with Dantes for the right to marry the beautiful Mercedes, and tailor
Pass five years. Dantes is close to despair, he decides to die a starving death. Suddenly, one evening, before his ears, a hollow scraping behind the wall is heard.
Moving the body of the abbot to his cell, Dantes hides in a sack, into which the deceased was laid. In the morning, not noticing the substitution, it is thrown into the sea – so the residents of the castle of If since the founding of the prison are buried. Edmond is saved! He is picked up by smugglers. One of them, Jacopo, becomes a faithful friend of Dantes. In a few months, Edmond finally reaches the island of Monte Cristo. The treasures of Abbot Faria are truly incalculable.
During the long years of the absence of Dantes in the fate of those who were guilty of his sufferings, there were also significant changes, Fernand Mondego rose to the rank of general. Mercedes became his wife and bore him a son. Danglars is a rich banker. De Villefort is the royal prosecutor. Caduruss said goodbye to the tailor’s scissors and scissors and kept a village inn… .. God sends Cadrusa a strange guest. Abbot Busoni, according to him, confessed the dying Edmond Dantes, must fulfill the last will of the deceased. Dantes handed him a diamond, the money from the sale of which should be divided into five parts: equally – Mercedes, Danglar, Fernand, Cadrusu and old man Dantes. Caderousse is blinded by the brilliance of a diamond. He tells the abbe Busoni that Dantes was agreed by those whom he decided to bestow that Mercedes had not remained faithful to him. Yes he, Caderousse witnessed the writing of the denunciation – but what could he do! Danglars and Fernand would have killed him on the spot, he hinted at the unseemliness of their evil intentions! As for old Dantes, he did not have the strength to bear the blow of fate. He, he, Caderousse, is the only heir of poor Dantes! Abbot Busoni hands Cadrusa with a diamond and disappears next morning…
At the same time, the mayor of Marseilles is Lord Wilmore, agent of the banking house Thomson and French. He asks permission to review the investigation file of the abbot of Faria, who died in the prison of If. He also has another assignment: to pay the debts of Mr. Morrel, the owner of the ship company, which is on the verge of collapse. The last hope of Morrel was on his flagship – the three-masted “Pharaoh”, but the one – about the evil rock! – He dies in a shipwreck. Wilmore hands Morrel a bill for a six-figure sum, draws up a three-month grace period. But what can you do in three months! On the day the deferral expires, the daughter of Morrel receives a letter signed by Sinbad-Morehod with an address where she will find a purse intended for her illustrious father. In the purse – a check on the amount owed by Morrel and a diamond the size of a walnut: dowry to Mademoiselle Morrel. All that has happened is like a fairy tale: but this is not enough. In the Marseilles port enters the whole unharmed on all sails “Pharaoh”! The city is the witness of this miracle. With a smile he looks at the sailboat and Lord Wilmore rising from the abyss, he is the abbot of Busoni, he is also the Count of Monte Cristo, he is Edmond Dantes: “Be happy, noble man! This happiness is deserved of you! .. And now – farewell, philanthropy! May the god of revenge give me a place so that I punish the evildoers! .. “With the documents from his investigation file, kept together with the abbot Faria’s case, Edmond leaves Marseille… Be happy, noble man! This happiness is yours deserved! .. And now – farewell, philanthropy! May the god of revenge give me a place so that I punish the evildoers! .. “With the documents from his investigation file, kept together with the abbot Faria’s case, Edmond leaves Marseille… Be happy, noble man! This happiness is yours deserved! .. And now – farewell, philanthropy! May the god of revenge give me a place so that I punish the evildoers! .. “With the documents from his investigation file, kept together with the abbot Faria’s case, Edmond leaves Marseille…
The young Parisian aristocrat Baron Franz d’Epinay, going to the carnival in Rome, set out to visit the legendary Elbe. However, he changes his route: the ship sails past the island of Monte Cristo, where, according to rumors, a man living in a fairy-tale palace calls himself Sindbad the Seaman. The owner of the island accepts Franz with such cordiality and luxuriance, which, it seems, never dreamed of any of the most powerful inhabitants of the earth. In Rome, Franz unexpectedly meets Sinbad, who lives in the same hotel as the Count of Monte Cristo. Franz’s friend, Viscount Albert de Morcerz, was captured by bandits from a gang of horrifying Romeans ataman Luigi Vampa. The Count of Monte Cristo saves Albert: “Ataman, you violated our agreement, my friend’s friend is my friend.” Vampa in confusion, he severely chastises his thugs: ” We all owe the Count life! How could you act so recklessly! “Albert invites the count to visit Paris and be his guest of honor.
