The Count of Monte Cristo

Edmond goes to see his father, who is ill and going hungry. His father reveals that he had to use most of the money Edmond left him to pay back a debt to their neighbor, Caderousse, who threatened to go to Morrel if the debt was not repaid. Caderousse arrives, and Edmond treats him coldly. Caderousse mentions that Danglars has already told him about Edmond’s impending promotion. Edmond leaves to visit Mercédès.

Caderousse meets Danglars again outside the Dantès’ house and confirms that Edmond is confident of becoming captain and that the promotion is turning him vain. He also mentions that Edmond now has a rival for Mercédès’s affections. The two go off to buy wine at a tavern, from which they can watch Edmond’s reunion with Mercédès.

Edmond goes to see Mercédès, whose family is part of a small community whose residents descend from settlers who arrived from Catalonia. Fernand Mondego, Mercédès’s cousin, is visiting her and asking yet again if she will marry him. Mercédès insists she will never marry anyone but Edmond. When Edmond arrives, they embrace passionately. Edmond notices Fernand watching him with hostility, and correctly guesses the cause. He greets Fernand, who refuses to take Edmond’s hand until Mercédès orders him.

Fernand then bolts out of the house and runs into Danglars and Caderousse, seated in front of a nearby tavern. They invite Fernand to join them and mock him about his inability to win Mercédès over or avenge himself against Edmond. Danglars thinks to himself that Edmond’s good luck will continue unless Danglars himself acts against Edmond. When the happy couple stops to speak with them, Danglars correctly guesses that Edmond’s mysterious errand in Paris involves the letter from Elba and starts plotting how he can use this to engineer Edmond’s downfall.

Edmond and Mercédès prepare to be married at the tavern, surrounded by friends, family, and well-wishers, including M. Morrel. Danglars, Caderousse, and Fernand are also present. The wedding party is stopped when a police commissary and a group of soldiers come to arrest Edmond. They refuse to give a reason for the arrest, explaining that Edmond will learn the reason when he is questioned. Edmond’s father pleads with the arresting officer to have pity on Edmond, as it’s his wedding day. The officer does not give in to his pleas but assures Edmond’s father that the arrest likely involves a small customs matter that can be settled quickly. Edmond bids farewell to his friends and allows himself to be taken to prison.

Another wedding is being celebrated on the same day in an aristocratic quarter of Marseilles, between Villefort, a deputy public prosecutor, and the daughter of the Marquis de Saint-Méran, a wealthy and a staunch supporter of Louis XVIII. Conversation between Villefort and his future father-in-law reveals that Villefort is the son of a Bonaparte ally named Noirtier. Though Villefort has distanced himself from his father and changed his name, his new in-laws and their Royalist friends still worry about his political leanings. The Marquis explains that Villefort will need to prove his loyalty through zealous prosecution of the king’s opponents.

A messenger interrupts the wedding party and tells Villefort that a suspected Bonapartist has just been arrested based on accusations in an anonymous letter. The letter accuses Edmond of carrying a letter from Napoleon to his supporters in Paris.

Villefort questions Edmond about the letter he is to deliver to Paris. Edmond tells the story of Captain Leclere’s illness and his deathbed instructions to Edmond to stop at Elba and carry out any orders given him there. Villefort, who feels sympathy toward Edmond as a fellow bridegroom, tells Edmond that as he was merely carrying out his dying captain’s orders, he is not guilty of anything.

Edmond is about to walk free when Villefort asks to whom in Paris the letter was addressed. Edmond tells him it was addressed to a M. Noirtier. Villefort panics, realizing the letter’s intended recipient is his own father. He tells Edmond he must keep him in custody and then burns the letter, telling Edmond the only way to save himself is to deny the letter ever existed. Villefort returns to his wedding, while Edmond remains a prisoner.

Edmond finds himself in a jail cell at Villefort’s order, but still believes that the deputy prosecutor is working to free him. After nightfall, a police escort arrives and takes him away from Marseilles in a boat. Edmond realizes he is being taken to the Chateau d’If, an island fortress used to imprison the most important and feared political prisoners. When he tries to escape, a policeman puts a gun to his head. They place Edmond in a cell with only bread and water, and straw on the floor for a bed.

The next day, Edmond demands to see the governor. Edmond’s jailer warns him that if he continues to brood, he will begin to act erratically, like a certain priest who was sent to the dungeons after repeatedly offering the governor one million francs in exchange for his release. Edmond pleads with the jailer to deliver a message to Mercédès, first offering money, then threatening to beat him with a stool. He agrees to speak to the governor after Edmond threatens him with the stool, but quickly returns with more guards and the governor’s order to place Edmond in the dungeon. Edmond apathetically allows himself to be taken to the dungeon.