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Dante Alighieri (1265–1321). The Divine
Comedy. |
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Inferno [Hell] |
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Canto III |
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ARGUMENT.—Dante,
following Virgil, comes to the gate of Hell; where, after having read the
dreadful words that are written thereon, they both enter. Here, as he
understands from Virgil, those were punished who had passed their time (for
living it could not be called) in a state of apathy and indifference both to
good and evil. Then, pursuing their way, they arrive at the river Acheron; and
there find the old ferryman Charon, who takes the spirits over to the
opposite shore; which, as soon as Dante reaches, he is seized with terror,
and falls into a trance. |
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Summary
Canto III opens with the inscription
on the gate of Hell. Dante does not fully understand the meaning of the
inscription and asks Virgil to explain it to him. Virgil says that Dante must
try to summon his courage and tells him that this is the place that Virgil told
him previously to expect: the place for the fallen people, those who have lost
the good of intellect.
The poets enter the gate
and the initial sights and sounds of Hell at once assail Dante; he is moved
deeply and horrified by the sight of spirits in deep pain. The unending cries
make Dante ask where they come from, and Virgil replies that these are the
souls of the uncommitted, who lived for themselves, and of the angels who were
not rebellious against God nor faithful to Satan. Neither Heaven nor Hell would
have them, and so they must remain here with the selfish, forever running
behind a banner and eternally stung by hornets and wasps. Worms at their feet
eat the blood and tears of these beings.
Dante wants to learn more
about these souls, but Virgil moves him along to the beach of Acheron where the
ferryman, Charon, tells Dante to leave because Dante is still living and does
not belong there. Charon tells Dante to take a lighter craft from another
shore. Virgil reprimands Charon, saying that it is willed, and what is willed
must happen.
Charon speaks no more,
but by signs, and pushing, he herds the other spirits into the boat. The
boatman strikes with his oars any soul that hesitates. The boat crosses, but
before it lands, the opposite shore is again crowded with condemned souls.
Virgil tells Dante to take comfort in Charon's first refusal to carry him on
the boat, because only condemned spirits come this way.
As Virgil finishes his
explanation, a sudden earthquake, accompanied by wind and flashing fire from
the ground, terrifies Dante to such a degree that he faints.
Analysis
While the inscription is
over the gates of Hell, they first enter the vestibule, that place reserved for
those who did not use their intellect to choose God.
The inscription over the
gate of Hell has a powerful impact: "Abandon every hope, all ye who enter
here." Dante naturally thinks this applies also to him, and in the first
of many passages that cause Dante anguish, Virgil smiles and reassures him.
The inscription above the
gates of Hell implies the horror of total despair. It suggests that anyone may
enter into Hell at any time, and then all hope is lost. Dante cries out that
this sentence is difficult for him to bear. However, this condemnation does not
apply to Dante, because, allegorically, he can still achieve salvation, and
realistically, he is not yet dead so it does not (necessarily) apply to him.
Dante, in this early
canto, is moved to tears and terror at his first sight of Hell. He continues to
be moved until he learns, later, to be unsympathetic towards sin in any form.
This is part of his learning process and his character development throughout
the poem. Dante learns that sin is not to be pitied; however, this lesson takes
him many circles of Hell to learn.
In Canto III, Dante sets
up the intellectual structure of Hell. Hell is the place for those who
deliberately, intellectually, and consciously chose an evil way of life,
whereas Paradise is a place of reward for those who consciously chose a
righteous way of life. Therefore, if Hell is the place for people who made
deliberate and intentional wrong choices, there must be a place for those
people who refused to choose either evil or good. The entrance of Hell is the
proper place for those people who refused to make a choice. People who reside
in Hell's vestibule are the uncommitted of the world, and having been
indecisive in life — that is, never making a choice for themselves — they are
constantly stung into movement.
This explanation is the
first example of the law of retribution, as applied by Dante, where the
uncommitted race endlessly after a wavering (and blank) banner. Because they
were unwilling to shed their blood for any worthy cause in life, their blood is
shed unwillingly, falling to the ground as food for worms.
Among the sinners are the
fallen angels who refused to commit themselves to either God or Lucifer and
stayed neutral. However, a refusal to choose is a choice, an idea Dante uses
that has since become central in existentialist philosophy.
Dante spies Pope
Celestine V, who "made the great refusal" of giving up the chair of
Peter after only five months, thereby clearing the way for Boniface VIII, to
whom Dante was an implacable enemy. Celestine preferred to return to the
obscurity of non-commitment, rather than face the problems of the papacy.
When Charon refuses to
take Dante across the river, he does so because his job is to take only the
dead who have no chance of salvation. Dante, however, is both a living man and
one who still has the possibility of achieving salvation.
Virgil's incantation,
"Thus it is willed there, where what is willed can be done," is a
roundabout way to avoid the word "Heaven," which is repeated in Canto
V. In later cantos, Dante uses other allusions of various kinds.
The shore of the river
Acheron that serves as the outer border of Hell is crowded with more souls than
Dante believed possible. These souls are propelled not by the anger of Charon
alone, but by the sharp prod of Divine Justice, until they desire to make the
crossing. Choosing to cross the river is their final choice, just as their
desire for sin on Earth was also their choice.
Ithaca
Constantine P. Cavafy
Ithaca
When you set out for Ithaka
ask
that your way be long,
full
of adventure, full of instruction.
The
Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry
Poseidon - do not fear them:
such
as these you will never find
as
long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare
emotion
touch your spirit and your body.
The
Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry
Poseidon - you will not meet them
unless
you carry them in your soul,
unless
your soul raise them up before you.
Ask
that your way be long.
At
many a Summer dawn to enter
with
what gratitude, what joy –
ports
seen for the first time;
to
stop at Phoenician trading centres,
and
to buy good merchandise,
mother
of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and
sensuous perfumes of every kind,
sensuous
perfumes as lavishly as you can;
to
visit many Egyptian cities,
to
gather stores of knowledge from the learned.
Have
Ithaka always in your mind.
Your
arrival there is what you are destined for.
But
don't in the least hurry the journey.
Better
it last for years,
so
that when you reach the island you are old,
rich
with all you have gained on the way,
not
expecting Ithaka to give you wealth.
Ithaka
gave you a splendid journey.
Without
her you would not have set out.
She
hasn't anything else to give you.
And
if you find her poor, Ithaka hasn't deceived you.
So
wise you have become, of such experience,
that
already you'll have understood what these Ithakas mean.
Summary of “Ithaca”
by Constantine P Cavafy
Constantine P. Cavafy was a renowned Greek
poet, who worked as a civil servant and journalist. He has published more than
154 poems in which the most important ones were written after he turning forty.
He started his career as a journalist. He published his first poetry from
1891–1904 in the form of broadsheets and those were mainly for his friends. He
is currently considered as one among the finest Greek poets and his poems are
being taught in schools in Greece.
Cavafy
was a perfectionist and so he was very careful in doing his work with every
single line of his poetry. He did not follow the rhyme pattern and by any
chance his poems had, then it was mainly used to show the irony of the context
he wrote. His poems were mainly from his own experience along with a wide and
deep knowledge of history. He is known for his brilliant usage of historical
imaginary.
“Ithaca”
is one among his most important works which was inspired by the Homeric return
journey of Odysseus to his home island. The theme of the poem is the happiness
found in one’s journey of life and how the maturity of the soul increases over
a period of time, still the journey continues and that is all a traveler could
ask for.
This
poem has a great deeper meaning that how it is. This poem when read for the
first time may feel like it shows the voyage of a guy, overcoming some
imaginary difficulties. However in the Greek point of view, it shows an inner
self quest for rediscovering who you really are. It also depicts the
celebration of human nature and achievement of one’s goal, no matter whatever
hurdles you may have to go pass through.
Ithaca is a depiction of
one’s destination in life. Here, in the poem it says that once a destination is
visualized, then no obstacles could defeat you on the journey to reach it.