In the capital, Albert introduces him to his friends, including the son of Morrell Maximillian. This acquaintance deeply excited the Count – the young Morrel was also not less excited when he learned that the Earl was using the services of the banking house Thomson and French, who had saved the life of their entire family.
The Count of Monte Cristo acquires in Paris several apartments and a house in Auteuil, on the fountain, 28, formerly owned by the Marquis de Saint-Meran. The manager of the count, Bertuccio, perceives their moving to this house as an evil rock. Many years ago he witnessed how de Villefort buried in the garden of his father-in-law’s house a newborn baby – an illegitimate son from an unknown lady, Bertuccio hastened to dig a box – the baby was still alive. The daughter-in-law of Bertuccio brought up the boy to whom they gave the name of Benedetto. Scion of eminent parents embarked on the path of the unrighteous and landed behind bars. But this is only one of two terrible stories, hidden by Bertuccio from the count. In June 1829, he stayed at the Cadurassa inn – the day after the abbot of Busoni visited. The diamond of the abbot Cadrusse sold for 45 thousand francs to a reliable jeweler, and that same night he was stabbed. Now Caderousse is where Bertuccio was also visited: in hard labor. The Count is sure that this is not the last drop in the cup that Caderousse should drink; as for Benedetto – if he is alive – then he will serve as a weapon of God’s punishment…
The city is filled with rumors about the mysterious count and his wealth. In the bank of Danglars, the Count opens an “unlimited loan”. Danglars calls into question the possibilities of the Count: everything in the world has boundaries. The Count sneers: “For you – maybe, but not for me.” – “No one counted my cash!” Danglars was hurt. “In that case, I am the first to whom this is to be”, the Count promises. Monte Cristo is approaching not only with Danglars, who did not recognize him as poor Edmond, but also with the de Villefort family. The Count is gaining the favor of Madame de Villefort: the servant of Count Ali saved from her and Villefort’s accident from marrying her. As if fate herself opens the doors of the houses of his sworn enemies before the Count of Monte Cristo, informs him of their other victims. Raised in Dante’s Monte Cristo, the daughter of Pasha Yanina, the wondrous beauty of Gaydet learns in the Opera of a man who issued to Turks for two thousand gold purses a fortress defending the city where her father ruled, and Gayida herself was sold as a twelve-year-old girl to the slave of the Turkish sultan. This man was called Fernand Mondego; Now they know him as Count de Morcer, Lieutenant-General, member of the House of Peers. Gayde was bought by Monte Cristo from the Sultan, the Earl vowed to avenge the one for whom her father perished and she was in captivity herself. He is not at all surprised that this scoundrel is Fernand: once betrayed, he risks remaining a traitor to the end. This man was called Fernand Mondego; Now they know him as Count de Morcer, Lieutenant-General, member of the House of Peers. Gayde was bought by Monte Cristo from the Sultan, the Earl vowed to avenge the one for whom her father perished and she was in captivity herself. He is not at all surprised that this scoundrel is Fernand: once betrayed, he risks remaining a traitor to the end. This man was called Fernand Mondego; Now they know him as Count de Morcer, Lieutenant-General, member of the House of Peers. Gayde was bought by Monte Cristo from the Sultan, the Earl vowed to avenge the one for whom her father perished and she was in captivity herself. He is not at all surprised that this scoundrel is Fernand: once betrayed, he risks remaining a traitor to the end.
