THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
character analysis

Edmond Dantes– Intelligent, honest, caring, he turns bitter and vengeful after he’s framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Escapes prison, becomes wealthy, rewards those who have helped him in his plight, punishes those responsible for his imprisonment.

Mercedes - Dantes’ beautiful and good fiancée. Though Mercedes marries another man, Fernand Mondego, while Dantes is in prison, she never stops loving Dantes. 

Abbe Faria - A priest and brilliant thinker whom Dantes meets in prison. He teaches Dantes history, science, art, and many languages. He then bequeaths to Dantes his vast hidden fortune. 

Fernand Mondego - Dantes’ rival for Mercedes, he helps in framing Dantes for treason, then marries Mercedes when Dantes is imprisoned. Through treachery Mondego becomes powerfully rich and takes the name of Count de Morcerf. 

Baron Danglars - A greedy, envious cohort of Mondego, he starts the plot to frame Dantes for treason. Like Mondego, he becomes wealthy and powerful, but loses everything when Monte Cristo takes his revenge.

King Louis XVI – Educated and generally good toward his subjects yet indecisive and weak in the face of opposition he is nervous about the possible return of Napoleon.

Napoleon - The famous emperor has been vanquished to Elba but is gathering his forces to return to France and overthrow the King.

Caderousse – Languid and greedy, Caderousse is present when the plot to frame Dantesis hatched, but he does not take an active part in the crime. He becomes a petty criminal and assassin.

Gérard de Villefort - Ambitious public prosecutor responsible for sentencing Dantes to life in prison. He is Dantes’ chief opposition.

Monsieur Morrel - The honest shipowner, once Dantes’ boss. When Dantes returns from prison, he discovers that Morrel is about to descend into financial ruin, so he carries out an elaborate plot to save him.

Louis Dantes - Dantes’ father. Grieving, he starves himself to death when Dantes is imprisoned. It is mainly for his father’s death that Dantes seeks vengeance.

Maximilian Morrel - Monsieur Morrel’s son; brave, dependable, he becomes Dantes’ primary beneficiary. Maximilian and his love, Valentine, survive to the end of the story as two good and happy people,

Valentine Villefort - Villefort’s saintly and beautiful daughter. Like Maximilian Morrel, her true love, she falls under Dantes’ protection.

Julie Herbaut - The daughter of Monsieur Morrel and sister of Maximilian. Angelically good and blissfully in love, Julie and her husband, Emmanuel, prove to Monte Cristo that it is possible to be truly satisfied with one’s life.

Albert de Morcerf - The son of Fernand Mondego and Mercedes, brave, honest, and kind. Plays a key role in Dantes long term plans.

Noirtier - Villefort’s father. Once a powerful French revolutionary, Noirtier is brilliant and willful, partly paralyzed. He is in opposition to his son’s selfish ambitions

Haydee - The daughter of Ali Pacha, the vizier of the Greek state of Yanina. Haydée is sold into slavery after her father is betrayed by Mondego and murdered. Dantes purchases her freedom, eventually falling in love with her.

Signor Bertuccio – Dantes' steward, is loyal and competent.

Madame d’Villefort - Villefort’s calculating and murderous wife. Devoted to her son Edward, she’ll do anything to ensure his success and growing fortune.

Emmanuel Herbaut - Julie’s husband. Noble and good.

Madame Danglars - Danglars’s wife. Greedy, conniving, and disloyal, Madame Danglars engages in a never-ending string of love affairs that help bring her husband to the brink of financial ruin.

Ali - Dantes’ Nubian servant, adept with all kinds of weapons.

Luigi Vampa – An infamous Roman bandit, he’s indebted to Dantes for once setting him free, and he puts himself at the service of Dantes’ vengeful ends.

Edward d’Villefort - The Villeforts’ spoiled son, he’s an innocent victim of Dantes’ revenge scheme.

Jardinier – A lonely telegraph operator who loves to garden.\

Peppino, Beppo, Angelo, Marco, Astra, Millicent -  Bandits who work with Luigi Vampa.

Officers Charbonneau, Clemente, Dimitri, Gendarme Jacques, Prison Guard – Various law enforcement personnel.