Delusions of Peace (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 10 – Part 3)

In this episode of The Countdown of Monte Cristo, King Louis XVIII and his ministers convince themselves that Napoleon is not just contained, but collapsing. With talk of skin rashes, insanity, and idle stone-skipping, they turn a looming threat into farce. But readers know better—and Dumas makes sure we feel the irony.

As the court trades insight for intellectual games, the reality brewing outside their palace walls goes unheeded. The calm before the storm has never sounded more smug.

 

Key Events:

•Minister of Police M. Dandré delivers a report claiming Napoleon is unstable and irrelevant

•Louis XVIII mocks Bonaparte’s health and hobbies, referencing Virgil’s “bella, horrida bella”

•Reports from Elba are dismissed as laughable distractions

•The ruling elite mistakes rumor and ridicule for reassurance

•The myth of Napoleon is reduced to scratching and stone-skipping—at their peril

 

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