By Alexandre Dumas

Discussion prompt by Seth Loh

What would you do, if on the happiest day of your life, everything was taken away? Would you have the fortitude and strength of mind to remain hopeful? Would you forgive the men who were the cause of such misfortune? Would you seek vengeance?

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas, follows the story of Edmond Dantes who, on the night of his betrothal feast is arrested, wrongfully accused, and sentenced to a dungeon on an island off the coast of France. He spends 14 years in a dark prison cell learning from a priest and planning an escape. When he miraculously pulls it off, he has lost not only 14 years of his life, but his fiancee has married one of the men who betrayed him, his father has died of hunger, and his other enemy has become one of the richest men in France. One glimmer of hope remained, the priest from the prison left him an immeasurable fortune. Under the guise of various personas, the tale that ensues is one of love, justice, honor, and forgiveness as Dantes acts as both the providence and vengeance of God. 

This novel is one to keep on the shelf. It often reminded me of the struggles king David expressed in the Psalms, the book of job, and the prevailing high calling offered by Christ to his disciples as he “went about his fathers will.” It allows us to question our own callings and our own actions as we wonder if Dantes was truly working on behalf of God or his own desires. As we face our various struggles: pestering neighbors, rivalries, financial hardship, injuries, the loss of loved ones – will we fall victim to despair or will we take Edmond Dantes’s advice and “wait and hope?” Those are just a few of the themes we are here to explore tonight gentlemen, so raise a glass with me as we cheers to our fellowship and dive into our discussion – I only hope the bitter taste that follows is, in fact, the hops…and not Brucine…we know not what secret enemies may be lurking.