Everyone sets a goal in
life, no matter whether it is big or small. The question comes, when there are
many difficulties that one has to cross through to reach the goal, whether one
maintains the patience and strength and remains focused to achieve the goal
when we face the extremities of difficulties in life.
However, what happens in
spite striving to achieve the goal, if we have not achieved the goal, then
should w consider ourselves to be failures? The poem says that even we do not
reach our goal; we should not consider ourselves as failures as the first step
to success is to start the voyage to the destination. As during the journey,
each stage offer you an experience that cannot be obtained from elsewhere, each
hurdle is a lesson to be learnt, so that by the time you reach a place,
valuable lessons in life would have been learnt, which is more important.
A great poem, which leaves
the reader initially confused, yet with understanding the inner depth, it make
us realize how important it is to see ourselves focused and inspires us to
remain calm and focused, no matter however difficult and challenging the
situation may be.
Lot’s Wife
- Anna Akhmatova
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And the just man trailed God’s shining agent,over a black mountain, in his giant track,while a restless voice kept harrying his woman:“It’s not too late, you can still look back at the red towers of your native Sodom,the square where once you sang, the spinning-shed,at the empty windows set in the tall housewhere sons and daughters blessed your marriage-bed.” A single glance: a sudden dart of painstitching her eyes before she made a sound . . .Her body flaked into transparent salt,and her swift legs rooted to the ground. Who will grieve for this woman? Does she not seemtoo insignificant for our concern?Yet in my heart I never will deny her,who suffered death because she chose to turn.
Lot’s Wife by Anna Akhmatova,
Translated by Richard Wilbur
This
intriguing poem, ‘Lot’s Wife’, by Anna Akhmatova,
translated by Richard Wilbur, takes an age-old story that has been passed down
from generation to generation and tells it from a new perspective, that of
Lot’s wife. The Genesis story of Lot’s family is told practically, without
giving much insight into emotions or thoughts of the people involved. In fact,
the account reads like a historical document more than a story. As the biblical
story unfolds, readers are given the facts about what happened, but no insight
into the feelings or thoughts of any of the characters are revealed. Lot’s wife
is particularly overlooked in this story, as she turns into a pillar of salt for
disobeying the command of the angel, and is never spoken of again. This poem
gives the reader insight into what might possibly have been going through the
mind of this woman, Lot’s wife, whose name we are never even given.
From the title itself, the reader can
sense that this account is going to be different from the original story. In
the biblical account, Abraham and his wife Sarah are the central focus. Lot and
his wife seem nearly forgotten after their move to the city of Sodom. That is,
until God tells Abraham that he is about to destroy Sodom, and Abraham begs God
to save the righteous from the city. God honors that request, and Lot and his
family are led to safety while the rest of the city burns. But God commands
them not to look back upon the city, and Lot’s wife disobeys that command and
instantly turns into a pillar of salt.
The title of this poem lets the
reader know immediately that the poem will sympathize with Lot’s wife. Though
she is simply a casualty in the original story, she is the central focus of
this poem.
The End and the
Beginning
After
every war
someone
has to clean up.
Things
won’t
straighten
themselves up, after all.
Someone
has to push the rubble
to
the side of the road,
so
the corpse-filled wagons
can
pass.
Someone
has to get mired
in
scum and ashes,
sofa
springs,
splintered
glass,
and
bloody rags.
Someone
has to drag in a girder
to
prop up a wall.
Someone
has to glaze a window,
rehang
a door.
Photogenic
it’s not,
and
takes years.
All
the cameras have left
for
another war.
We’ll
need the bridges back,
and
new railway stations.
Sleeves
will go ragged
from
rolling them up.
Someone,
broom in hand,
still
recalls the way it was.
Someone
else listens
and
nods with unsevered head.
But
already there are those nearby
starting
to mill about
who
will find it dull.
From
out of the bushes
sometimes
someone still unearths
rusted-out
arguments
and
carries them to the garbage pile.
Those
who knew
what
was going on here
must
make way for
those
who know little.
And
less than little.
And
finally as little as nothing.
In
the grass that has overgrown
causes
and effects,
someone
must be stretched out
blade
of grass in his mouth
gazing
at the clouds.
TRANSLATED BY JOANNA TRZECIAK
The End and The
Beginning by Wislawa Szymborska - Summary
The poem "The End
and The Beginning" is penned by a Polish author named Wislawa Szymborska
who was a Nobel laureate for Literature in 1996. The poem depicts the impact of
a war on the affected region and upon its inhabitants and huge destruction and
problems it causes.
After the end of every war, native people have to work hard to clean the mess
and ruins caused due to this violent business. People must clean the roads
blocked by rubble so that the vehicles carrying corpses can pass through.
Someone has to work through sludge and pick all the trash including sofas,
shards of glasses, blood-stained rags. Weak and damaged walls need to to be
repaired and the windows need new glass to be fitted into it. The doors
have to be set back into its frame.
During the war and just after it, a lot of media coverage reached the region so
as to make an exclusive story out of this and show the situation to the outer
world. As there is a universal fact that negativity gets the maximum attention
so media channels use the ongoing affairs to build their audience base. But
when the war ends, then the media cold-shouldered the region and since then
there is no photoshoot, no stuttering sound. According to the poet, all the
media have now gone to cover some other war. The damage done to the
infrastructure i.e bridges, railway station is enormous and people have to
"roll sleeves" of their shirt to work hard to rebuilt all the above.
Due to this work, their shirt would be torn away and turn into
"shreds".
One individual with a broom in his hands wonders about the time before the war
when everything was fine and stable. Another one listens to the conversation
and nods. But most of the people were bored of heeding to implications of war.
Many times, someone raises a buried topic or argument from the past and then
leave it incomplete. People who are aware of the real causes of war must
enlighten other people who know little or nothing about it. Someone would lie
in the grass which "cover up" the real reason for which the war took
place. With a cornstalk (a stem of corn plant) in his mouth, he would stare at
moving clouds.
The Burning Of The Books
-
Bertolt Brecht
When the Regime
commanded the unlawful books to be burned,
teams of dull oxen hauled huge cartloads to the bonfires.
Then a banished writer, one of the best,
scanning the list of excommunicated texts,
became enraged: he'd been excluded!
He rushed to his desk, full of contemptuous wrath,
to write fierce letters to the morons in power —
Burn me! he wrote with his blazing pen —
Haven't I always reported the truth?
Now here you are, treating me like a liar!
Burn me!
Translated by Michael R. Burch
The Burning of the
Books by Bertolt Brecht - Summary
The poem "The
Burning of the Books" is written by Bertolt Brecht, a German dramatist and
poet faced persecution and ban from Nazi Regime of his native country. The poem
was originally written in the German language but later translated into
English by John Willet. It describes the the century-old conflict between the
Ruling class and the Artist community.
In the poem, the Regime passed an executive order to ban books which contain
"harmful knowledge" and they are carried to a place for burning. It
is unknown what constitutes "harmful knowledge", perhaps the Regime
has its own vested interest in banning the books because the content questions
their autocratic rule and represents ideologies opposed to Nazism.
A renowned writer who has been banished from the country checks the list
of banned books and shocked when he can't see his books on the list. He hastens
to his desk "on wings of wrath" i.e angrily and writes a letter to
the rulers of his native country and challenges them to burn him. He further
questions them if his books never reported the truth and by not putting his
books on the list, they are terming the writer as a "liar". He
exclaims with provocation to burn him.
The writer believes that it is honourable for a writer to earn tyrant ruler's
criticism because a genuine and true writer portrays harsh truth which the
Regime curbs and prevent it from spreading among common people. This can lead
to rebellion against the Regime.
