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Chapter 41
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Count of Monte Cristo, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Justice, Revenge, and God’s Will
Changes of Identity and Station
Love, Devotion, and Redemption
Debt and Gratitude
The Domestic and the Foreign
Summary
Analysis
After Monte Cristo arrives at his house on the Champs-Elysees—the first time he has set foot in it—he calls upon a notary, who is waiting for him, and for Bertuccio, his manservant. The notary is there to secure the signing and formalities for the Count’s country house, on the outskirts of Paris, in Auteuil. He finalizes the documents with the notary and gives the man a substantial tip, sending him away.
This scene indicates just how quickly the Count is willing to make large decisions. He has perhaps learned this impatience from the time he’s spent in the Chateau D’If, where, after fourteen years, he felt as though much of his life had been slipping away. He also now has the vast wealth necessary to pursue his every whim with little fear of significant financial damage.
Themes
The Count then goes into the other room to confirm, mysteriously, that this is indeed the exact house and location he wants. He appears not to notice how the mention of the town of Auteuil has shocked and horrified Bertuccio, whom the Count calls to go with him to check on the estate. It seems that, for reasons yet to be revealed, something from Bertuccio’s past is hidden in Auteuil—and the Count knows this and wants very much to learn Bertuccio’s secret.
It is not yet clear why the Count would be willing to purchase a place connected to Bertuccio, a man about whom the reader as yet knows very little. But it is evident from this chapter that the Count’s plan for revenge is immensely complex. It involves the purchase of multiple properties, and the information provided by a great many people, all of whom he appears to have on a string, ready to move at his command.
Themes