A sumptuous dinner at the house of Monte Cristo. The first blows, prepared by the count for his offenders. Villefort pales when the earl informs all the guests that in the garden he has found the skeleton of an infant buried alive with the former owner. Danglars learns that, while playing on the stock exchange, he suffered losses in the amount of over a million francs. Villefort informs Mrs. Danglars that the earl is apparently devoted to their secret: the unfortunate child was their illegitimate son. “You buried my child alive! God, this is your revenge!” exclaims Madame Danglars. “No, revenge still awaits us, and it will be done by the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo!” Villefort undertakes at all costs to learn the whole truth about the graph; but the abbot of Busoni and Lord Wilmore, who appeared in Paris, report very contradictory information to him. The graph not only remains unrecognized, playing these two roles, but also confuses the tracks. A young man named Andrei Cavalcanti appears in Paris. Immediately as from under the ground grows and Caderousse, assuring Benedetto that he – his offspring, and enticing young rascal money under threat to break open before him a brilliant career. Cavalcanti-Benedetto de Villefort is forced to obey: he laid eyes on Danglars daughter, a girl with a rich dowry. Is not it better, he suggests to Cadrusu, to shake the Count well, than to draw money from him, with which he is lent by Monte Cristo the madcap? Caderousse climbs into the count’s house – and faces face to face with the abbot of Busoni. The old convict betrays the young; he writes at the dictation of the abbot a letter to Danglars explaining who in fact is his five-minute-old son-in-law. Leaving the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, Caderousse strikes the knife of Benedetto. Before he emits a spirit,
A hail of misfortunes falls on de Villefort’s head: one by one, his father-in-law and mother-in-law suddenly die, then the old footman who drank lemonade from the carafe in his father’s room Noirtier. The doctor comes to the conclusion: they were all poisoned. The offender lives in this house. The whole staff of Wilfor immediately asks for resignation. The case gets wide publicity. And here – a new blow: Noirtier upset the wedding of Valentina and Franz d’Epinay. In the secret of Noirtier there is a document stating that in February 1815 he killed in an honest duel of General de Kenel, Baron d’Epinay, who did not want to join the plot of the Bonapartists.
Now it’s Fernand’s turn. In the House of Peers scandal: newspapers published a report on his low behavior during the siege of the Turks fortress of Ioannina. At the hearing in the Chamber comes Gayde and presents peers with documents that confirm: all this is true, the position of General de Morser in society is bought at the cost of betrayal. Albert de Morcerz summons the count to a duel, interceding for his father, but after he reveals the whole truth about Fernand Mondego, asks Dantes for forgiveness. Edmond and Madame de Morcer, still loving his Mercedes, are begging for this. The earl accepts Albert’s apologies; on the same day, she and her mother leave Paris. Morcer repeats the call of his son, but after the Count of Monte Cristo reveals his true name, the dishonored general fires a bullet in the forehead.
Danglars on the verge of ruin. He has to pay all the new bills with which the count’s confidants come to him. His last hope is that he will be able to make a decent party of his daughter: the young Cavalcanti is the confidant of Monte Cristo, and the hand of the giver is unlikely to become scanty. Thunder from the blue sky sound after the signing of the marriage contract words from the letter Cadurus: “Andrea Cavalcanti – a runaway convict!” Eugénie leaves Paris. Danglars no longer has a daughter, no money. He leaves a farewell note to his wife and runs wherever his eyes look. And Andrea-Benedetto is running, hoping to cross the border; but it is stopped by gendarmes. At the trial he reports: his father is the prosecutor de Villefort!
The last, most terrible blow of fate in the heart of de Villefort: poisoned Valentine. He has no more doubts: the murderer is his wife, who, in such a terrible way, obtained an inheritance for herself and her son. De Villefort threatens his wife with a scaffold. In despair, Madame de Villefort takes poison and poisons the boy: “A good mother does not abandon a child for the sake of which she became a criminal.” Villefort loses his sanity; wandering through the garden of the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, he digs the graves in one or another place…
The act of retribution has come to pass. Villefort is insane. Caderousse and Fernand are dead. Danglars was captured by robbers from the gang Luigi Vampa and spends the last money on bread and water: the thugs sell him a hunchback for a thousand francs, and all in his pocket – less than fifty thousand. The Count of Monte Cristo gives him life and freedom. Seated in one night, Danglars drags on the existence of a beggar.
Evil is punished. But why did the young Valentine de Villefort, who did not share the blame of his father and stepmother, burn in his flames? For what all life should grieve for her Maximillian Morrel is the son of someone who tried to rescue Dantes from prison for many years in a row? Leaving Paris, the Earl makes a miracle of the resurrection of Valentina. Her death was staged in the community with the old man Noirtier: a terrible poison was neutralized by a miracle cure – one of the generous gifts of Abbot Faria.
Returning to the island of Monte Cristo, giving happiness to Maximillian and Valentine, Edmond Dantes, the martyr of the castle of If and the Parisian angel of vengeance, leaves young people with a letter sounding both as his confession and as an order to two pure hearts: “There is no happiness in the world all is known in comparison, only one who has suffered immeasurably is able to experience bliss. It is necessary to feel the taste of death in order to enjoy life with pleasure. This wisdom is in a nutshell: to wait and hope! .. “
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