1) Wow—rough chapter. How do Dantès’ suicidal thoughts differ from those of Mercédès?

2) In Chapter 13, Dumas at least related events happening in the world outside Dantès’ cell. What’s the effect here of Dumas keeping the focus entirely on Dantès and not showing us anything happening in the world outside his cell?

3) The contrast between how slowly Dantès sounds out (no pun intended) whether the noise is coming from workers or from a fellow prisoner and how unreservedly he seeks the company of the person whose voice he finally hears fits his tendency to swing from extreme caution to complete trust. Which outlook toward others serves him better?

Final sentence of chapter:

”Then, in the bottom of this dark hole, the depth of which he was unable to assess, he saw a head appear, then some shoulders and finally a whole man, who emerged, with a fair degree of agility, from the pit they had dug.”

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