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Alexandre Dumas
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The Auteuil evening finally breaks up. Madame de Villefort wants to go home to Paris, and her husband is the first to give the signal. He offers Madame Danglars a seat in his carriage under his wife's care. Danglars barely notices. He is too busy talking with Major Cavalcanti about railways and money. Monte Cristo has already seen Villefort whisper a secret appointment to the baroness, but he lets everyone leave without a word.
Andrea Cavalcanti climbs into his fine tilbury with a groom and a gray horse. He has said little all night because he does not want to sound foolish in front of the king's attorney. Danglars thinks the Cavalcantis are rich Italian nobles and plans to meet the major tomorrow on business. Andrea is about to drive away when a ragged man with a red handkerchief touches his shoulder.
The beggar is Caderousse, Andrea's old partner from Marseilles. He calls the young man Benedetto and demands a ride back to Paris. Andrea pays him two hundred francs in gold and promises one hundred fifty francs a month. Caderousse learns that Andrea has found a fake father, Major Cavalcanti, and that the Count of Monte Cristo arranged the whole scheme. Blackmail replaces friendship, but neither man trusts the bargain.
Outside Paris they almost kill each other. Andrea reaches for a pistol and Caderousse opens his knife. Instead they settle on a disguise. Caderousse puts on the groom's greatcoat and hat, rides through the barrier as a servant, and vanishes into a court still calling Andrea Benedetto. The false heir sighs that one cannot be completely happy in this world.
A new life rarely comes without installments. Caderousse calls Andrea Benedetto at the roadside, takes ten gold louis, and keeps the greatcoat after a near fight.
Before you celebrate an escape from your old name, ask who still knows it and what monthly fee they will charge.
At the Place Louis XV the young men ride their separate ways, but Debray goes straight to Danglars's house. The banker is ready to name seven hundred thousand francs lost on a false telegraph tip.
What this chapter proves — the pattern beneath the scene
In this chapter, the lesson is Distinguishing Justice from Revenge — Providence as a Costume.
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.
Distinguishing Justice from Revenge
The Auteuil evening finally breaks up. Madame de Villefort wants to go home to Paris, and her husband is the first to give the signal. He offers Madame Danglars a seat in his carriage under his wife's care.
Key Insight
When a new identity starts to work, the old life often appears at the first convenient stop with a price that is never a single payment.
“Here are two hundred”Explore full theme analysis
Chapter 64
The evening passed on; Madame de Villefort expressed a desire to return to Paris, which Madame Danglars had not dared to do, notwithstanding the uneasiness she experienced. On his wife’s request, M. de Villefort was the first to give the signal of departure. He offered a seat in his landau to Madame Danglars, that she might be under the care of his wife. As for M. Danglars, absorbed in an interesting conversation with M. Cavalcanti, he paid no attention to anything that was passing. While Monte Cristo had begged the smelling-bottle of Madame de Villefort, he had noticed the approach…
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Draw three circles representing different versions of yourself: who you were 5 years ago, who you are now, and who you're becoming. Write 3-4 words in each circle describing that version. Then identify which people in your life can still see each version of you, and consider what they might be recognizing that you've forgotten or tried to leave behind.
Write about a time when someone from your past made you realize you'd changed in ways you hadn't fully acknowledged. What did their recognition help you understand about yourself?
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Other theme-by-theme analyses from this book.
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.
Hours by a Sunbeam
Spend fourteen years in stone, escape in a winding-sheet, and pay Morrel on the fifth of September without taking credit.
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.
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