Family In The Count Of Monte Cristo

Families are Found, Not Fated

Family is universal, but while many families are composed of people with a common ancestor, some families are voluntary; each member chooses to share kinship’s special intimacy. The Count of Monte Cristo, written by Alexandre Dumas, deals with several themes throughout its text, including the topic of family; unorthodox families, like the ones described above, appear throughout the story. Dumas uses these families to weave issues of kinship and destiny together and challenge the notion that families are definite from birth. Characters in the novel who choose their families, regardless of any biological relationship, illustrate that their choices have a greater impact on their lives than fate.

One of the foremost

The two prisoners grow as devoted as father and son while in prison together, both coming to see each other as a part of their family. When Dantes is offered Faria’s vast treasure, he protests, saying that the treasure belongs to Faria, with Dantes having no claim to it. Faria objects that Dantes is his son, “... the child of my captivity”, given because Faria was a priest and could not have biological children of his own (Dumas 72). Faria views Dantes as his son so strongly that he decides to undertake one of the most important fatherly duties: providing an inheritance. Faria’s bequest is not where his paternal duties end, as Faria also takes on Dantes’s education. It is because of these two gifts that Dantes is ever able to accomplish any of his goals, which is the ultimate familial blessing. Similarly, when Dantes creates disguises using new names

While Noirtier and his granddaughter, Valentine, are biologically related, they have a more intimate bond, with Noirtier serving as a father figure to Valentine. Noirtier is completely disowned by his biological son, Villefort, so without an actual child, Noirtier bonds with his granddaughter. Noirtier manages Valentine’s love life, like an actual father would, ensuring that she is free from her previous, unwanted engagement and vetting Maximilien to make sure he is well-suited to Valentine. Noirtier is even said to “... [wish] to bless [his granddaughter] before [Maxilmilien] leads her to the altar.” (530). Noirtier’s involvement is a stark contrast to Villefort, Valentine’s biological father, who only creates an unsuitable and undesirable match for Valentine and is not even aware of her fiance until mourning at her deathbed. Concerning the fatherly duty of creating a good romantic match, Noirtier fills that role far better than Villefort does. Valentine also fulfills her daughterly duty to Noirtier; she cares for him in his old age and disability, far more than Noirtier’s biological son Villefort. As their duties to each other show, Noirtier and Valentine care for each other as father and