#maximilian morrel

[ghost-and-a-half]

Maximilian Morrel:

#am i right or am i right #count of monte cristo #maximilian morrel #the cristo account #le comte de monte cristo

[narratorstragedy]

bursts into tears thinking about family and father/mother-child relationships in the count of monte cristo

#she speaks.l #i’m not elaborating rn bc i have no coherent thoughts but. i think about how the first thing we see about edmond is his love for his father #about the count being a father figure for haydée… albert wanting to defend his father’s honor then realizing it’s useless… mercédès #& albert…. maximilian and julie and how much they care for morrel & how much edmond means to them eventually #augh. #the count of monte cristo

[mzannthropy]

The Count of Monte Cristo - What's in a Name?

I'm not sure whether this is what the author intended, or whether I'm even reading it right, but it struck me, even on my first read all those years ago, how the main character is referred to by the narration.

So we know his name is Edmond Dantes, and that's what the narration, obviously, calls him. Until it doesn't. After he gets rich and starts on his quest for revenge, he becomes the various aliases he adopts. The banking clerk, abbe Busoni and so on. This part (when he watches, hidden, M. Morrel having a first look at the new ship he bought for him) is particularly interesting:

“And now,” said the unknown, “farewell kindness, humanity, and gratitude! Farewell to all the feelings that expand the heart! I have been Heaven’s substitute to recompense the good—now the god of vengeance yields to me his power to punish the wicked!”

He is "the unknown". As he says farewell to kindness and humanity and gratitude.

Next comes the time jump and we only know him as the Count of Monte Cristo, first through Franz's eyes (well, to be precise, as Sinbad the Sailor initially). The only time the name Edmond Dantes is mentioned is when Bertuccio tells his story and he's quoting Caderousse.

On Caderousse's deathbed, the count reveals his true identity to the dying man--however, we don't get to hear that.

He approached the dying man, and, leaning over him with a calm and melancholy look, he whispered, “I am—I am——” And his almost closed lips uttered a name so low that the count himself appeared afraid to hear it.

I find this really fascinating.

And slowly, we start hearing his real name again.

There is the bit that has stayed with me since I first read the book more than 20 years ago: in the chapter where he visits the Morrels for the first time, Maximilian talks to the count about how his father was almost ruined, but was saved at the last minute by a mysterious benefactor. M. Morrel is now dead, having died happy, of old age, his last words being:

‘Maximilian, it was Edmond Dantès!’

I don't know about you, but this line gives me the shivers. In this chapter we also see the count get emotional, when up till now he has been cold and cynical. The Morrels are the ones who bring out the human side of him (see how disgusted he feels after he arranges for the reunion of the fake Cavalcanti father and son, and he decides to go visit the Morrels to cleanse the negative feelings).

Next when we hear the name, it comes from Mercedes--and she directly addresses him as such, when she pleads him not to kill her son in a duel. She repeats his name several times (quite a lot of times, actually, many highlights using Ctrl + F in this chapter in Gutenberg!). She manages to persuade him to spare Albert's life (which means he agrees to die) and the chapter ends with the famous quote "What a fool I was not to tear my heart out on the day when I resolved to avenge myself!" So he still has a heart!

Next utterance of the name Edmond Dantes comes Fernand when he recognises him, and the effect is so strong he kills himself (okay I exaggerate.) Then he tells the Morrels, who are, as expected, overcome with emotions. Then Villefort, who goes insane. Then, finally, Danglars. The quest for revenge is completed.

The book ends with a letter to Maximilian, signed Edmond Dantes, The Count of Monte Cristo. This is after he reunites the two star-crossed lovers and gifts them part of his fortune. It seems to me as if this means he reconciled his two identities.

Tell the angel who will watch over your future destiny, Morrel, to pray sometimes for a man, who, like Satan, thought himself for an instant equal to God, but who now acknowledges with Christian humility that God alone possesses supreme power and infinite wisdom.

So, idk, this is just my own thoughts and impressions.

#the count of monte cristo #alexandre dumas #mypost

[pedanther]

One final round of interesting differences between the older translation (anonymous) and newer translation (by Robin Buss) of The Count of Monte Cristo:

«Est-ce là Monte-Cristo? demanda d’une voix grave et empreinte d’une profonde tristesse le voyageur aux ordres duquel le petit yacht semblait être momentanément soumis. —Oui, Excellence, répondit le patron, nous arrivons. —Nous arrivons!» murmura le voyageur avec un indéfinissable accent de mélancolie.

