The Count of Monte Cristo Happiness Essay Example

In The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, there are many themes interwoven in the complicated plot throughout the novel. Some of these themes include perseverance, God’s will, justice and hatred. The most distinctive theme, to me, is the theme of relative versus absolute happiness. The main character Edmond Dantés spends the beginning of the book filled with true overall happiness in the way he leads his life. After escaping from prison, Dantés is filled with hatred. He feels that seeking revenge against those who have wronged him will grant him satisfaction and justice; however, the happiness he achieves is only relative. 

When the book begins, the reader can assume that Edmond Dantés is truly content with his life. He comes off as kind, innocent and plans to marry Mercedes, a catalan woman who he believes is the love of his life. Additionally, he has been named the captain of the ship in which he sails on by the ship's owner and his future dear friend Monsieur Morrel. However, much later on in the book, we find out that Dantés has been wrongfully framed by a group of jealous men for being a bonapartist and locked away in the Chȃteau d’If where he undergoes a great change.

After fourteen years, he emerges from the prison with a great inherited fortune and an exceedingly vengeful spirit. He creates a new identity for himself as The Count of Monte Cristo, and immediately begins plotting his retribution on those who have betrayed him. 

After assuming his new identity, the reader can notice a significant shift in Dantés’ character. He navigates his life disconnected from humanity, and obsesses over the wrongs against him. More specifically, he uses an alias to recover information in order to investigate and build important connections with those whom he’s seeking vengeance. He uses his inherited fortune to build an extravagant life for himself, and makes it his mission to execute what he believes is God’s will. Dantés is so consumed by revenge that he can no longer differentiate between innocent bystanders and those who have truly wronged him. His new perspective and identity exemplifies his search for superficial happiness rather than true internal contentment. 

Once he reaches this realization, he begins to understand that happiness is more dependent on a person’s mindset rather than their external circumstances, “There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness” (Dumas 531).  Dantés got so captivated by what he thought would bring him true happiness (materialistic commodities, revenge and justice) that he no longer felt genuinely satisfied with himself. He only felt relatively happy with what he was accomplishing, as the satisfaction did not last forever, and disregarded his own genuine happiness. Upon this realization he decided to step down, and he even goes as far as giving the remains of his fortune to Monsieur Morrel’s son, Maximilian. 

Throughout the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, the theme of absolute versus relative happiness is made exceptionally clear. Edmond Dantés begins the story filled with true, absolute happiness brought forth by a life that one could infer fills him with consistent satisfaction and a great sense of well-being. After being blindsided and betrayed, and serving an unjust prison sentence, Dantés lives a vengeful life composed of money, and seeking the justice that he believes will fulfill his happiness. However, he later learns the lesson that the contentment he is attaining by doing what he believes is necessary is merely temporary. Dantés acknowledges the fact that true happiness comes from within.