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Alexandre Dumas
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The morning after the catacombs, Albert asks Franz to come with him to thank the Count again. Albert pours out his gratitude, but the Count waves it away with a smile. He says the rescue was a small thing, worth about twenty thousand francs saved from travel costs.
Then the talk turns serious. The Count has never been to Paris and asks Albert to introduce him to society there. Albert agrees right away. He is going home soon anyway because his father wants him to marry into a fine Paris family. The Count picks a date three months away: May 21 at half past ten in the morning, at Albert's house on Rue du Helder. He writes the address in his notebook and promises to be exactly on time.
Franz finally tells Albert the whole story. He talks about the island of Monte Cristo, the hashish feast, the statues, and the dream. He tells about hearing the Count order Peppino's freedom in the Colosseum. He even tells about the ransom money from the night before. Albert laughs it all off. He says rich men own yachts, bandits in Corsica are romantic heroes, and a man who saved his life deserves a simple favor.
When they say goodbye, Franz shakes the Count's hand and feels a cold chill, like touching a dead body. Albert notices nothing. He leaves a card at the hotel with the May 21 appointment written in pencil, so the Count will not forget.
Rescue can become a doorway if you are not careful. Albert thanks the Count for his life, and the Count answers by asking for an introduction to Paris on a date he writes into his tablets.
Before you grant access to your network, decide whether gratitude has made the request feel smaller than it is.
Three months later in Paris, Albert's pavilion on Rue du Helder fills with cigars, sherry, and friends waiting for half past ten. Debray and Beauchamp will trade jokes about politics and marriage before the mysterious guest finally arrives.
What this chapter proves — the pattern beneath the scene
In this chapter, the lesson is Playing the Long Game — Hours by a Sunbeam.
The card below names the pattern this chapter proves — carry it with you into Dumas's feast at La Réserve, Faria's cell, the cave on Monte Cristo, the Opera glove, and the fifth of October.
Playing the Long Game
The morning after the catacombs, Albert asks Franz to come with him to thank the Count again. Albert pours out his gratitude, but the Count waves it away with a smile. He says the rescue was a small thing, worth about twenty thousand francs saved from travel costs.
Key Insight
A person who saves you can later ask for a small social favor that actually opens an entire future network.
“I am wholly a stranger to Paris”Explore full theme analysis
Chapter 38
The first words that Albert uttered to his friend, on the following morning, contained a request that Franz would accompany him on a visit to the count; true, the young man had warmly and energetically thanked the count on the previous evening; but services such as he had rendered could never be too often acknowledged. Franz, who seemed attracted by some invisible influence towards the count, in which terror was strangely mingled, felt an extreme reluctance to permit his friend to be exposed alone to the singular fascination that this mysterious personage seemed to exercise over him, and therefore made…
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Rewrite this confrontation from Mercédès' perspective, starting from the moment she realizes she must face the truth. Focus on what she's feeling and thinking as she watches this stranger reveal himself as the man she once loved. What does she see when she looks at him now?
Write about a time when someone from your past confronted you about how you'd changed, or when you had to face someone you'd hurt or disappointed years earlier. What did that recognition reveal about who you'd become?
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Other theme-by-theme analyses from this book.
Providence as a Costume
Watch the buried letter, Faria's oath, and the pardon of Danglars, and see when accountability becomes a hunger.
The Face the Barber Finds
Follow Edmond into the Château d'If and watch the Count walk out, then ask what the mask still lets him feel.
The Last Reversible Order
Hear Mercédès at the Opera, then pardon Danglars, and leave on the fifth of October before the work eats you too.
Friends Who Stay Seated
Sit at the feast at La Réserve, then in Villefort's office, and learn what it costs to keep living after friends erase you.
Names Not on the List
Stand with Valentine at the gate and Albert in the Chamber, and count the people who never chose the fight.
Deep diving the literary elements.
Guides, life skills, and the full library.More ways to read The Count of Monte Cristo: guides, life skills, and the wider library.
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