villefort's family is divided. Valentine, his daughter by his first wife, stands to inherit the entire fortune of her grandfather and of her mother's parents (the saint-mérans), while his second wife, héloïse, seeks the fortune for her small son edward. Monte cristo is aware of héloïse's intentions, and "innocently" introduces her to the technique of poison. Héloïse fatally poisons the saint-mérans, so that valentine gets their inheritance. Then she attempts to murder valentine's grandfather, nortier, but his servant accidentally drinks the poisonous draught and dies. Nortier is coincidentally saved from a second attempt when he disinherits valentine as a ploy to stop villefort from forcing valentine to marry franz d'epinay. Héloïse then targets valentine, so that edward would get her fortune. Meanwhile, monte cristo haunts villefort with his past affair with danglars' wife and the son they had. Years before, mme. Danglars bore a child by villefort, at a house in auteuil. Villefort had buried the child, thinking it was stillborn. However, the boy was rescued from his grave and raised by bertuccio, an enemy of villefort who attempted to kill the judge on the night of his child's birth. Monte cristo, whom bertuccio now serves as a paid servant and who now owns the house in auteuil, is able to use them against villefort. As a grown man, the son enters paris in disguise as prince andrea cavalcanti (sponsored by the count) and cons danglars into betrothing his daughter. Caderousse blackmails andrea, threatening to reveal his past, and andrea murders caderousse. Andrea is arrested and about to be prosecuted by villefort.
After monte cristo learns that his old friend morrel's son is in love with valentine, he saves her by making it appear as though héloïse's plan to poison valentine has succeeded and that valentine is dead (although actually in a drugged sleep caused by a mixture of hashish and opium prepared by monte cristo). Villefort learns from noirtier that héloïse is a murderer. Villefort confronts héloïse, giving her the choice of a public execution or committing suicide by poison. Then he goes off to andrea's trial. There, andrea reveals that he is villefort's son, and rescued after villefort buried him alive. Villefort admits his guilt and flees the court. He feels he is as guilty as his wife, and rushes home to stop her suicide. He finds she has poisoned herself and "taken her son with her." dantès confronts villefort. Villefort shows dantès his dead wife and son, and becomes insane. Dantès tries to resuscitate edward, fails, and is remorseful that his revenge has gone too far.
Redemption
matters, however, are more complicated than dantès had anticipated. His efforts to destroy his enemies and reward the few who had stood by him become horribly intertwined. Not having foreseen the child's death, dantès begins to question his role as an agent of a vengeful god. This temporarily deters him from his course of action. During this period of doubt, he questions himself. Dantès comes to terms with his own humanity and is finally able to forgive both his enemies and himself. It is only when he is sure that his cause is just and his conscience is clear, that he can fulfill his plan. It is thus that dantes shows some mercy to danglars, his final victim and the instigator of the plot that had him imprisoned to begin with. Several months after the count's manipulation of the bond market, all danglars is left with is a good reputation and some five million francs. The count asks for the five million to fulfill their credit agreement. Danglars is forced to pay the money, but he then proceeds to embezzle five million francs from the hospitals, and flees to rome to live in anonymous prosperity. On the way, he is kidnapped by the count's agent, the celebrated bandit luigi vampa. There, in an ironic twist, danglars is imprisoned the same way that monte cristo once was, and experiences for himself the horrors of imprisonment. Told that he will not be fed unless he is paid, the miserly danglars is starved into giving up all but 50,000 francs, which monte cristo has returned to the hospitals. Nearly driven mad by his ordeal, danglars finally repents his crimes to monte cristo. His vengeance now tempered by mercy, monte cristo forgives danglars, and allows him to leave with his freedom and the 50,000 francs he has left. Maximilien morrel is distraught because he believes his true love, valentine, to be dead. He contemplates suicide after witnessing her funeral. Monte cristo reveals himself to be the person who rescued mr. Morrel from suicide years earlier. Maximilien is grateful and is persuaded by monte cristo to delay his suicide for a month. A month later, on the island of monte cristo, the count presents valentine to maximilien and reveals that he saved her from the poison attempt. Monte cristo then leaves the island and sends his friend jacopo to deliver a letter to them which reveals that he has bequeathed the monte cristo island and his paris mansions to maximilien. Haydée offers edmond (monte cristo) a new love and life.
نوشته شده توسط گیسو