UNIT – 3 dRAMA
Oedipus Rex
-
sophocles
When the play opens, Thebes is
suffering a plague which leaves its fields and women barren. Oedipus, the king of Thebes, has sent his
brother-in-law, Creon, to the house of Apollo to ask the
oracle how to end the plague. Creon returns, bearing good news: once the killer
of the previous king, Laius, is found, Thebes will be cured of the plague
(Laius was Jocasta's husband before she married Oedipus).
Hearing this, Oedipus swears he will find the murderer and banish him. The
Chorus (representing the people of Thebes) suggests that Oedipus consult Teiresias, the blind prophet. Oedipus tells
them that he has already sent for Teiresias.
When Teiresias arrives, he seems reluctant to answer
Oedipus's questions, warning him that he does not want to know the answers.
Oedipus threatens him with death, and finally Teiresias tells him that Oedipus
himself is the killer, and that his marriage is a sinful union. Oedipus takes
this as an insult and jumps to the conclusion that Creon paid Teiresias to say
these things. Furious, Oedipus dismisses him, and Teiresias goes, repeating as
he does, that Laius's killer is right here before him - a man who is his
father's killer and his mother's husband, a man who came seeing but will leave
in blindness.
Creon enters, asking the people around him if it is true that
Oedipus slanderously accused him. The Chorus tries to mediate, but Oedipus
appears and charges Creon with treason. Jocasta and the Chorus beg Oedipus to
be open-minded: Oedipus unwillingly relents and allows Creon to go. Jocasta
asks Oedipus why he is so upset and he tells her what Teiresias prophesied.
Jocasta comforts him by telling him that there is no truth in oracles or
prophets, and she has proof. Long ago an oracle told Laius that his own son
would kill him, and as a result he and Jocasta gave their infant son to a
shepherd to leave out on a hillside to die with a pin through its ankles.
Yet Laius was killed by robbers, not by his own son, proof
that the oracle was wrong. But something about her story troubles Oedipus; she
said that Laius was killed at a place where three roads meet, and this reminds
Oedipus of an incident from his past, when he killed a stranger at a place
where three roads met. He asks her to describe Laius, and her description
matches his memory. Yet Jocasta tells him that the only eyewitness to Laius's
death, a herdsman, swore that five robbers killed him. Oedipus summons this
witness.
While they wait for the man to arrive, Jocasta asks Oedipus
why he seems so troubled. Oedipus tells her the story of his past. Once when he
was young, a man he met told him that he was not his father's son. He asked his
parents about it, and they denied it. Still it troubled him, and he eventually
went to an oracle to determine his true lineage. The oracle then told him that
he would kill his father and marry his mother. This prophecy so frightened
Oedipus that he left his hometown and never returned. On his journey, he
encountered a haughty man at a crossroads - and killed the man after suffering
an insult.
Oedipus is afraid that the stranger he killed might have been
Laius. If this is the case, Oedipus will be forever banished both from Thebes
(the punishment he swore for the killer of Laius) and from Corinth, his
hometown. If this eyewitness will swear that robbers killed Laius, then Oedipus
is exonerated. He prays for the witness to deliver him from guilt and from
banishment. Oedipus and Jocasta enter the palace to wait for him.
Jocasta comes back out of the palace, on her way to the holy
temples to pray for Oedipus. A messenger arrives from Corinth with the news
that Oedipus's father Polybus is dead. Overjoyed, Jocasta sends for Oedipus,
glad that she has even more proof in the uselessness of oracles. Oedipus
rejoices, but then states that he is still afraid of the rest of the oracle's
prophecy: that he will marry his mother. The messenger assures him that he need
not fear approaching Corinth - since Merope, his mother, is not really his
mother, and moreover, Polybus wasn't his father either. Stunned, Oedipus asks
him how he came to know this. The messenger replies that years ago a man gave a
baby to him and he delivered this baby to the king and queen of Corinth - a
baby that would grow up to be Oedipus the King.
The injury to Oedipus's ankles is a testament to the truth of
his tale, because the baby's feet had been pierced through the ankles. Oedipus
asks the messenger who gave the baby to him, and he replies that it was one of
Laius's servants. Oedipus sends his men out to find this servant. The messenger
suggests that Jocasta should be able to help identify the servant and help
unveil the true story of Oedipus's birth. Suddenly understanding the terrible
truth, Jocasta begs Oedipus not to carry through with his investigation.
Oedipus replies that he swore to unravel this mystery, and he will follow
through on his word. Jocasta exits into the palace.
Oedipus again swears that he will figure out this secret, no
matter how vile the answer is. The Chorus senses that something bad is about to
happen and join Jocasta's cry in begging the mystery to be left unresolved.
Oedipus's men lead in an old shepherd, who is afraid to answer Oedipus's
questions. But finally he tells Oedipus the truth. He did in fact give the
messenger a baby boy, and that baby boy was Laius's son - the same son that
Jocasta and Laius left on a hillside to die because of the oracle's prophecy.
Finally the truth is clear - devastated, Oedipus exits into
the palace. A messenger reveals that he grabbed a sword and searched for
Jocasta with the intent to kill her. Upon entering her chamber, however, he
finds that she has hanged herself. He takes the gold brooches from her dress
and gouges his eyes out. He appears onstage again, blood streaming from his now
blind eyes. He cries out that he, who has seen and done such vile things, shall
never see again. He begs the Chorus to kill him. Creon enters, having heard the
entire story, and begs Oedipus to come inside, where he will not be seen.
Oedipus begs him to let him leave the city, and Creon tells him that he must
consult Apollo first. Oedipus tells him that banishment was the punishment he
declared for Laius's killer, and Creon agrees with him. Before he leaves
forever, however, Oedipus asks to see his daughters and begs Creon to take care
of them. Oedipus is then led away, while Creon and the girls go back in the
palace. The Chorus, alone, laments Oedipus' tragic fate and his doomed lineage.
Characters
of Oedipus Rex
Oedipus
Oedipus
is the king of Thebes, married to Jocasta. He is unaware, at the start of the
play, that he has murdered his father and slept with his mother. Soon he learns
that it was he that put his kingdom at such terrible risk, and blinds himself
using a brooch. He has a 'tell-tale limp', a piercing wound in his ankles, made
as a child by the father who exposed him. This echoes his name, which roughly
translates as 'swollen-feet'. In line with most tragic 'heroes,' Oedipus has a
clear hamartia - or tragic flaw - which precipitates his woeful fate. in this
case, it's his pride, which allows him to disbelieve the Gods and hunt the
source of a plague instead of looking inside himself. That said, Oedipus'
hamartia is not always so clear - since it appears that his prideful sins
occurred long before the start of the play. Indeed, Oedipus' greatest sin
appears to take place when he kills a man at a roadside in a fit of temper,
suggesting that no deed goes unpunished. Ultimately, however, Oedipus must pay
the price for dismissing Teiresias' judgment and the Oracle's prophecy, as yet
another reminder that the Gods are infinitely more powerful than men.
Jocasta
Jocasta
is the wife and mother of Oedipus and queen of Thebes. Before marrying Oedipus,
she was married to Laius. She commits suicide at the end of the play, perhaps
in guilt that she left Oedipus to die as a baby, thus precipitating his course
towards a tragic end for their whole family.
Teiresias
Teiresias
is the blind prophet, led by a small boy, who knows the truth about Oedipus's
parentage. Oedipus calls on him to find Laius's killer but becomes furious when
Teiresias claims that Oedipus himself is the killer. Teiresias's words,
however, prove true ultimately, suggesting that he is a mouthpiece for the Gods
and an oracle to be trusted far more than the convictions and hopes of man.
Teiresias is often represented as being part-male, part-female in classical
literature.
Creon
Creon
is Jocasta's brother, who shares one third of Thebes's riches with Oedipus and
Jocasta. He is a devout follower of the oracle of Apollo, and as the play
opens, he is returning from the oracle with the news that Laius's killer must
be found. He is a loyal friend to Oedipus, and ultimately remains forgiving and
kind to Oedipus even when Oedipus turns on him and suggests he is conspiring
against him. He is to take over Thebes after Oedipus' exile.
