Mercédès is a force of nature!

1. I love the vitality Dumas endows Mercédès with in this scene, especially in her devastating opening line: “Edmond, you will not kill my son!” I can’t help but think back to Chapter 50 (“The Morrel Family”), in which we heard the name “Edmond Dantès” for the first time in so many chapters (and so many book-years)… how did it affect you to hear Mercédès pronounce the name “Edmond” here with such strength and yet such intimacy?

2. Mercédès claims that she recognized Edmond all along… do you believe her? If so, should she have acted sooner?

3. What does Mercédès’ ability to out-disguise the count, who has been in disguise for fourteen years, suggest about the stereotypically masculine pursuit of revenge and the stereotypically feminine commitment to love?

Final sentence of chapter:

“‘The day when I resolved to take my revenge… senseless, not to have torn out my heart.’”

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