Counting On Revenge
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Part 1
The One Thing That’s Better Than Revenge
Do you know your enemy? Aside from the movies and times of war, this might sound like a far-fetched question. It works as a Green Day song, or perhaps as a Capulet teaching their children about the Montagues, but the general hope, is that you have no enemies. What a lovely concept. Today, we use a modern, watered-down version to describe such people: frenemies. They’re your friends, but they say and do the exact opposite of what friends should do. Any person who appears benevolent, but is only masking their deceit with a smile, is a frenemy. They’re at work, at school, at the gym- wherever you go. They’re there, sometimes even when you don’t know it.
“‘Ah, but the friends of today are the enemies of tomorrow...’”
I’ve encountered several frenemies in my life. To me, the most hurtful frenemies were those I looked up to as mentors, or at least they were in the position to be mentors. When you are young, you more often receive advice and instruction than you give it, and I was open to all that I could get, not only because I love learning, but because I want to succeed no matter what I do. So, I listened. I listened to suggestions and corrections and advice and directions. But what I began to hear, with some of my mentors, was that I was nothing. I was untalented and unworthy, someone to be ignored and regarded as invisible. In other cases, I was always wrong. My questions and ideas something to laugh at and put down. Their weapons of destruction were entirely mental, meant to wipe out any thoughts of continuing on my selected path and decimate my self-worth. Day after day, I was told I was nothing, and after a while I began to believe them. How could I not? After all, they were experienced and talented, masters of their own arenas. Mentally bruised and broken, I didn’t know what to do.
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“He prayed, and prayed aloud…he laid every action of his life before the Almighty, proposed tasks to accomplish, and at the end of every prayer, introduced the entreaty oftener addressed to man than to God, ‘ Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us’...””
The story of Edmond Dantès is full of people who tresspass against others. When we first meet Edmond Dantès, he is a young and driven sailor in the prime of his life. Recently promoted, engaged to his sweetheart, and reunited with his father, Edmond was living his dream. A few jealous enemies disguised as friends were all that was needed to create a plan that would ruin everything Dantès held dear. Declared guilty of treason, Edmond is unjustly thrown in jail, left to rot while the world moved on without him.
My own story is nothing so severe as the tragedy that befalls Edmond, but my trust and my devotion have been betrayed all the same. Only my closest family and friends are aware of how much I was affected by these betrayals, how they crippled my dreams and my confidence, and of the people who caused me such turmoil. For the sake of moving on, I won’t name my frenemies here. I doubt they even know who they are and how much they’ve hurt me. It’s been over thirteen years since my first encounter with such a person, however, when my confidence falters, all the time I’ve spent recovering from their blows seems to evaporate, and I’m left feeling incompetent and invisible all over again.
I’ve often dreamt of seeing these people again, meeting them when I’ve transformed into a radiant being, draped in accolades and compliments from adoring fans from all of my vast endeavors. I’m nonchalant when speaking to them, still friendly, but they get the impression that I haven’t thought of them since the day we parted. When I leave them, they’re impressed by my success and horrified at not only how wrong they were about me, but also at their treatment of me. It’s a short dream, and rather uneventful, and though it makes me feel better for a moment, it quickly becomes hollow and stale.
How do you move on when someone you trust betrays you? How can you heal wounds that have been haunting you for years? If you’re Edmond Dantès, you get revenge.
“‘No, I want to live. I shall struggle to the very last. I will yet win back the happiness of which I have been deprived. Before I die, I must not forget that I have my executioners to punish, and perhaps too, who knows, some friends to reward.’
”
Reading Recommendations
If you liked The Count of Monte Cristo and this blog post, here’s what to read next.
from the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge
if you want to read more adventure stories about revenge
if you want to read more by Alexandre Dumas
if you want to read more adventure stories
*quotes based on the time mark in the audiobook
