The Count of Monte Cristo

Meanwhile, Monte Cristo joins the funeral procession, taking Valentine to be buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery. He sees Maximilien watching the ceremony from a distance. A conversation with Maximilien convinces Monte Cristo that the young man is contemplating suicide. He goes to the Morrel house and confronts Maximilien as he is writing a suicide note. Hoping to stop Maximilien from killing himself, he reveals to him that he is Edmond Dantès, and that it was he who saved the Morrel family from bankruptcy. Maximilien tells Julie and Emmanuel that Monte Cristo is their family’s savior, but Monte Cristo stops Maximilien from revealing his true name. Maximilien is still contemplating suicide but Monte Cristo persuades him to wait one month, saying that if Maximilien has not regained his happiness by then, Monte Cristo will supply the poison himself.

Since Danglars banned Debray from his house, Debray and Mme. Danglars have been meeting secretly at a small apartment Debray has rented anonymously. The day after Danglars flees Paris, the two meet, and Mme. Danglars shows Debray the bitter and sarcastic letter he left her, hinting that she and Debray played a key role in the loss of his fortune. Debray, eager to distance himself from the scandal, gives Mme. Danglars her share of their stock earnings in cash and suggests she leave Paris.

Mercédès and Albert are living on the floor above Debray’s apartment while planning what to do next. Albert informs his mother he is joining the army in Algeria as a paid substitute for an unwilling conscript. He intends to fight bravely and says that within six months he will “be either an officer or dead” (460). Mercédès stoically accepts his choice. Albert arranges for his mother to leave immediately for Marseilles. In the hallway, they meet Debray, who mentally contrasts Mercédès’s nobility with Mme. Danglars’s pettiness. Monte Cristo secretly watches as Mercédès boards the stagecoach to Marseilles.

Benedetto, imprisoned in a maximum-security block known as the “Lion’s Den,” awaits trial for the murder of Caderousse. He is surprised to receive a visit from Bertuccio, though he assumes Bertuccio has been sent by Monte Cristo, whom he now assumes to be his real father. Bertuccio denies this, and agrees to tell Benedetto his father’s identity, but the visit is cut short before he can do so. Bertuccio promises to return and reveal the secret of Benedetto’s birth.

Meanwhile, Villefort prepares to appear as the prosecutor in Benedetto’s case. Noirtier, who has recovered swiftly from the shock of Valentine’s “death,” nevertheless reminds Villefort of his vow to act against the murderer, Mme. Villefort. Villefort steels himself to confront her by reminding himself that it is his duty to bring the guilty to justice. The morning of the trial, Mme. Villefort sends Villefort a cup of hot chocolate he suspects is poisoned, but drinks anyway. It leaves him unharmed.

Villefort dresses himself in black, like a judge addressing a condemned prisoner, and confronts his wife with her crimes. He tells his wife he would prefer that she not be publicly executed, so he will give her a chance to kill herself while he is attending Benedetto’s trial. But if she is still alive when he returns, he will hand her over to the police.

Facing Villefort in court, Benedetto reveals the date of his birth and the place, Auteuil, but does not immediately give his name. After describing himself as a forger, a thief, and a murderer, Benedetto then announces to the court that Villefort himself is the father, providing a detailed description of the events of his birth. Benedetto says that as a child, he was angry at God for giving him an evil destiny, but that Bertuccio told him to direct his anger at his father instead. Benedetto says he cannot blame his unknown mother, at which point Mme. Danglars collapses and must be carried out of the court. In front of the court and the spectators, Villefort admits that Benedetto is telling the truth, and the trial is adjourned.