The Count of
Monte Cristo
Chapters 1-8
Summary Guide
Chapter One: Who, Where, When?
Who:
• Edmond Dantes (First Mate/Captain), 19 years
old
• Danglars (Purser)
• Captain LeClere (Captain dies of brain fever)
• Morrel (Ship Owner)
Where:
• Marseilles, France
When: Feb. 24, 1815;
Chapter 1: What, Why, How?
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Dantes is acting captain of the Pharaon after the captain dies
Dantes is well liked, Danglars is jealous
almost fight on island of Monte Cristo
Captain LeClere asks Dantes to deliver a letter to Marechal
on island of Elba (Napoleon is exiled there)
Danglars tells Morrel Dantes lost a day of sailing by stopping
at Elba (casts suspicion on Dantes)
Morrel respects Dantes and makes him captain
Dantes wants to see father and Mercedes
plans on marrying Mercedes and taking a trip to Paris
Chapter Two: Who, Where, When?
Who:
• Edmond Dantes (captain), Danglars (jealous of Dantes’
fame and fortune)
• Old Dantes (Edmond’s father)
• Caderouse (26 years old, tailor, neighbor, made Old Dantes
spend all of his money to pay back his son’s debt)
Where:
• Marseilles, France
• Old Dante’s home
When: Feb. 24, 1815 still the same day!
Chapter 2: What, Why, How:
• Dantes’ father is poor, old, sick and hungry
• it’s a great honor for Dantes to be captain: higher salary and
share in profits
• Dantes gives his father money, they have a great relationship,
Caderouse (their neighbor/tailor) made Old Dantes pay Dantes’
debt
• Old Dantes gave Caderouse all of the money Dantes left him to
live off of while away at sea
• Caderouse joins Danglars and Danglars is upset that Dantes is
captain
• Dantes goes to see Mercedes
• Caderouse gossips with Danglars about a young man (Fernand)
who has been spending a lot of time with Mercedes
• Danglars suggests they follow Dantes
Chapter Three: Who, Where, When?
Who:
• Edmond Dantes (captain), Danglars (jealous of Dantes’ fame and
fortune)
• Caderouse (Dantes’ neighbor)
• Mercedes (young, beautiful, 17, Dante’s girl friend/soon to be fiancé)
and Fernand (20, Mercedes’ cousin/in love with her and wants to
marry her)
Where:
• Marseilles, France (Catalans- Spanish village in France)
• When: Feb. 24, 1815; still same day
Chapter 3 What, Why, How:
• Fernand is in love with his cousin, Mercedes, and she is very
fond of him, but she is in love with Dantes
• Fernand asks her to marry him, but Mercedes says no (loves
him like a brother)
• she assures him that it would not be right to marry
someone when their heart belongs to someone else
• Dantes arrives and Fernand sits in the shadows (3rd wheel),
Fernand scowls at Dantes, and Fernand flees
• He runs into Danglars and Caderouse drinking wine at a
tavern
• Caderouse fuels the fire in Fernand teasing him that he looks
like a rejected lover
• Fernand reveals that Mercedes and Dantes will be married at
once
• Caderouse points out that Dantes will also be captain
• Caderouse is drunk and points out that Dantes and
Mercredes are walking together and kissing (instigating the
anger in Fernand and Danglars)
• Caderouse invites them over to the table
• Dantes reveals he must go to Paris for a last wish of Captain
LeClere (to deliver a letter)
• Danglars is preparing to use a letter to ruin Dantes and
converses with Fernand and Caderouse on his plot (infer
they are plotting against Dantes)
Chapter Four: Who, Where, When?
Who:
• Edmond Dantes (captain), Danglars (jealous of Dantes’ fame and fortune)
• Caderouse (Dantes’ neighbor)
• Mercedes (young, beautiful, 17, Dante’s girl friend/soon to be fiancé) and
Fernand (20, Mercedes’ cousin/in love with her and wants to marry her)
• 30 Guests: sailors of the Pharaon, soldier friends, M. Morrel, Old Dantes, bridal
party, friends and family
Where:
• Marseilles, France; betrothal (engagement) feast in a large
room at La Reserve,
• When: the next day Feb. 25, 1815; 11:00 am
Chapter 4 What, Why, How?
