On the Count of Monte Cristo

Lloyd Woods

Mr. Valdes

English 10

10-29-11

On The Count of Monte Cristo

"It's every man's business to see justice done" (Sir Arthur Conon Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes). This is exactly what Edmond Dantés believed in his heart and mind. It made him who he was. Dantés believed that it was up to him to see justice fulfilled. But what exactly is justice? What justice is for you and me might be different for Dantés. In the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas explores the topic of what justice is and how obtaining it through your own means could end up disastrous.

Dantés' thoughts on justice are a little bit different than most. To understand Dantés at all, you have to understand his view of justice. "For slow, profound, infinite and eternal suffering I'd try to avenge myself by inflicting similar suffering. 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth'" (Dumas 139). This is a direct quote from Dantés himself. In it, he is explaining what justice really means to him. He believes that whatever you have done to someone else, should be done to you in return. This was very popular thinking in the past, but in recent years, this thought has been replaced by the thought of mercy and grace.

Now that Dantés' thoughts on justice are understood, we can explore how his plotting for his type of justice can hurt innocent people in the process. Dantés' plan for going after Villefort, one of the men responsible for his 14 year imprisonment, is that he plans to reveal Villefort's illegitimate son, and to expose Villefort's wife who is poisoning the family, to give her son an enormous fortune. Dantés uses this to his advantage to further Villefort's punishment, by allowing this to happen. That's a decision he'll soon regret. "'Look Edmond Dantés!' said Villefort, pointing to the dead bodies of his wife and son. 'Is your vengeance complete now?' Monte Cristo [Dantés] paled at the horrible sight. He realized that he had gone beyond the limits of rightful vengeance" (Dumas 485). Dantés realized that he had made a mistake. He took his revenge too far, and was blind to the fact that he could hurt other innocent people in the process.

In essence, Dantés was trying to be God. He wanted to take true justice into his own hands. He realized, rather painfully, that he couldn't be God. When his vengeance was through, Dantés had nothing left to live for, so he wanted to kill himself. Through his seeking justice, he ended up killing Villefort's son. And according to his view of justice, he had to kill himself. But he finally realized that it wasn't up to him to make that decision. It was God's power, not his,