Monsieur De Villefort Research Paper

Although Monsieur de Villefort was a blunt and unempathetic man, he often feared his darkest secrets would be revealed. While married to his first wife, Renee, he had an affair with Madame Danglars, who in turn became pregnant. The child was believed to be dead and as Villefort was going to bury the small box containing the body of his child, he was attacked by a man who swore to kill Villefort after he refused to punish the man who killed the attackers brother. The child, who was in fact not dead, was raised by the man who attacked Villefort, named Bertuccio. Bertuccio raised the baby boy, later named Benedetto, with his sister-in-law. Benedetto had sworn to himself to one day reveal who his birth father is to get revenge for him being almost buried alive. Once this information was brought up in a

court, Villefort had to live up to the magnitude of what he had done. “Villefort shook his head. His teeth chattered violently, like those of a man consumed by fever. ‘My mind is perfectly lucid, your honor,’ he said. ‘I acknowledge myself guilty of all the charges this young man has brought against me and I now hold myself at the disposal of the public prosecutor who will be my successor’” (Dumas 479). After his biggest secret, and shame, has been brought up in front of a large portion of the Parisan judicial group, Villefort has no other options other than to confess and own up to his wrong-doing. One can see now that he is starting to realize the humility that comes with being publicly prosecuted. He has spent most of his adult life ingratiating himself with the Parisan society, believing he has many intrinsic rights that others did not. But as this is happening we see Villefort come down from his almost transcendental state and be brought down to the reality which he created for himself. After Villefort has owned up to the accusations on Benedetto, he rushes home to forgive his wife, because before he left to prosecute Benedetto, he told his wife to kill herself. Villefort’s wife had begun to kill off other members of Villefort’s family, starting with his late wife’s mother and father, then Noirtiers trusted servant and friend, and finally Villefort’s daughter Valentine. After becoming knowledgable on the gruesome acts of his wife, Heloise, Villefort explains to her that he is doing her a favor by not bringing her to the guillotine. Just before he leaves, he explains that Heloise must be dead before he returns home or he will take her to the guillotine himself.

Yet after being publicly humiliated, Villefort rushes home in hopes that she has not poisoned herself yet, only to discover that she not only killed herself, but there young son, Edouard. “He began to feel a mounting horror at being alone with those two corpses. A short time before he had been sustained by rage and despair, but now his head was bowed by the crushing weight of his grief, and he, who had never felt pity for anyone, went to see his father in order to have someone to whom he could relate his misfortune, someone at whose side he could weep” (Dumas 484). Villefort ascribes himself for the death of his son, and goes mad with grief and remorse. One can see now, that after Villefort imprisoned Dantes, Dantes gets his revenge, after becoming The Count of Monte Cristo, The Count releases Benedetto from prison and gives him a new name and status in the Parisan society by forging his birth. Benedetto, known as Andrea Cavalcanti, is “son” to a major in the army, and now when he is to be tried in court, much of Paris’ citizens come to

see. This is when Andrea (Benedetto) takes his chance to humiliate Villefort. Now Villefort must live up to the shame of the situation he has been hiding for all these years.