• Edmond and Mercedes are having their wedding engagement feast
(betrothal feast)
• Fine food and guests
• Honor that M. Morrel attends- men are happy for it’s a good sign Dantes
will be their captain
• Dantes has everything he ever wanted; it alarms him (too good to be
true…came too easily)
• Plans on marrying Mercedes in an hour and a half
• then plans on leaving for Paris the following day and back again March 1
• A policeman enters
• No one knows what is going on and M.Morrel believes it is a mistake
• Officer has a warrant for Dante’s arrest
• Old Dantes begs the officer to let his son go
• Danglars said, “I will vouch for your innocence”
• Dantes was taken away by a carriage back to Marseilles and heard Mercedes
call out to him
• M. Morrel leaves and tries to find out why Dantes was arrested
• Mrecedes has a bad feeling and leaves crying in despair; Dantes smiles
knowing he is innocent
• Mercedes, M.Morrel, Old Dantes all believe he is innocent
• M. Morrel- accused of being a Bonapartist- supporter of Napoleon Bonpartist
• Fernand swoops in and takes Mercedes home
• Danglars reminds M.Morrel to remember Dantes stopped at Elba suspiciously
• M.Morrel makes Danglars captain in the meantime
• M. Morrel goes to see his friend Villefort (deputy head of the court)
• Danglars revelas his plan worked- he got captain…worried that Caderousse
won’t keep the plan a secret
Chapter Five: Who, Where, When?
Who:
• Villefort
• Morrel
• Dantes
• police/gendarmes
Where:
Villefort’s house
When: Feb. 25, 1815- same day as wedding
engagement party
Chapter 5:What, How, Why?
• Villefort was enjoying his own betrothal party with fiancéMadamoiselle de Saint-Meran- wealthy and influential family
• Villefort wants to move up in his position
• An anonomyous letter came to the Procureur du Roi who was absent,
accusing Edmond Dantes of a Bonapartist conspiracy
• Secretary interrupted Villefort’s party (irony)
• Morrel meets Villefort outside before Villefort interrogates him
• Morrel defends Dantes’ character and Villefort takes this into
consideration
• Had a good first impression of Dantes and could relate to happiness of
getting married
• Denies being political or supporter of Napoleon…loves father, admires
Morrel, and adores Mercedes…Villefort is convinced of his innocence
Chapter 5: What, How, Why?
• Villefort asks if Dantes has enemies or if anyone could be jealous…doesn’t
thinks so
• Villefort cautions Dantes about knowing his surroundings
• Dantes doesn’t recognize the hand writing of the letter
• Reveals Captain LeClere’s final death wish…Villefort believes him
• Villefort asks to see the letter…sees it’s addressed to: Monsieur Noirtier…this
causes Villefort distress because it’s his father…supporter of Napoleon…could
ruin Villefort’s marriage to a royalist and ruin his career if this gets out
• Villefort destroys the letter in the fire…Dantes promises not to tell of the
letter
• Sends Dantes to prison but belives Villefort has saved him
• …but then gets an idea to use the letter to get recognition from the
king…decides to tell the king that Napoleon is planning on leaving Elba…now
he must turn on Dantes to advance his reputation.
Chapter Six: Who, Where, When?
Who:
•Dantes
•police/gendarmes
Where:
•Prison cell, boat, Chateau d’If a State Prison
surrounded by water…high security, dungeon
•When: 4:00, March 1… 6 days after getting off
the ship
• Dantes was taken to a dark cell (March 1)
• Begins to lose hope
• He was taken to a dock surrounded by police
• No explanation for arrest…but believes in Villefort since he destroyed
the letter
• Taken to Chateau d’If (state prison surrounded by water…high security)
• Tries to jump off the boat
• Taken to cell
• Tries to ask a guard to take a letter to Mercedes but guard will not
• Tries to attack the goaler
• Dantes taken to dungeon as punishment
Chapter Seven: Who, Where, When?
