A Just Man, Firm of Purpose? (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 10)

In this episode of The Countdown of Monte Cristo, Villefort finally stands before the king—but not in triumph. His dusty travel clothes and ambitious motives are met with suspicion, flattery, and courtly bureaucracy. As Louis XVIII quotes Horace and muses on virtue, Dumas subtly reveals how little of it exists in the room.

This is a moment of transition for Villefort. No longer just a magistrate, he enters the world of power—where loyalty is a tool, not a value, and personal legacy outweighs truth.

 

Key Events:

•The king agrees to meet Villefort despite court protocol objections

•M. de Brézé protests Villefort’s attire, illustrating rigid Restoration etiquette

•Louis XVIII quotes Horace’s “justum et tenacem…” as Villefort is announced

•Villefort enters and is immediately tested on his loyalty, appearance, and motives

•The audience begins: truth must now be filtered through political ambition

 

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