About the Autor

Alexandre Dumas, the author of The Count of Monte Cristo, has certainly had a very

peculiar life. His father, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was born of Marquis Alexandre Davy de la

Pailleterie, and his slave, Marie-Césette Dumas. He was then sold, only to be re-purchased

(likely because his father needed an heir) and taken from the French Colony of Saint-Dominique

to France, to be educated. France, at that time forbid slavery, and Thomas was freed on entering

the county. Later, Thomas joined the military and rose to General-in-Chief. After a disagreement

with Napoleon, he was thrown into prison, and died shortly after his release. It’s also important

to note that he took his mother’s surname, Dumas.

Now to the actual author! Due to his father’s imprisonment and death, his mother tried to

keep him in school, but he eventually dropped out to work in the notary, which is just a company

that rights down your will. The notary is also a symbol used throughout the story, but more on

that later. After working at the notary, he took a job as a scribe. Despite dropping out of school,

his jobs surrounded himself in words, and was able to become an author. His father’s name of

Dumas allowed him to be associated with a renowned figure, and as Napoleon was no longer in

charge, the fight they had brought no blemish to the name. This helped him break into the

public’s eye, who appreciated his writing.

Dumas is responsible for many novels, plays, and short stories, but his most famous

works are The Count of Monte Cristo, and even The Three Musketeers. Focusing in on the later,

The Count of Monte Cristo was based on many things that Dumas experienced in his lifetime.

Most notably, the main story arc was based around the story of a French shoemaker, Pierre

Picaud. His father and himself are also represented in the story as the d’Epinay family. The

father, General Quesnel dies, because of Napoleon. This closely resembles the tale of his own
father. Also, it’s my opinion that he actually met one of the characters in the novel, the Abbe

Faria as a young boy, as they were in Paris at the same time. The character of Faria in the novel,

is completely different than the real person, but that makes sense if were thinking of a child’s

view.

Novel Summary

As his life is looking up, Edmond Dantes is betrayed and framed by his friends and

thrown into prison. There he meets an Abbe Faria, who knows of a great wealth hidden on the

island of Monte Cristo. They plan to escape together, however Faria dies, and Dantes escapes

alone. He uses the fortune on the island to exact his revenge on his former friends and sails off.

Motif of Water/Ocean/Sailing + Renewal (Extended Symbol)

As I hope we all know, water is a relatively standard symbol of renewal and rebirth,

however I like how it is portrayed in this particular novel. It fits right in with sailors and island

prison, to the extent that it can occur many times, in an inconspicuous manner, to most readers.

Before the novel begins, Dantes goes out a poor sailor, but upon coming back, he is made captain

of his ship. When Dantes is taken to prison, he loses his happiness, and becomes a confused,

broken man, but leaves prison, a highly educated and intelligent man. The trend continues like

this for a while and is relatively standard, even applying to characters like Franz. In a sense you

could even apply the motif to the journey made my Count Morcef, as he likely leaves Greece by

boat. However, in my opinion the most interesting instance of the motif in the novel, is when

Danglars is travelling to Italy and the hill as compared to waves. The great thing about this is that

we can infer that both Dangars and Monte Cristo are travelling to Italy at roughly the same time

and can therefore apply it to the Count. In my opinion this is the greatest change in character that
occurs, sans Dantes’ transformation into the Count of Monte Cristo. Danglars leaves a thief and a

criminal, but upon reaching his destination, he is renewed, and forgiven by the Count. This is

where the transformation occurs on the half of Monte Cristo. He learns to forgive. Lastly, at the

very end with Morrel leaves for the Island of Monte Cristo, looking to kill himself, but leaves

with the woman of his dreams.