Who:
Villefort
Mercedes
Morrel
Danglars
King Louis XVIII and Minister of Police
Caderousse
Where: Villefort’s home, Mercedes’ home, Paris (King’s court)
• When: still March 1-March 3
Chapter 7 What, Why, How?
• Villefort was at his home making plans to go to Paris
• Mercedes goes to Villefort’s home because she hadn’t heard any news of
Dantes and wants answers
• Mercedes is upset
• Villefort feels guilty and sad but is rude to her and tells her that Dantes is a
criminal and that’s all he knows
• Never before had he felt guilt and he sent many to prison (but believed they
were guilty of a crime)…feels guilty now because he knows Dantes is
innocent
• Mercedes is so depressed and Fernand is there to support her and love her
but she is oblivious to his advances
• Morrel did not give up…he went to all his influential friends/men in town
• Noone could help because of the severity…Dantes is an accused Bonapartist
• Caderousse was restless…instead of helping Dantes, he locks himself in his
house with wine (guilt)
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Danglars felt no guilt or remorse
He was happy
Avenged his enemy and received the desired position…slept peacefully
Villefort gets entry to the King in Paris
He tells of the letter (he destroyed of course leaving out the name to whom the
letter was addressed)
Reveals the usurper left Elba on the 28th and landed om France
King is mad that this report is being told now on March 3
Death of General Quesnel is important because it was an assassin not
suicide…left a Bonapartist club (secret meeting)…Quesnel was a loyalist and is
believed to have fallen under a Bonapartist trap
Villefort is nervous
Denies seeing his father…not on good terms
Receives the Legion of Honor cross by the king
• Napoleon’s escape brought down the government system in France once again
(Hundred Days)
• Villefort gained nothing from the king but caused him more danger now that
Napoleon escaped
• Villefort keeps Dantes in prison
• Waterloo…Napoleon defeated and Morrel gives up trying to get Dantes out because
Morrel could risk his safety
• King Louis back on throne, and Villefort gets job promotion and marries de Saint
Meran
• Danglars didn’t relize the severity of his action until Napoleon escaped and he
blamed it on Dantes’ fate
• Danglars became afraid that Dantes might return and take his revenge on DanglarsDanglars asks Morrel to leave to become a Spanish merchant
• Fernand left Mercedes and joined the army…worried that Dantes would return and
take Mercedes from him again
• Mercedes so sad contemplated suicide
• Old Dantes lost all hope…died in Mercedes’ arms and Morrel paid for his
expenses…risked life to help because Dantes is accused Bonapartist
Chapter 8: Who, Where, When?
Who:
Dantes
#27 ( prisoner)
Goaler/Guard
Where:
Chateau d’If (a prison surrounded by water), cell
When: Dantes has been in prison for 4-5 years and #27 has been
there for 4 more years than him
Chapter 8: What, Why, How?
• Dantes is depressed…grieving …wants to die…contemplates suicide by starvation or
hanging…decides to starve
• Loses all hope
• He hears a scratching sound…not an animal…realizes it’s a prisoner trying to
escape…gives Dantes hope to live!!!
• Knocks 3 times on the wall
• Three days pass before he hears the prisoner again…
• Breaks a water pitcher and uses the fragments to dig…places the soup container in
front of the door so the goaler breaks it and he gets the handle
• Hits a beam while digging…calls out to God in despair
• #27 calls out to him…ask questions
• Dantes tells him everything…too trusting
• Prisoner #27 wants to find the sea…Dantes tells him he’s going in wrong direction
• Prisoner #27 conceals identity and life story…#27 is cautious and not trusting
• Dantes digs and helps…Dantes wants a father/son relationship
• Suspense is built…#27 emerges through the hole in the wall.