“Is that Monte Cristo?” asked the traveller, to whose orders the yacht was for the time submitted, in a melancholy voice. “Yes, your excellency,” said the captain, “we have reached it.” “We have reached it!” repeated the traveller in an accent of indescribable sadness.

“Is that Monte Cristo?” asked the traveller, who appeared to be in command of the yacht, in a grave and melancholy voice. “Yes, Excellency,” said the master. “We are just reaching the end of our journey.” “The end of our journey!” the traveller muttered, with an indefinable air of dejection.

(“We are just reaching the end of our journey” is unlikely to be a strictly accurate translation of “nous arrivons”, but I don’t think that “we have reached it” captures the significance as well. It’s not just the journey to the island that is coming to an end.)

—Ne vous occupez point de cela, Maximilien, dit en riant Monte-Cristo, j’ai un marché avec la marine pour que l’accès de mon île soit franc de tout droit de charroi et de voyage. Je suis abonné, comme on dit dans les pays civilisés.»

“Never mind that, Maximilian,” said Monte Cristo, smiling. “I have made an agreement with the navy, that the access to my island shall be free of all charge. I have made a bargain.”

“Don’t bother about that, Maximilien,” Monte Cristo said with a laugh. “I have a deal with the navy, so that there is no charge for passage to my island. I’m an account customer, as they say in civilized countries.”

(A bit more detail about Monte Cristo’s arrangement with... I’m not sure that “the navy” sounds right, since we’ve never seen him have much to do with the navy, but I don’t know whether “la marine” can also refer to mariners in general.)

—Oh! non, non, comte! s’écria Morrel en saisissant de nouveau les deux mains de son ami; riez au contraire, soyez heureux, vous, et prouvez-moi par votre indifférence que la vie n’est mauvaise qu’à ceux qui souffrent.

“Oh, no, no, count,” cried Maximilian, seizing the count’s hands, “pray laugh; be happy, and prove to me, by your indifference, that life is endurable to sufferers.

“Oh, no, no, count,” Morrel exclaimed, once more grasping his friend’s hand with both of his. “Please do laugh. Be happy and prove to me by your indifference that life is only a burden for those who suffer.

(That’s not quite the same thing. Nor is this:)

Alors il lui sembla que Monte-Cristo souriait, non plus de son rire étrange et effrayant qui plusieurs fois lui avait laissé entrevoir les mystères de cette âme profonde, mais avec la bienveillante compassion que les pères ont pour leurs petits enfants qui déraisonnent.

Then it appeared to him that Monte Cristo smiled, not with the strange and fearful expression which had sometimes revealed to him the secrets of his heart, but with the benevolent kindness of a father for a child.

And now it seemed to him that Monte Cristo was smiling, no longer with that strange and terrifying smile that had several times allowed him to glimpse the mysteries of that profound soul, but with the tender compassion of a father towards the follies of his child.

#the cristo account #the count of monte cristo #chapter 117 #lost in translation #not a reblog

[vickyvicarious]

But in less than five minutes the staircase groaned beneath an extraordinary weight. Morrel was seen carrying, with superhuman strength, the arm–chair containing Noirtier up–stairs. When he reached the landing he placed the arm–chair on the floor and rapidly rolled it into Valentine’s room.

Honestly, Maximilian isn't my favorite character, but I was so glad for him in this moment. I was really worried about Noirtier being left alone knowing something was horribly wrong but with everyone else too caught up in their own reactions to inform him/bring him there. Especially when Maximilian first went to see Valentine and collapsed... I worried he would be too caught up in his grief to remember that Noirtier couldn't act on his own and needed him to come back and tell what he'd seen.

#the cristo account #i do not believe for a second that she's actually dead so i was more concerned about the reactions around her #i'm really enjoying villefort as a character tbh #and noirtier and him planning a private revenge of their own on madame villefort is pretty delicious #tcomc

[wordsthatithinkgohard]

“Sister, sister,” said Maximilian, coming to the count’s aid, “monsieur is quite right. Recollect what our excellent father so often told us, ‘It was no Englishman that thus saved us.’” Monte Cristo started. “What did your father tell you, M. Morrel?” said he eagerly.

