1. The sight of Mercédès softens (temporarily) Albert’s desire for vengeance, and in Chapter 86 (“Judgment Is Passed”) Haydée’s denunciation causes Fernand to shrink away… is Dumas recognizing an inherent feminine power? Or is he forcing these women to unrealistic heights (Mercédès, as her name suggests, like the Virgin Mary, and Haydée, as described leaving the House of Peers, like a Roman goddess)?

2. We’ve seen the count snap at his servants before, but this is the first time he’s unloaded his anger on his relative social equals. Does the alternation between his fury at Albert and his passion for William Tell, between joking and threatening, suggest a psychotic break?

Final sentence of chapter:

“‘It’s such wonderful music, William Tell!’”

previous chapter discussion