Messenger from
Corinth
The
Messenger from Corinth arrives to tell Oedipus that his father, Polybus, is
dead, and that the people of Corinth wish Oedipus to be their new king. He also
reveals to Oedipus, however, that Polybus and Meropé are not his real parents.
He says that long ago a stranger from Thebes gave him a baby as a gift to the
king and queen of Corinth. This baby was, of course, Oedipus who would grow up
to be king himself. The Messenger, then, provides the audience with the first
real clue of dramatic irony that suggests that Teiresias' words (and those of
the Oracle) are true - long before Oedipus discovers their veracity.
Herdsman
The
Herdsman gives Laius' and Jocasta's baby to the messenger upon their orders -
and is also the same man who witnessed Laius's death. When he returns to Thebes
and sees that the man who killed Laius is the new king, he asks leave to flee
from the city. Oedipus sends for him when the messenger alludes to his intimate
knowledge of the crime, in the hopes of discovering the identity of his true
parents. He then reveals that the baby he gave to the messenger was Laius and
Jocasta's son, adding one of the last pieces to the puzzle that will implicate
Oedipus as the source of the kingdom's plague.
Priest
The
Priest's followers make sacrifices to the gods at the beginning of the play,
hoping that the gods will lift the plague that has struck the city. At this
point, the followers believe that the Gods have punished the city for some sin
that must be rooted out. Oedipus, then, takes it upon himself to visit the
Oracle to determine whose sin it is and for how it might be atoned.
Second Messenger
The
Second Messenger is a servant of Oedipus and Jocasta who tells Oedipus and the
Chorus of Jocasta's suicide.
Ismene and
Antigone
Ismene
and Antigone are Oedipus's young daughters who are led out at the end of the
play. Oedipus laments the fact that they will never find husbands with such a
cursed lineage and begs Creon to take care of them. Antigone, in the Oedipus at Colonus, will become her father's guide.
Chorus of Theban
Elders
The
Chorus of Theban Elders is a group of men who serve as an emotional sounding
board and expositional device in the play, reflecting on the plot developments
while asking important philosophical questions. The Chorus speaks as one
person, but occasionally, single Chorus members would have delivered lines.
They might be considered somewhat meta-theatrical - operating within the
confines of the play while also having the power to step outside the boundaries
of the mundane plot.
Themes
Light and
darkness
Darkness
and light are tightly wound up with the theme of sight and blindness in Sophocles' play. Oedipus - and all the other characters,
save for Teiresias - is 'in the dark' about his
own origins and the murder of Laius. Teiresias, of course, is literally 'in the
dark' with his own blindness - and yet manages to have sight over everything
that is to follow. After Oedipus finds out what has happened, he bemoans the
way everything has indeed "come to light".
Sight and
blindness
Teiresias
holds the key to the link between sight and blindness - for even though he is
blind, he can still see and predict the future (if not the present). At the end
of the play, moreover, Oedipus blinds himself, because what he has
metaphorically seen (i.e. realized) leaves him unable to face his family or his
parents in the afterlife). As with the previous theme, sight/blindness operate
both literally and metaphorically within the play. Indeed, literal sight is
juxtaposed with 'insight' or 'foresight'.
Origins and
children
Oedipus
embarks upon a search for his own origins, and - though he does not realize it
- for his real parents. As the child of his own wife, and thus father and
brother to his children, Sophocles explores various interrelationships between
where things began and who fathered who. Similarly, the play itself works
backwards towards a revelatory start: the story has, in effect, already
happened - and Oedipus is forced to discover his own history.
Youth and age
'Man'
is the answer to the Sphinx's question, and the aging of man is given key
significance in the course of the play. Oedipus himself goes from childlike
innocence to a blinded man who needs to be led by his children. Oedipus, it
might be said, ages with the discovery of his own shortcomings as a man. In
learning of his own weaknesses and frailties, he loses his innocence
immediately.
UNIT-2
SHORT STORY
The
Guest
Albert Camus
The Guest follows the story of Daru, who is a schoolteacher in a remote
plateau region. The area has gone through a draught, but recently a blizzard
has passed through, leaving everything covered in snow. This has kept away
Daru's pupils.
The
narrative opens as Daru watches two men approach his schoolhouse. He watches
them climb the hill. One of the men, a gendarme named Balducci, is very familiar to Daru. He leads
an Arab prisoner who has been accused of murdering his cousin in a family
squabble. Balducci has been ordered to bring the Arab to Daru, and then return
immediately to his post. Likewise, Daru has orders to turn in the prisoner to
police headquarters at a town approximately twenty kilometers away. Daru
refuses this task, considering it dishonorable. Balducci agrees with the
schoolmaster, but insists that in war men must be prepared to do many different
jobs. The gendarme is insulted by Daru's stubborn refusal, and leaves in anger.
Daru feeds the Arab and spends the
night sleeping in the same room as the prisoner. During the night the Arab gets
up for water, and Daru mistakenly thinks he has escaped. The next day Daru
leads the Arab to a point on the plateau, and equips him with money and food
supplies. He points him in the direction of imprisonment, and then also points
him in the direction away from police headquarters, where he will find shelter
with the native people. He leaves the Arab with the choice, but when he looks
back, he is upset to see the Arab ultimately chooses the direction leading
towards imprisonment. The story ends with Daru looking out the window of his
school house.Character List
Daru
He
watches Balducci and the Arab approach the schoolhouse at the start of the
narrative. The schoolhouse is his home, although with the sudden snow none of
his pupils attend anymore. He spends the blizzard in his room, only leaving it
to feed the chickens, get coal, or go to the shed. The administration has given
him wheat to distribute to his pupils. During the draught he felt like a lord
in his crude house because he was surrounded by complete and utter poverty. He
is from this region, which is described as cruel, but he feels exiled anywhere
else. Daru argues against delivering the Arab to Tinguit, and is plunged into a
state of moral despair at the end of the narrative when he realizes that the
Arab has chosen certain imprisonment.
Balducci
Balducci
is the man on the horse who leads the Arab up the hill to Daru. He holds the
horse back so not to hurt the Arab. Once within earshot he shouts a greeting to
Daru. He is an old gendarme and has known Daru for a long time. He looks upon
Daru as a son, but is insulted by Daru's refusal to turn in the Arab. It is
Balducci who first speaks of a revolt, and speaks about the obligations that
men face during war. He clearly longs for a peaceful retirement, but is
resigned to his duties.
The Arab
The
Arab is being led by Balducci. He walks while the gendarme rides a horse, and
his hands are tied. He keeps his head bowed, which fascinates Daru, and does
not raise his head once during the ascent. He wears a blue jellaba, sandals,
and a cheche on his head. He is very timid and fearful throughout the
narrative, and even does not try to escape despite many opportunities. At the
end, he decides to walk towards imprisonment, and in this way symbolizes the
absurdity and despair of the human condition.
A Christmas Tree and a Wedding
A Christmas Tree and a
Wedding is a short story written by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky published in 1848. The piece is narrated by an awkward outcast attending
a Christmas party. He observes the party's guest of honor and takes special
interest in one of the children.
The narrator
begins by mentioning to the reader that he had just been to a wedding but
recalls a Christmas party that he had found more interesting.
The party was given with the pretext of being a children's
party, but its real purpose was for the wealthy host's family to talk business
with rich members of the community. The wealthiest guest was Julian
Mastakovich, a rotund landowner.
Without anyone to talk to, the narrator fell to simply
observing the guests. The narrator takes particular interest in the children.
They were given gifts in accordance with their social standing. The
eleven-year-old daughter of a wealthy government contractor received an
expensive doll, while the poorest child, the son of the family governess,
received only a small book without illustrations or even a front and back
cover.
