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Cu_Chulainn77 t1_itk91o3 wrote

I love that Edmond Dantès is a much more human character than most of your heroes. You can see that being wrongfully imprisoned for 14 years has changed him a lot. He is still a good person with a good heart, but he is also much more hardened from his life experiences. He'll gladly kill a man in a duel and not lose a wink of sleep over it. The rush he gets when watching executions is something the Edmond Dantès before being imprisoned would have been repulsed by. I like the fact that he isn't the incorruptible hero that can be beaten and tortured to no end and still remain unphased by it, like you often see with fictional heroes.

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SleptLikeANaturalLog t1_itlqzlo wrote

I’ll just point out that it wasn’t (just) imprisonment that made Edmond so desensitized and thrilled by things like public executions. At one point in the story, he talks about how during his travels he forced himself to observe such revolting things in order to harden and prepare him for what would be necessary to exact what he believed to be a divine revenge.

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Cu_Chulainn77 t1_itm0n8y wrote

It's been well over a decade since I read the book, and I really do want to give it another read because there is just so much detail in the story that it's impossible to remember everything. I'm sure that in many ways, it would be like coming back to it the first time, because I'm sure I'd be like "Oh, yeah! I totally forgot about this part!" Maybe this winter after the holidays I can give it another read! I know I would have no problem getting through it again!

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SleptLikeANaturalLog t1_itm9suv wrote

I already want to re-read the chapter in which we meet Villefort chatting with and bragging to his friends and family about wielding so much power in condemning people to prison or worse. I recall that chapter being pretty boring and confusing with the many fanciful names and virtually zero context of their interrelationships. No doubt this was by design. Now that we know the characters, I’m sure Dumas left tons of clues about their personalities and relationships that would actually make the chapter really fun to re-read.

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ComicsNBigBooks OP t1_itl1lsq wrote

You perfectly summed up what I love about the character of Edmond Dantes. Quite possibly one of my favorite protagonists I've read about.

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