“My father thought that this action had been miraculously performed—he believed that a benefactor had arisen from the grave to save us. Oh, it was a touching superstition, monsieur, and although I did not myself believe it, I would not for the world have destroyed my father’s faith. How often did he muse over it and pronounce the name of a dear friend—a friend lost to him forever; and on his death–bed, when the near approach of eternity seemed to have illumined his mind with supernatural light, this thought, which had until then been but a doubt, became a conviction, and his last words were, ‘Maximilian, it was Edmond Dantes!’”

At these words the count’s paleness, which had for some time been increasing, became alarming; he could not speak; he looked at his watch like a man who has forgotten the hour, said a few hurried words to Madame Herbault, and pressing the hands of Emmanuel and Maximilian,—”Madame,” said he, “I trust you will allow me to visit you occasionally; I value your friendship, and feel grateful to you for your welcome, for this is the first time for many years that I have thus yielded to my feelings;” and he hastily quitted the apartment.

“This Count of Monte Cristo is a strange man,” said Emmanuel.

“Yes,” answered Maximilian, “but I feel sure he has an excellent heart, and that he likes us.”

#source: the count of monte cristo; chapter 50: the morrel family

[winter2468]

Hi my name is Ebony Edmond Giacomo Sinbad Adelmonte Busoni Wilmore Dantes Monte Cristo and I have long ebony black hair (that’s how I got my name) and eyes like limpid tears and a lot of people tell me I look like Lord Ruthven (AN: if u don’t know who he is get da hell out of here!). I’m not related to Maximilian Morrel but I wish I was because he’s a major fucking hottie. I escaped from a dungeon nine years ago but my skin is still pale white. I’m also a chemist, and I’m a count living in Paris (I’m forty-two). I’m a goth (in case you couldn’t tell) and I wear mostly black. I love Hot Topic and I buy all my clothes from there. For example today I was wearing a black shirt with a white waistcoat and a black suit, a fine gold watch chain and black shoes. I was walking outside my house at Auteuil. It was snowing and raining so there was no sun, which I was very happy about. Morcerf, Danglars, and de Villefort stared at me. I put up my middle finger at them.

#the trouble I went to tracking down all this guy's pseudonyms #also his outfit is literally the one he wears to the signing of Valentine's marriage contract #I put effort into this shitpost #this is not a count of monte cristo quote #the count of monte cristo #edmond dantes #maximilian morrel #fernand mondego #de morcerf #danglars #de villefort #my immortal #tcomc

[urgeeky-friend22]

It's been quite a time since I've posted something finished. I'm gonna vent a little here, but it's like a crisis to me rn. You know, I haven't had an opportunity to draw for a long time, and now I can't look at my art at all. I just can't stand the way it's drawn: this style, colors, shades - this all just suck ass for me... I've recently met new people, and my comparison with their wonderful styles, ideas and skills just kills me. I can't stop burying myself somewhere deep, I can't draw anything good at all; I was going to give up and leave art community 'cause I'm just useless in it. And now, here's a piece with Maximilian and Valentine from the Count of Monte Cristo, I'm lack of their love story in movie adaptations. And now I have the problems with proportions like again... I dunno how to conquer this shit. I didn't even want to post it anywhere...bruh

#the count of monte cristo #maximilian morrel #valentine de villefort #maximilian x valentine #maximilien morrel #maximilien x valentine

[closed-third-eye]

What is with dantes torturing the Morrel men with such dramatic gesture when they're on the verge of killing themselves lmao

#the count of monte cristo #edmond dantes #Maximilian Morrel

[aira-l]

#maximilian morrel #the count of monte cristo #monte cristo #tcomc

[narratorstragedy]

all of the count of monte cristo’s revenge could have been avoided had julie, emmanuel, & maximilian morrel treated him like a lap dog that couldn’t be let out of their sight

#she speaks.l #the count of monte cristo

[mzannthropy]

The Count of Monte Cristo 2002

I've been curious about this film for a while bc of the things I've read about it, and knew I had to watch it. So now I finally did. My impression is exactly what I expected it would be: good film, bad adaptation.

Bc I had already known it was not faithful to the book (and bc I knew it did something very stupid, as I inadvertently stumbled upon a spoiler), I allowed myself to enjoy watching it. Had I not known all of this beforehand, I would have liked it much less. Still, I watched it more out of curiosity than anything, and I can't say I will ever rate it as a favourite. In many ways, though, it was a fun movie. (Spoilers below.)