After being bullied by the other richer boys, the poor boy
retreats to another room where he and the rich daughter play happily with the
doll. Julian Matsakovich also retreats from the rest of the crowd to observe
the rich daughter, who already had a dowry set aside of 300,000 rubles. As Mastakovich observes
the girl, he calculates what her dowry (with interest) would be at age sixteen,
and he comes up with the astounding sum of 500,000 rubles.
Mastakovich approaches the girl and kisses her on the head.
The girl recoils from his gesture, and she looks to her playmate for
protection. Mastakovich tries to scare the poor boy away while trying to get a
promise of love from the young girl, and eventually he causes a scene where he
chases the poor boy around the party, whipping at him with his handkerchief.
The wedding that the narrator came across five years later
was indeed the wedding between Julian Mastakovich and the rich girl, now
sixteen .
Film
adaptation
A Christmas Tree and a Wedding was adapted into a film of the
same name, directed by Will Wallace and released in 2000.
ONE AUTUMN NIGHT
-
Maxim Gorky
Aleksei Peshkov known to us as Maxim Gorky (1868 –
1936), was a great writer of his time. He wrote his stories drawing
experiences out of his own life. His sympathy always resided with the poor
and miserable. He wrote an autobiography, plays and longer fiction during
his mature days. Mother and The Lower Depths are important works of Gorky
This story ‘One Autumn Night’ is about two young and miserable people who spent
a night
together one autumn season. The young man, the narrator is eighteen years of
age. He had sold his clothes for small sums of money in order to drive
away hunger. But that money was also spent and the autumn night was
miserable and cold. While he was walking along meditating about
great things in the world, he saw a creature in woman’s dress digging
behind a crate. He asked her what she was doing. She replied that she was
trying to get some food out of the crate.
The narrator then helped her. The crate was closed on
the underside. So they broke the lock open, took some bread, hastily
pushed it into their mouth and ran away together. They took shelter under
an upturned canoe. The night was cold and soon the young man could not
bear it. He was chattering and muttering, when the girl went to his help.
She stretched herself over the narrator giving him the warmth of her body.
The selfless act on the part of the poor miserable girl soothed
and perplexed him at the same time.
In between, the girl unravels her story to the narrator. Her name is Natasha.
She is in love with Pashka, a baker. At first he was very good to her. But
later he began torturing her. To add to her misery Pashka started moving
around with another girl named Dimka. This was too much for poor Natasha.
She was ready to bear torture but not this. So she protested and Pashka
punished her so much that she was forced to run away with all the bruises
on her face and heart.
Here the narrator reflects on how a girl who is not learned, who does not know
about the big world, selflessly helps him by keeping him warm. The
narrator who knows the world is vain, selfcentered and had a very low opinion
about women. But all his vain ideas seemed to vanish in the presence of
Natasha. The experience of that autumn night was an eye opener for the young
man. It changed his view of the world. He realized that life is an
invaluable book that teaches worthy lessons.
The Blizzard
-
Alexander
Pushkin
This
story was told to Belkin by Miss K.I.T., who herself is not involved in the
story. The Blizzard, also translated as "The Snowstorm"
(Russian Метель), concerns a young noblewoman, Marya
Gavrilovna (Gavrilovna is a patronymic, not a
surname), and her young lover, a lieutenant named Vladimir. The reason for
their relationship is not specifically given, but the story famously states
"Marya Gavrilovna was raised on French novels and consequently was in
love." Marya Gavrilovna's parents do not approve of the relationship due
to the difference in social status between the two lovers, and Marya Gavrilovna
and her attendant conspire with Vladimir to elope and marry in a secret
midnight ceremony in a nearby village. At first, Marya Gavrilovna agrees to the
plan, but as the ceremony approaches, she feels more and more anxious. On the
night the ceremony is to take place, she almost doesn't go as in addition to
her growing anxiety, a terrible snowstorm is occurring, but her attendant
persuades her to.
Meanwhile, Vladimir sets out from his military encampment on
his way to the church. However, he becomes lost in severe blizzard conditions
and cannot find his way. He stops at a small hamlet to obtain directions from
locals only to find that he has been going the wrong direction the entire night
and is too far from the church to make it to the ceremony on time. The next
morning, Marya Gavrilovna returns home and goes to sleep as if nothing has
happened, but she soon grows gravely ill and becomes delirious with fever.
During her semiconscious state, she mumbles many things, one of which is her
plan to elope with Vladimir. Upon hearing this, Marya Gavrilovna's parents
grant permission for her to marry Vladimir, but they attempt to contact him,
they receive a letter from him stating that he is off with the army, and the
narrator informs the reader that soon after Vladimir is killed in the Battle of
Borodino.
After this, Marya Gavrilovna and her family move to a new
estate, and after some time, suitors come to seek Marya Gavrilovna's hand in
marriage. Marya Gavrilovna, apparently still in love with Vladimir, turns them
all away except for a hussar named Burmin. Their relationship progresses, until
one day, Marya Gavrilovna is reading by a lake, and knows that when Burmin
comes to visit her that day, he will ask to marry her. He proceeds to tell her
that though he loves her, he cannot marry her because one night, several years
ago, he was traveling during a snowstorm when he became lost. Pulling into a
small town, he is met by a priest, who tells him he is late for the wedding. He
is brought into the hall where Marya Gavrilovna had been awaiting Vladimir. The
ceremony is carried out, but as Burmin turns to kiss the bride, Marya
Gavrilovna faints. Upon concluding this story, Burmin tells Marya Gavrilovna
that he still feels faithful to his wife, even though he does not know who she
is. Marya Gavrilovna asks him why he does not recognize her, and each realizing
the other's identity, they collapse into one another's arms.
Themes and Meanings
In 1830, while Pushkin was in seclusion at Boldino, he
wrote Povesti Belkina(1831; The Tales of Belkin,
1947), an experiment with a new form for him, prose narration. Actually he was
breaking new ground for his nation; these five tales, of which “The Blizzard”
is one, are among the first Russian short stories. Tolstoy himself credited
them with having influenced his own style.
As
Pushkin began writing narrative prose, he was in turn influenced by Sir Walter
Scott. Like Scott, he headed his stories with suitable quotations, used
fictitious narrators, and created highly romantic situations and characters. In
Scott’s St. Ronan’s Well (1823), as in “The Blizzard,” the
heroine does not realize that she has married the wrong man until after the
ceremony. Like Scott in The Bride of Lammermoor (1819),
Pushkin uses the providential hand of nature (in both cases, a storm is used)
to effect the action. The blizzard prevents Vladimir from arriving at his
wedding on time and brings Burmin to the church where he thoughtlessly marries
the unheeding Marya.
Pushkin,
however, makes the outcome of the narrative depend also on the choices his
characters make. Vladimir chooses to send his servant to bring Marya to the
church rather than doing so himself. Burmin irresponsibly takes advantage of
the wedding party’s ignorance when they mistake him for the groom. Later, after
being wounded in battle and falling in...
Emile Zola (1840-1903)
Emile Zola was
one of the most extraordinary writers of the last century. With limitless
energy and scrupulous pains he constructed an imposing edifice of novels and
tales, the epic of a certain French family. He preached the doctrine of
Naturalism, believing that every novel or story should be based upon what he
called a “human document”.
Opinions still
differ as to his importance as an artist. There is no doubt, however, that he
influenced most of the fiction writers who have followed him. The prevailing
tone of his work is tragic and the details sordid, but he occasionally turned
to the purely fantastic. In the Tales for Nation (1864), one of his very
earliest productions, he delights in relating a number of delicate fairy tales.
The Fairy Amoureuse is one of the most charming of these tales.
The present
version is translated by Barrett H. Clark, and appears in this collection for
the first time in English.
