Revenge is a negative force which brings about changes for the worse. Revenge is not a good choice.
Revenge brings about changes for the worse because it is negative and negativity can never produce something good. There is a proverb that says: "They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind". It depicts the consequences of revenge. In religion, people are supposed to turn the other cheek. There is also a saying that "revenge is a dish best served cold". Even Edmond believes in this saying: "Oh, God," said Monte Cristo, "your vengeance may sometimes be slow in coming, but I think that then it is all the more complete" ( Dumas 83.7). When we look at Count of Monte Cristo's actions, his choice is to wait and find his enemies' weaknesses and ruin them.
The Count of Monte Cristo believes to be the divine force that punishes those who wronged him and ruined his life. Those people condemned him to life imprisonment and took away from him everything valuable. They are Danglars, Villefort and Ferdinand, the Count of Morcerf. After years in prison, Edmond, the count of Monte Cristo later, manages to escape and find treasure that his friend from prison, the priest Abbé Faria talked to him about before dying. The priest taught him various skills while in prison.
Abbé Faria: "I regret having helped you in your investigation and said what I did to you," he remarked."Why is that?" Dantès asked."Because I have insinuated a feeling into your heart that was not previously there: the desire for revenge" ( Dumas 17.193-195). The opinion of the priest is that Edmond should not seek revenge but only do good with the treasure that is at his disposal. However, Edmond cannot forget being wrongly accused, the envy of those who accused him and the loss of his fiancée, Mercedes. His father also dies of sorrow, which is a reason for revenge as well.
Upon reuniting with Villefort, Edmond says this: "Ihave been taken by Satan into the highest mountain in the earth, and when there hesaid he to me, ‘Child of earth, what wouldst thou have to make thee adore me?’I replied, ‘ListenI wish to be Providence myself, for I feel that the most beautiful, noblest, most sublime thing in the world, is to recompense and punish" (Dumas 49). Providence is related only to God, so the Count of Monte Cristo is tortured between God and Satan. He knows that vengeance is bad but he can't help himself. Therefore, he seeks divine excuse in his deeds.
"Perhaps you have no enemies, but you may have aroused feelings of jealousy. At the early age of nineteen you are about to receive a captaincy, you are going to marry a beautiful girl who loves you; these two pieces of good fortune may have been the cause of envy" (Dumas 33). This quotation brings us back to the beginning. It is evident that one persons happiness usually provokes the misery of others, who then look for a way to ruin the happy person's life. It is only human for people to suffer and being happy for someone else is a feeling that few people are capable of, especially if they are not satisfied with their lives. Then, they cannot bear the fact that someone else has what they wish for. It is also human for a person to seek revenge. However, no one is allowed to take law into their own hands except for God and the courts of law. That would create chaos in the civilized society. Anyway it is also in human nature to repent for sins and the Count of Monte Cristo does repent in the end. He becomes aware that he is not God and that revenge cannon bring back the past. In the end of this story everybody gets what they deserve.
Works Cited
Dumas, A. The Count of Monte Cristo. New York: Bantam Classics, 1984. Print.