It's the first adaptation I've watched, but as I understand from posts by other users here, it's not the only one that focuses on Fernand as the main antagonist. Which he, of course, isn't, but The Powers That Be, as a mutual recently told me, were Edmond x Mercedes shippers. They even went further with this and made Albert (played by very babyfaced Henry Cavill) Edmond's son. This is the stupid thing I mentioned above the cut. It's stupid, what else can I say.

Also, Fernand and Edmond are initially friends, best friends even, which I understand other adaptations also do. For some reason, filmmakers think the story is more powerful when the one who betrays you is a friend. Fernand was already an aristocrat in this, he was the son of Count Mondego (not Morcerf), and he and Edmond and Mercedes are childhood friends, but the movie never explains how a son of a count made friends with people who were so many steps below him in class. Fernand also ends up having affairs with many women and getting into debt by gambling, a fact Edmond uses to take him down.

In this film, Edmond can't read. Which *scratches head*. I'm pretty sure this was not in the book, right? He was (well, almost) made a captain, how would he be able to captain a ship without being able to read maps and charts? (And this makes his friendship with nobility Fernand even more unlikely--surely a friend would help him learn to read?) It's abbe Faria who teaches him to read in prison. Abbe Faria was played by Richard Harris and was a definite highlight of the film.

Mercedes and Edmond share time together before Edmond is framed (they have sex which results in Albert) and she ties a thread she tore off her dress around her finger, symbolising an engagement ring. She still has this thread around her finger when they are reconciled 16 years later (that's the gap between Edmond being thrown to Chateau D'If and the beginning of his revenge in this version). How did a piece of thread last this long???

Understandably, many characters are cut out, the Maximilian and Valentine romance is non existent, so is Eugenie, there's no Caderousse or Benedetto. Danglars has minimal screentime, even though he's the one that orchestrates the whole setup. The importance of Morrel in Edmond's life is lessened, also his name is misspelled (it has two Ls).

I liked what they did with Vampa and Jacopo. They combined Vampa into both a smuggler and a bandit, thus he is the one who takes on Edmond after his escape and also arranges Albert's kidnapping in Rome. He's also really funny. Jacopo's role is much bigger than in the book, he essentially becomes Edmond's bestie. They find the treasure together and in one scene, Jacopo tries to get Edmond to "choose love". As fun as it was to watch that, it's not the Edmond from the book, who is more of a loner. I mean there's this line (this is before he finds the treasure):

Dantès, cast from solitude into the world, frequently experienced an imperious desire for solitude; and what solitude is more complete, or more poetical, than that of a ship floating in isolation on the sea during the obscurity of the night, in the silence of immensity, and under the eye of Heaven?

I think you can conclude that the screenwriter liked his male friendships.

I expected more of Albert bc of the many gifs I've seen posted here. He's not given any time to deal with the fact that the man whom he thought of as father is not his father. At the end they all visit Chateau D'If, Edmond finds peace and they walk away together as one happy family (Jacopo included). Very Hollywood Disney ending, I think.

So I get why people like this film, but as an adaptation of a book it doesn't really deliver. I suppose it can work as an AU.

#the count of monte cristo #the count of monte cristo 2002 #tcomc 2002 #jim caviezel monte cristo #films #mypost

[pedanther]

The Count waxes philosophical on the nature of truth:

—N’exagérons pas. M. Andrea se donne seulement le titre de vicomte. —Se donne, dites-vous? —Je dis: se donne. —Il ne l’est donc pas? —Eh! le sais-je, moi? Il se le donne, je le lui donne, on le lui donne; n’est-ce pas comme s’il l’avait?

“Not so fast; M. Andrea only calls himself count.” “Calls himself, do you say?” “Yes, calls himself.” “Is he not a count?” “What can I know of him? He calls himself so. I, of course, give him the same title, and every one else does likewise.”

“Let’s not exaggerate. Monsieur Andrea only awards himself the title of viscount.” “Awards himself?” “As you say.” “So he isn’t one?” “How do I know? He awards himself, I award him, they award him: isn’t that all the same as if he had it?”

The Count knows some delightful people, but which people is it?:

—Avec le vicomte Andrea Cavalcanti, le marquis son père, Mme Danglars, M. et Mme de Villefort, des gens charmants, M. Debray, Maximilien Morrel, et puis qui encore... attendez donc... ah! M. de Château-Renaud.

