I'm not particularly a vengeful person but there was a time, perhaps in my moment of hopelessness and weakness, that I desired to exact the kind of revenge as that of Edmond Dantès in the Alexandre Dumas’ novel “The Count of Monte Cristo”.
Something as calculated, elaborate, cold and vile.
For those who have read the book or watched the film, you may skip this paragraph. If you haven’t, then it’s a timeless story set in the years following the fall of the Napoleonic empire. The protagonist, Edmond Dantès, suffered every injustice imaginable. Edmond is an uneducated man who is about to be promoted and marry the love of his life, Mercédès, when he was falsely accused of being a Bonapartist after he was betrayed out of envy and jealousy. He was thrown to Château d'If, an island prison off the coast of Marseille, and was made to suffer for almost 15 years. There he met an elderly inmate, Abbe Faria (or Priest), who has been digging a tunnel in hopes to escape but accidentally ended up in Edmond’s cell. They developed a deep friendship over the years and Priest, who turned out to be a well-educated man, taught Edmond history, mathematics, philosophy, sword-fighting, and languages. He also told him of a massive treasure buried deep in an uninhabited island of Monte Cristo in which he has a map revealing its location. Shortly thereafter, Priest died before both of them can escape. Edmond seized the opportunity and was able to break out of Chateau D’If by replacing Faria’s corpse with himself in a burial sack which was later on thrown to the sea.
To cut the long story short (since there were plot differences in the movie and in the book), he was able to get a hold of the vast treasure and became extremely wealthy. He then plotted his revenge against everyone responsible for all that happened to him by coming out as the wealthy but enigmatic Count of Monte Cristo.
I did fantasize about an act of revenge that will be something like Edmond’s. The kind where those who wronged me will fall to their knees after I inflicted them my own brand of justice.
Revenge may require so much planning and effort and gives a (false) promise of satisfaction. Many believed that getting retribution is the only way one can have closure. While in prison, Edmond puts two and two together through the help of Faria on the reasons why he was implicated for treason, and his obsession to seek revenge has consumed him since then.
Such desire is very strong it can eat you. I experienced the same rage after realizing the deception done to me that I got so fixated about getting my payback. From then on, I dreamed of the time I’d get to finally see those who wronged me suffering for their mistakes. A sweet time when they’ll realize I am not one to mess up with.
In the movie, after discovering the treasure, Jacopo offered to kill all those who betrayed him but Edmond thinks that death will be too easy for them. He wanted them to suffer as how he suffered. Definitely an eye for an eye and maybe more—for he believed it’s the only way to make things right.
However, he realized later on the high cost of revenge. Because while there was satisfaction in watching his enemies fall one by one, he didn’t get the sense of justice that he expected. At least in the movie version, he found out that he’s still in love with Mercédès (“If you ever loved me, don’t rob me of my hate. It’s all I have.”) and that Albert Mondego (who he almost killed during a swordfight) was his son. Edmond may have escaped from the deep dungeons of Château d'If, but he only puts himself in a bigger prison. Revenge has him confined because it prevented him to move on with his life.
Indeed. A person’s obsession with inflicting pain towards a wrongdoer can be a cause of destruction upon himself. The more you wanted to punish someone, the more you end up punishing yourself because it’s you who can’t find healing. It may be rewarding at some point, but not for the long term because once it has been done, the pain of the injustice and wrongdoing will remain and never go away.
It became pretty clear that The Count of Monte Cristo is more a story of forgiveness. That the best revenge is being happy. Before Edmond lost his faith in God and spent his every waking hour plotting his revenge, a previous tenant etched “God will give me justice” in the stone walls of his cell which are the words he clings to during his first few months in prison. He realized this to be true when towards the end of the movie he said, “You were right, Priest,” after seeing the emptiness in revenge and finding far greater happiness and peace with his loved ones.
So even while I admit to having contemplated it only because I was hurt and I want to hurt them back, my faith in God eventually prevailed. I have unloaded the burden and leave it all up to His hands. Because God will give me justice whether I’ll ever know it or not. There’s always a God’s time for everything.
It’s strange that I am writing this today when it’s Global Forgiveness Day, but maybe some of us should start unburdening ourselves from all the hurt and just let it go.
Something as calculated, elaborate, cold and vile.
For those who have read the book or watched the film, you may skip this paragraph. If you haven’t, then it’s a timeless story set in the years following the fall of the Napoleonic empire. The protagonist, Edmond Dantès, suffered every injustice imaginable. Edmond is an uneducated man who is about to be promoted and marry the love of his life, Mercédès, when he was falsely accused of being a Bonapartist after he was betrayed out of envy and jealousy. He was thrown to Château d'If, an island prison off the coast of Marseille, and was made to suffer for almost 15 years. There he met an elderly inmate, Abbe Faria (or Priest), who has been digging a tunnel in hopes to escape but accidentally ended up in Edmond’s cell. They developed a deep friendship over the years and Priest, who turned out to be a well-educated man, taught Edmond history, mathematics, philosophy, sword-fighting, and languages. He also told him of a massive treasure buried deep in an uninhabited island of Monte Cristo in which he has a map revealing its location. Shortly thereafter, Priest died before both of them can escape. Edmond seized the opportunity and was able to break out of Chateau D’If by replacing Faria’s corpse with himself in a burial sack which was later on thrown to the sea.
To cut the long story short (since there were plot differences in the movie and in the book), he was able to get a hold of the vast treasure and became extremely wealthy. He then plotted his revenge against everyone responsible for all that happened to him by coming out as the wealthy but enigmatic Count of Monte Cristo.
I did fantasize about an act of revenge that will be something like Edmond’s. The kind where those who wronged me will fall to their knees after I inflicted them my own brand of justice.
Revenge may require so much planning and effort and gives a (false) promise of satisfaction. Many believed that getting retribution is the only way one can have closure. While in prison, Edmond puts two and two together through the help of Faria on the reasons why he was implicated for treason, and his obsession to seek revenge has consumed him since then.
Such desire is very strong it can eat you. I experienced the same rage after realizing the deception done to me that I got so fixated about getting my payback. From then on, I dreamed of the time I’d get to finally see those who wronged me suffering for their mistakes. A sweet time when they’ll realize I am not one to mess up with.
In the movie, after discovering the treasure, Jacopo offered to kill all those who betrayed him but Edmond thinks that death will be too easy for them. He wanted them to suffer as how he suffered. Definitely an eye for an eye and maybe more—for he believed it’s the only way to make things right.
Indeed. A person’s obsession with inflicting pain towards a wrongdoer can be a cause of destruction upon himself. The more you wanted to punish someone, the more you end up punishing yourself because it’s you who can’t find healing. It may be rewarding at some point, but not for the long term because once it has been done, the pain of the injustice and wrongdoing will remain and never go away.
It became pretty clear that The Count of Monte Cristo is more a story of forgiveness. That the best revenge is being happy. Before Edmond lost his faith in God and spent his every waking hour plotting his revenge, a previous tenant etched “God will give me justice” in the stone walls of his cell which are the words he clings to during his first few months in prison. He realized this to be true when towards the end of the movie he said, “You were right, Priest,” after seeing the emptiness in revenge and finding far greater happiness and peace with his loved ones.
So even while I admit to having contemplated it only because I was hurt and I want to hurt them back, my faith in God eventually prevailed. I have unloaded the burden and leave it all up to His hands. Because God will give me justice whether I’ll ever know it or not. There’s always a God’s time for everything.
It’s strange that I am writing this today when it’s Global Forgiveness Day, but maybe some of us should start unburdening ourselves from all the hurt and just let it go.
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