The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapters 1-12

Reading Check

1. Napoleon Bonaparte (Chapter 1)

2. Chateau d’If (Chapter 6)

3. Starve himself to death (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. Edmond is simply trying to carry out his dying captain’s orders—he is not working to help Bonaparte because of his own political ideals. Jealousy, however, leads Danglars to anonymously accuse Edmond of being a Bonaparte sympathizer, and fear of losing status if his father is exposed causes Villefort to jail Edmond instead of letting him go. (Chapters 3 and 5)

2. Since Mlle de Saint-Méran’s parents are royalists, Villefort postpones his marriage. He wants to remain unattached in case Bonaparte stays in power, because then he will be free to marry into a Bonapartist family instead. (Chapter 8)

3. Meeting Abbé Faria gives Edmond back his will to live. The priest helps Edmond figure out that Danglars, Villefort, and possibly Fernand are to blame for Edmond’s imprisonment. He also educates Edmond, helps him plan an escape, and tells him where to find a great fortune. (Chapters 10 and 11)

Chapters 13-24

Reading Check

1. Fourteen years (Chapter 13)

2. The Inspector’s share of M. Morrel’s business (Chapter 17)

3. Saves a man’s life (Chapter 22)

Short Answer

1. Caderousse explains that both Danglars and Fernand have become wealthy, titled men, and that Fernand has married Mercédès. He does not know what has become of Villefort, however. (Chapter 16)

2. When the crew of the Pharaon tells him that the ship sank, M. Morrel pays them their wages anyway, even though the disaster means he is financially ruined. (Chapter 18)

3. Edmond tells them that the death of an enemy is not a sufficient revenge. He believes that adequate revenge consists of making a guilty person suffer the same pain he caused someone else. (Chapter 20)

Chapters 25-36

Reading Check

1. His mission (Chapter 26)

2. Her father (Chapter 27)

3. Sinbad the Sailor (Chapter 31)

Short Answer

1. Edmond arranges for the horses drawing her carriage to bolt just as they pass his house and for his servant to be handy to stop them, rescuing Mme. Villefort and her young son. When the child faints from fear during the event, Edmond is ready with his red potion to revive the boy. He then has his own servant drive Mme. Villefort and her son back home. (Chapter 25)

2. Both women are anxious to find a way to avoid the marriages that their families have planned for them. (Chapter 32)

3. Andrea is really Benedetto, the child raised by Bertuccio’s sister. Since Bertuccio also recognizes Mme. Danglars as the pregnant woman he saw at the Villefort house many years ago, he realizes that Andrea is actually Mme. Danglars’s child—and likely that of Villefort, as well. (Chapter 35)

Chapters 37-48

Reading Check

1. She feels like a criminal. (Chapter 39)

2. The servant, Barrois (Chapter 44)

3. Benedetto/ Andrea Cavalcanti (Chapter 46)

Short Answer

1. Danglars tells his wife that she and her lover must pay him for half of his losses, or he will throw her lover out of their house. (Chapter 37)

2. Noirtier reveals to Franz that he is the man who killed Franz’s father, General Flavien de Quesnal. (Chapter 42)

3. Ali Pasha asked Morcerf to promise to take care of his favorite mistress and their daughter, Haydée. Instead of fulfilling this promise, Morcerf sold the women into slavery. (Chapter 48)

Chapters 49-60

Reading Check

1. He begs Edmond’s forgiveness. (Chapter 52)

2. A convent (Chapter 53)

3. A woodsman (Chapter 58)

Short Answer

1. Edmond agrees to allow Albert to kill him in their upcoming duel. Mercédès tells Edmond that his willingness to sacrifice his life for her happiness proves that divine Providence exists in the world. (Chapter 51)

2. Eugénie cuts off her hair and dresses as a man. She flees with Louise, traveling on a forged passport identifying her as Louise’s brother. (Chapter 57)

3. He promises that within three days he will have taken revenge on Valentine’s murderer. (Chapter 60)

Chapters 61-73

Reading Check

1. Villefort (Chapter 65)

2. Au revoir (Chapter 68)

3. Faria’s manuscript (Chapter 69)

Short Answer

1. He believes that Maximilien is going to kill himself and that revealing his identity will allow him to dissuade Maximilien from this intention. (Chapter 62)

2. He intends to join the army, serving in a conscripted man’s stead, and either become an officer or die trying. (Chapter 63)

3. Not only has his wife killed herself, but she has also killed their son Edouard. (Chapter 67)