She had her room
in a turret in a distant part of the castle, and spent her time embroidering
lovely banners; she found repose in praying to God and in looking out of her
window at the emerald landscape and the azure sky. How often, at night, had she
risen from her bed and gone to the window to gaze at the stars! How often had
the heart of this sixteen-year-old child leaped up toward the vasty spaces of
the heavens, asking her radiant sisters of the firmament what it was that so
troubled her!
And after these
sleepless nights, these first stirrings of her yet unconscious love, she would
have strange promptings urging her to embrace the rough old knight her uncle.
But a short answer or a stern glance would check her impulse, and all atremble
she would take up her needle again. You are sorry, Nanon, for the poor child:
she was like a fresh-scented flower whose loveliness and scent are alike
spurned.
One day as poor
Odette was sitting at her window following with her eyes the flight of two
doves, she heard a soft voice far below her at the foot of the castle wall. She
leaned out and saw a handsome young man who, with a song on his lips, demanded
hospitality of the inmates of the castle. Though she listened intently, she
could not understand what he said, but the sweet voice made her heart heavy,
and the tears ran slowly down her cheeks, wetting the sprig of marjoram which
she held in her hand.
But the castle
gates were not opened, and a man-at-arms cried out from the walls:
“Stand back.
Only soldiers are admitted here.”
Odette continued
to look out of the window. She let slip the flower from her hand, still wet
with her tears. It fell near the feet of the singer who, raising his eyes and
seeing the fair hair of the girl, kissed the sprig and turned away, though he
stopped at every step to look back. After he had disappeared, Odette went to
her prie-dieu and prayed a long time. She gave thanks to heaven, she knew not
why; she felt happy, though she did not suspect the reason of her happiness.
And that night
she dreamed a beautiful dream. She saw again the sprig of marjoram she had
thrown to the young man. Slowly, out of the midst of the quivering leaves,
there emerged a tiny fairy, with flame-colored wings, a crown of myosotis and a
long robe of green, the color of hope.
“Odette,” said
the fairy in a soothing voice, “I am the Fairy Amoureuse. It was I who sent the
young man Lois to you this morning— the young man with the enchanting voice. It
was I who, seeing your tears, wanted to dry them. I go about the world seeking
lonely hearts and bringing together those who sigh in solitude. I visit the
peasant` hut as well as the lord` manor, and at times I see fit to unite the
shepherd` crook with the king` scepter.
I sow flowers
under the feet of those I protect. I enthrall them with bonds so precious and
sweet that their hearts throb with joy. My home is among the green things that
grow, the forest paths, and in winter-time among the glowing logs on the
hearth, in the rooms of husbands and wives. Wherever I set my foot there are
kisses and tenderness. Cry no more, Odette, I am Amoureuse, the good Fairy, who
have come to dry your tears.”
Then she
disappeared again into her flower, which closed once more and became an
ordinary bud.
You know, of
course, Nanon, that the Fairy Amoureuse really exists. Watch her dancing in our
own home, and pity the poor people who donssss’sssst believe in her.
When Odette awoke
next morning a ray of sunshine lighted up her room, the song of a bird rose to
her high tower and the morning breeze, scented with the first kiss of the
flowers, caressed her bright tresses. She rose, happy, and spent the whole day
singing, hoping that the Fairy` prophecy would come true. Sometimes she would
scan the countryside, smiling at each swiftly flying bird, and feeling within
her breast something that made her happy and forced her to clap her hands with
joy.
When evening
came she descended into the great hall. Near the Count Enguerrand was a knight
who listened respectfully to what the old man was saying. Odette seated herself
before the fireplace, where a cricket was chirping, and busily plied her ivory
distaff.
As she worked,
she cast glances from time to time at the stranger knight, and once she caught
sight of the sprig of marjoram, which he held tight in one hand. By that sign,
and by his sweet voice, she recognized Lois. She almost cried aloud for joy,
but in order to conceal her blushes she leaned forward toward the glowing logs,
and shook the fire with a long iron rod.
The flames
darted upwards in a brilliant array, and all at once out of the shower of
sparks the Fairy Amou¬reuse sprang up smiling. Shaking from her green silk robe
the bits of burning wood that looked like grains of pure gold, she made off
into the great hall where, invisible to the Count, she stood just behind the
two young people, while the old warrior went on busily relating the details of
a frightful battle with the Infidels. The Fairy spoke in a soothing undertone:
“You must love
each other, my children. Leave to the old the mem¬ories of youth, and the
telling of long tales by the fireside. Let your kisses be the only sound to
mingle with the crackling logs. Later will be time enough to mitigate the
sorrows of old age by remembering the happy hours long past. When you love at
sixteen, words are of no avail: a single look tells more than a lengthy
discourse. Love each other, my children, and let old age prate.”
Then she covered
the two with her wings so completely that the Count, who was explaining how the
Giant Buch the Iron-headed was killed by a great blow from the hand of Giralda
of the Heavy Sword, could not see when Lois implanted his first kiss on the
brow of the trembling Odette.
Anyone` hearing the kisses
Now I must tell
you, Nanon, about those beautiful wings of the Fairy Amoureuse. They were as
transparent as glass and as delicate as the wings of a fly. But when two lovers
are in danger of being seen, they grow and grow and become so thick and so
opaque that they shut off the view of anything behind them and prevent anyone`
hearing the kisses. And so the old man went on and on with his wondrous tale,
while Lois continued to caress the fair Odette, right in the presence of the
wicked old lord.
Good heavens,
what wonderful wings they were! Young girls, I am told, discover them for
themselves, and more than one has succeeded in concealing herself from her
grandparents. Isnssss’sssst that so, Nanon?
Well, when the
Count had at last brought to a close his lengthy discourse, the Fairy Amoureuse
disappeared again into the fire, and Lois withdrew after thanking his host and
throwing a farewell kiss to Odette. The girl was so happy that she dreamed that
night of mountains studded with flowers made bright by millions of stars, each
of them a thousand times more radiant than the sun.
Next morning she
went down into the garden, wandering from arbor to arbor. In one of them she
came upon a man-at-arms, bowed to him and was about to pass on, when she
noticed a sprig of marjoram in his hand, still wet with tears, and recognized
again her Lois. He had come to the castle under a new disguise.
He made her sit
down on a grassy bank near a fountain, and they gazed into each other` eyes, delighted
to be able to see each other` features by the light of day. The warblers sang,
and the two lovers felt that the Fairy Amoureuse must surely be hovering about
in the air near them.
I shanssss’sssst
tell you all that the discreet old oak-trees heard that morn¬ing. It was
pleasant to watch the boy and the girl sitting there chatting hour after hour,
so long indeed that one warbler found ample time to build herself a nest in a
nearby bush.
Suddenly the
heavy footsteps of Count Enguerrand were heard in the garden walk. The lovers
trembled, but the water of the fountain rippled more sweetly than ever, and
Amoureuse rose out of the crystal stream, a smile on her face. She covered the
lovers with her wings, and quickly slipped between them and the Count, who was
greatly surprised to hear voices and yet see no one at all.
Holding her
friends in her embrace, she repeated to them in a soft undertone:
“I am she who
protects love, who closes the eyes and ears of those who no longer love. Fear
nothing, dear lovers: love each other in this beautiful clear sunlight, in
these garden walks, by the side of these fountains, wherever you happen to be.
I am with you, watching over you. God has sent me among men, and they who scoff
at sacred things shall never interrupt you. God gave me these beautiful wings,
telling me, ssss’ssssGo, and let the hearts of the young rejoice!ssss’ssss Love
each other, while I keep guard over you.”
Then she darted
off, gathering dew off the foliage (her only nour¬ishment), and taking with her
in her joyous round Odette and Lois, whose arms were ever interlaced.
You will ask me
what the lovers did next? Really, my dear, I hardly dare tell you. Issss’ssssm
afraid you would not believe me, or be jealous of their happiness, and refuse
to return my kisses. Naughty girl, you are curious, arenssss’sssst you? I see I
shall have to satisfy your curiosity.
