1) On the way to Château d’If, Dantès is rowed past the cheery sounds of a ball emanating from the same inn that had hosted his betrothal feast and past Mercédès’ light blazing in her village… which seems cruel of Dumas! And as the situation becomes more dire, I find myself wondering why Dumas is putting Dantès—specifically—through this whole ordeal… In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have to face rejection and humiliation in order to overcome their titular sins; in the movie Ghost, Patrick Swayze’s character has to die in order to be able to say the words “I love you” to his wife; is there some lesson Dantès needs to learn or way in which he needs to grow that might explain why Dumas has chosen him for this crucible?

2) Would Dantès have disobeyed his captain if he knew that obeying would land him at Château d’If?

3) What causes Dantès to trust people so naïvely?

Final sentence of chapter:

“The jailer had been right: Dantès was very close to madness.”

previous chapter discussion

Next posts: Saturday, January 28