Le Comte De Monte-Cristo, Tome II
1844
The second volume of Dumas's monumental revenge epic finds Edmond Dantès transformed. No longer the naive sailor thrown into the abyss of Château d'If, he has emerged as the Count of Monte Cristo, wealthy beyond measure, patient as a spider weaving an invisible web, and utterly determined to make those who destroyed his life pay for their crimes. Through aliases and elaborate schemes, he inserts himself back into Parisian society, moving among the men who betrayed him like a serpent in the garden. But this is no simple tale of murder and mayhem. Dumas asks what happens to the soul when it is consumed by vengeance, whether justice and revenge are the same thing, and whether the man who emerges from fourteen years of darkness can ever find his way back to the light. This volume deepens the intrigue with new characters, dangerous encounters in Rome, and the devastating precision of the Count's plan unfolding.
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“I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.””
— Alexandre Dumas
“All human wisdom is contained in these two words - Wait and Hope””
— Alexandre Dumas
“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you””
— Alexandre Dumas
“It's necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live.””
— Alexandre Dumas
“Woman is sacred; the woman one loves is holy.””
— Alexandre Dumas
“The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.””
— Alexandre Dumas
“Moral wounds have this peculiarity - they may be hidden, but they never close; always painful, always ready to bleed when touched, they remain fresh and open in the heart.””
— Alexandre Dumas
“When you compare the sorrows of real life to the pleasures of the imaginary one, you will never want to live again, only to dream forever.””
— Alexandre Dumas
“How did I escape? With difficulty. How did I plan this moment? With pleasure.””
— Alexandre Dumas