Know then, that
the Fairy flew hither and thither until nightfall, and when she tried to
separate her lovers, she found them so reluctant that she had to give them a
good talking-to. It seems (for her voice was low) that she said things so
beautiful that their faces lighted up and their eyes opened wide from
happiness. And after she had done speaking and they consented to her proposal,
she touched their fore¬heads with her magic wand.
Suddenly—oh,
Nanon, how big your eyes are! And how you would tap your little foot if I were
to refuse to tell you the sequel! Suddenly, Lois and Odette were changed into
stalks of marjoram, so large and magnificent that only a fairy could have made
them so. There they were, side by side, so close that their leaves were
entwined. Marvelous flowers they were; they would bloom forever, and eternally
mingle their perfumes and their dew.
As for the Count
Enguerr and, they say he consoled himself by relating every single night the
story of the Giant Buch the Iron-Headed and how he was killed by a great blow
from the hand of Giralda of the Heavy Sword.
And now, Nanon,
when we go to the country, we shall look for the two magic marjorams and ask
them in which flower we may find the Fairy Amoureuse. Perhaps, my dear, there
is a little moral hidden in this tale. However, I have told it to you here, as
we sit stretched out before the hearth, just in order to make you forget the
December rain beating against our windows, and in the hope that it will inspire
you to love a little more the young man who told it to you.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
-
At the age of nineteen,
Edmond Dantès seems to have the perfect life. He is about to become the captain
of a ship, he is engaged to a beautiful and kind young woman, Mercédès, and he
is well liked by almost everyone who knows him. This perfect life, however, stirs
up dangerous jealousy among some of Dantès’s so-called friends. Danglars, the
treasurer of Dantès’s ship, envies Dantès’s early career success;
FernandMondego is in love with Dantès’s fiancée and so covets his amorous
success; his neighbor Caderousse is simply envious that Dantès is so much
luckier in life than he is.
Together, these three men draft a
letter accusing Dantès of treason. There is some truth to their accusations: as
a favor to his recently deceased captain, Dantès is carrying a letter from
Napoleon to a group of Bonapartist sympathizers in Paris. Though Dantès himself
has no political leanings, the undertaking is enough to implicate him for
treason. On the day of his wedding, Dantès is arrested for his alleged crimes.
The deputy public prosecutor,
Villefort, sees through the plot to frame Dantès and is prepared to set him
free. At the last moment, though, Dantès jeopardizes his freedom by revealing
the name of the man to whom he is supposed to deliver Napoleon’s letter. The
man, Noirtier, is Villefort’s father. Terrified that any public knowledge of
his father’s treasonous activities will thwart his own ambitions, Villefort
decides to send Dantès to prison for life. Despite the entreaties of Monsieur
Morrel, Dantès’s kind and honest boss, Dantès is sent to the infamous Château
d’If, where the most dangerous political prisoners are kept.
While in prison, Dantès meets
AbbéFaria, an Italian priest and intellectual, who has been jailed for his
political views. Faria teaches Dantès history, science, philosophy, and
languages, turning him into a well-educated man. Faria also bequeaths to Dantès
a large treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo, and he tells him how to
find it should he ever escape. When Faria dies, Dantès hides himself in the
abbé’s shroud, thinking that he will be buried and then dig his way out.
Instead, Dantès is thrown into the sea, and is able to cut himself loose and
swim to freedom.
Dantès travels to Monte Cristo and
finds Faria’s enormous treasure. He considers his fortune a gift from God,
given to him for the sole purpose of rewarding those who have tried to help him
and, more important, punishing those who have hurt him. Disguising himself as
an Italian priest who answers to the name of Abbé Busoni, he travels back to
Marseilles and visits Caderousse, who is now struggling to make a living as an
innkeeper. From Caderousse he learns the details of the plot to frame him. In
addition, Dantès learns that his father has died of grief in his absence and
that Mercédès has married FernandMondego. Most frustrating, he learns that both
Danglars and Mondego have become rich and powerful and are living happily in
Paris. As a reward for this information, and for Caderousse’s apparent regret
over the part he played in Dantès’s downfall, Dantès gives Caderousse a
valuable diamond. Before leaving Marseilles, Dantès anonymously saves Morrel
from financial ruin.
Ten years later, Dantès emerges in
Rome, calling himself the Count of Monte Cristo. He seems to be all knowing and
unstoppable. In Rome Dantès ingratiates himself to Albert de Morcerf, son of
FernandMondego and Mercédès, by saving him from bandits. In return for the
favor, Albert introduces Dantès to Parisian society. None of his old cohorts
recognize the mysterious count as Edmond Dantès, though Mercédès does. Dantès
is thus able to insinuate himself effortlessly into the lives of Danglars,
Mondego, and Villefort. Armed with damning knowledge about each of them that he
has gathered over the past decade, Dantès sets an elaborate scheme of revenge
into motion.
Mondego, now known as the Count de
Morcerf, is the first to be punished. Dantès exposes Morcerf’s darkest secret:
Morcerf made his fortune by betraying his former patron, the Greek vizier Ali
Pacha, and he then sold Ali Pacha’s wife and daughter into slavery. Ali Pacha’s
daughter, Haydée, who has lived with Dantès ever since he bought her freedom
seven years earlier, testifies against Morcerf in front of the senate,
irreversibly ruining his good name. Ashamed by Morcerf’s treachery, Albert and
Mercédès flee, leaving their tainted fortune behind. Morcerf commits suicide.
Villefort’s punishment comes slowly
and in several stages. Dantès first takes advantage of Madame de Villefort’s
murderous intent, subtly tutoring her in the uses of poison. As Madame de
Villefort wreaks her havoc, killing off each member of the household in turn,
Dantès plants the seeds for yet another public exposé. In court, it is revealed
that Villefort is guilty of attempted infanticide, as he tried to bury his
illegitimate baby while it was still alive. Believing that everyone he loves is
dead and knowing that he will soon have to answer severe criminal charges,
Villefort goes insane.
For his revenge on Danglars, Dantès
simply plays upon his enemy’s greed. He opens various false credit accounts
with Danglars that cost him vast amounts of money. He also manipulates
Danglars’s unfaithful and dishonest wife, costing Danglars more money, and
helps Danglars’s daughter, Eugénie, run away with her female companion.
Finally, when Danglars is nearly broke and about to flee without paying any of
his creditors, Dantès has the Italian bandit Luigi Vampa kidnap him and relieve
him of his remaining money. Dantès spares Danglars’s life, but leaves him
penniless.
Meanwhile, as these acts of vengeance
play out, Dantès also tries to complete one more act of goodness. Dantès wishes
to help the brave and honorable Maximilian Morrel, the son of the kind
shipowner, so he hatches an elaborate plot to save Maximilian’s fiancée, Valentine
Villefort, from her murderous stepmother, to ensure that the couple will be
truly happy forever. Dantès gives Valentine a pill that makes her appear dead
and then carries her off to the island of Monte Cristo. For a month Dantès
allows Maximilian to believe that Valentine is dead, which causes Maximilian to
long for death himself. Dantès then reveals that Valentine is alive. Having
known the depths of despair, Maximilian is now able to experience the heights
of ecstasy. Dantès too ultimately finds happiness, when he allows himself to
fall in love with the adoring and beautiful Haydée.
Character
List
Edmond Dantès
The
protagonist of the novel.Dantès is an intelligent, honest, and loving man who
turns bitter and vengeful after he is framed for a crime he does not commit.
When Dantès finds himself free and enormously wealthy, he takes it upon himself
to act as the agent of Providence, rewarding those who have helped him in his
plight and punishing those responsible for his years of agony.
The Count Of Monte Cristo
The
identity Dantès assumes when he emerges from prison and inherits his vast
fortune. As a result, the Count of Monte Cristo is usually associated with a
coldness and bitterness that comes from an existence based solely on vengeance.