“Yes, with Count Cavalcanti, the marquis his father, Madame Danglars, M. and Madame de Villefort,—charming people,—M. Debray, Maximilian Morrel, and M. de Chateau–Renaud.”

“With Viscount Andrea Cavalcanti, his father the marquis, Madame Danglars, Monsieur and Madame de Villefort, and some delightful people: Monsieur Debray, Maxmilien Morrel ... and who else? Wait ... oh, yes, Monsieur de Château-Renaud.”

Something puzzles Madame de Morcerf about the Count (it’s the same thing that puzzled her back in chapter 41):

Problème, mon cher comte, problème pour tous, pour ma mère comme pour les autres; problème accepté, mais non deviné, vous demeurez toujours à l’état d’énigme: rassurez-vous. Ma mère seulement demande toujours comment il se fait que vous soyez si jeune. Je crois qu’au fond, tandis que la comtesse G... vous prend pour Lord Ruthwen, ma mère vous prend pour Cagliostro ou le comte de Saint-Germain.

A problem, my dear count, for every one—for my mother as well as others; much studied, but not solved, you still remain an enigma, do not fear. My mother is only astonished that you remain so long unsolved. I believe, while the Countess G——takes you for Lord Ruthven, my mother imagines you to be Cagliostro or the Count Saint–Germain.

An enigma, my dear Count, an enigma for everyone, my mother as will as the rest. As long as the mystery has been recognized but not solved, you will remain an enigma, don’t worry. My mother is only puzzled by the fact that you seem so young. I think, underneath, that whereas Countess G—— thinks you are Lord Ruthwen, my mother takes you for Cagliostro or the Comte de Sainte-Germain.

#the cristo account #the count of monte cristo #chapter 68 #lost in translation #not a reblog

[villefort-shitposting]

This is a weird thing to wish, but I want Maximilian/Villefort ship. Wonder how the Count would solve that problem.

Count: so what if there are people dying there?

Max: but I'm in love! Valentine de Villefort ! She has... Such a nice father!

Count: honey, no, this is gross.

#tcomc #the-count-of-monte-cristo #count-of-monte-cristo #Maximilian morrel #edmond dantes #gerard de villefort #but really #it is gross #still #it's also funny #tcomc shitposting #tcomc shit posting

[funkymbtifiction]

The Count of Monte Cristo: Maximilian Morrel [INFP]

OFFICIAL TYPING BY: mysterylover123

Introverted Feeling (Fi): For Max, the most important things in life are his honor and his feelings. He’s determined to do what he sees as right, according to his own deeply held ideas of honorable behavior, and disparages any credit or accolades for his heroic deeds. He’s so bent on personal honor that he’s willing to conspire with his father’s plan to kill himself for the sake of going out with honor and dignity. He has very passionate feelings, but usually keeps them to himself unless with someone he’s very close to. He deflects any kind of praise almost reflexively.

Extroverted Intuition (Ne): He’s good at seeing different sides to peoples’ arguments, and at coming up with alternative explanations for problems proposed by them. He isn’t much for forming resolutions, instead just counting on something to happen to improve his lot in life. He’s open to many different options and possibilities in life, and can sometimes start generating them very quickly in conversation. He takes on symbolic roles in his relationship to Valentine and often uses metaphoric speech.

Introverted Sensing (Si): Max maintains certain traditions, and commemorates the day his father was rescued by trying to perform a similar rescue himself. He’s fairly traditional and holds to codes of honor practiced by society and by the book. He sometimes displays a remarkable memory for details and specifics, though only for those that matter to him personally. 

Extroverted Thinking (Te): Taking decisive action is not Max’s first instinct. He’s not good with issuing orders or acting as commander. He doesn’t initiate many plans, usually leaving that process to the Count or to Valentine. He often struggles with logic and research, having struggled to learn anything about Thompson and French for generations.

#c: infp #the count of monte cristo #maximilian morrel #infp #mbti #official typing #character typing

[urgeeky-friend22]

I’ve decided to make some kind of designs for the young generation

I shall start with my lovely children -  (ﾉ´ з `)ノ Maximilian and Valentine  

#the count of monte cristo #le comte de monte cristo #maximilian morrel #valentine de villefort