Lord Wilmore
The
identity of an eccentric English nobleman that Dantès assumes when committing
acts of random generosity. Lord Wilmore contrasts sharply with Monte Cristo,
who is associated with Dantès’s acts of bitterness and cruelty. Appropriately,
Monte Cristo cites Lord Wilmore as one of his enemies.
Abbé Busoni
Another
of Dantès’s false personas. The disguise of Abbé Busoni, an Italian priest,
helps Dantès gain the trust of the people whom the count wants to manipulate
because the name connotes religious authority.
Sinbad The Sailor
The
name Dantès uses as the signature for his anonymous gift to Morrel. Sinbad the
Sailor is also the persona Dantès adopts during his time in Italy.
Minor
Characters
Mercédès
Dantès’s
beautiful and good fiancée. Though Mercédès marries another man,
FernandMondego, while Dantès is in prison, she never stops loving Dantès.
Mercédès is one of the few whom Dantès both punishes (for her disloyalty) and
rewards (for her enduring love and underlying goodness).
AbbéFaria
A
priest and brilliant thinker whom Dantès meets in prison.AbbéFaria becomes
Dantès’s intellectual father: during their many years as prisoners, he teaches
Dantès history, science, art, and many languages. He then bequeaths to Dantès
his vast hidden fortune. AbbéFaria is the most important catalyst in Dantès’s
transformation into the vengeful Count of Monte Cristo.
FernandMondego
Dantès’s
rival for Mercédès’s affections. Mondego helps in framing Dantès for treason
and then marries Mercédès himself when Dantès is imprisoned. Through acts of
treachery Mondego becomes a wealthy and powerful man and takes on the name of
the Count de Morcerf. He is the first victim of Dantès’s vengeance.
Baron Danglars
A
greedy, envious cohort of Mondego.Danglars hatches the plot to frame Dantès for
treason. Like Mondego, he becomes wealthy and powerful, but loses everything
when Monte Cristo takes his revenge. Danglars’s obsession with the accumulation
of wealth makes him an easy target for Monte Cristo, who has seemingly
limitless wealth on hand to exact his revenge.
Caderousse
A
lazy, drunk, and greedy man.Caderousse is present when the plot to frame Dantès
is hatched, but he does not take an active part in the crime. Unlike Danglars
and Mondego, Caderousse never finds his fortune, instead making his living
through petty crime and the occasional murder.
Gérard De Villefort
The
blindly ambitious public prosecutor responsible for sentencing Dantès to life
in prison. Like the others, Villefort eventually receives punishment from
Dantès. Villefort stands out as Monte Cristo’s biggest opposition, as he
employs his own power to judge people and mete out punishments.
Monsieur Morrel
The
kind, honest shipowner who was once Dantès’s boss.Morrel does everything in his
power to free Dantès from prison and tries to save Dantès’s father from death.
When Dantès emerges from prison, he discovers that Morrel is about to descend
into financial ruin, so he carries out an elaborate plot to save his one true
friend.
Louis Dantès
Dantès’s
father. Grief-stricken, Louis Dantès starves himself to death when Dantès is
imprisoned. It is primarily for his father’s death that Dantès seeks vengeance.
Maximilian Morrel
The
son of Monsieur Morrel. Brave and honorable like his father, Maximilian becomes
Dantès’s primary beneficiary. Maximilian and his love, Valentine, survive to
the end of the story as two good and happy people, personally unaffected by the
vices of power, wealth, and position.
Albert De Morcerf
The
son of FernandMondego and Mercédès. Unlike his father, Albert is brave, honest,
and kind. Mercédès’s devotion to both Albert and Dantès allows Monte Cristo to
realize her unchanging love for him and causes him to think more deeply about
his sole desire for revenge.
Valentine Villefort
Villefort’s
saintly and beautiful daughter. Like Maximilian Morrel, her true love, she
falls under Dantès’s protection.
Noirtier
Villefort’s
father. Once a powerful French revolutionary, Noirtier is brilliant and
willful, even when paralyzed by a stroke. He proves a worthy opponent to his
son’s selfish ambitions.
Haydée
The
daughter of Ali Pacha, the vizier of the Greek state of Yanina.Haydée is sold
into slavery after her father is betrayed by Mondego and murdered. Dantès
purchases Haydée’s freedom and watches her grow into adulthood, eventually
falling in love with her.
Signor Bertuccio
Dantès’s
steward. Though Bertuccio is loyal and adept, Dantès chooses him as his steward
not for his personal qualities but because of his vendetta against Villefort.
Benedetto
The
illegitimate son of Villefort and Madame Danglars. Though raised lovingly by
Bertuccio and Bertuccio’s widowed sister-in-law, Benedetto nonetheless turns to
a life of brutality and crime. Handsome, charming, and a wonderful liar,
Benedetto plays the part of Andrea Cavalcanti in one of Dantès’s elaborate
revenge schemes.
Madame D’Villefort
Villefort’s
murderous wife. Devoted wholly to her son Edward, Madame d’Villefort turns to
crime in order to ensure his fortune.
Julie Herbaut
The
daughter of Monsieur Morrel and sister of Maximilian. Angelically good and
blissfully in love, Julie and her husband, Emmanuel, prove to Monte Cristo that
it is possible to be truly satisfied with one’s life.
Emmanuel Herbaut
Julie’s
husband. Emmanuel is just as noble and perpetually happy as his wife, Julie.
Madame Danglars
Danglars’s
wife. Greedy, conniving, and disloyal, Madame Danglars engages in a
never-ending string of love affairs that help bring her husband to the brink of
financial ruin.
EugénieDanglars
The
Danglars’ daughter. A brilliant musician, Eugénie longs for her independence
and despises men. On the eve of her wedding, she flees for Italy with her true
love, Louise d’Armilly.
Louise D’Armilly
EugénieDanglars’s
music teacher and constant companion.
Lucien Debray
The
secretary to the French minister of the interior.Debray illegally leaks
government secrets to his lover, Madame Danglars, so that she can invest wisely
with her husband’s money.
Ali
Dantès’s
mute Nubian slave. Ali is amazingly adept with all sorts of weapons.
Luigi Vampa
A
famous Roman bandit.Vampa is indebted to Dantès for once setting him free, and
he puts himself at the service of Dantès’s vengeful ends.
Major Cavalcanti
A
poor and crooked man whom Dantès resurrects as a phony Italian nobleman.
Edward D’Villefort
The
Villeforts’ spoiled son. Edward is an innocent victim of Dantès’s elaborate
revenge scheme.
Beauchamp
A
well-known journalist and good friend to Albert de Morcerf.
Franz D’Epinay
Another
good friend to Albert de Morcerf.D’Epinay is the unwanted fiancé of Valentine
Villefort.
Marquis Of Saint-Méran
The
father of Villefort’s first wife, who dies shortly after her wedding day.
Marquise Of Saint-Méran
The
wife of the Marquis of Saint-Méran.
Jacopo
A
smuggler who helps Dantèswin his freedom. When Jacopo proves his selfless
loyalty, Dantès rewards him by buying the poor man his own ship and crew.
Ali Pacha
A
Greek nationalist leader whom Mondego betrays. This betrayal leads to Ali
Pacha’s murder at the hands of the Turks and the seizure of his kingdom. Ali
Pacha’s wife and his daughter, Haydée, are sold into slavery.
Baron Of Château-Renaud
An
aristocrat and diplomat. Château-Renaud is nearly killed in battle in
Constantinople, but Maximilian Morrel saves him at the last second. Château-Renaud
introduces Maximilian into Parisian society, which leads to Maximilian and
Dantès crossing paths.
Peppino
An
Italian shepherd who has been arrested and sentenced to death for the crime of
being an accomplice to bandits, when he merely provided them with food. Monte
Cristo buys Peppino his freedom.
Countess G
A
beautiful Italian aristocrat who suspects that Monte Cristo is a vampire.
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