Old Morrel Character Analysis in The Count of Monte Cristo

The owner of the ship on which Dantes initially sails, and a father figure for Dantes, Old Morrel raises Dantes to captain of the vessel. Morrel cares for Dantes, and when the young man is thrown into prison, Morrel petitions Villefort to set him free (although Morrel does not know that Villefort, protecting his own interests, feels he must keep Dantes locked away). Old Morrel’s firm later falls into near-bankruptcy, until it is saved by an agent, Lord Wilmore, from the firm of Thomson and French in Rome. Only later does the Count reveal that he himself posed as this Lord Wilmore as a means of repaying a debt of gratitude to the Morrel family for their supporting him as a young man.

Old Morrel Character Timeline in The Count of Monte Cristo

The timeline below shows where the character Old Morrel appears in The Count of Monte Cristo. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...and dark hair, watches him. The owner of the ship, a man named Monsieur (M.) Morrel, rows up to the Pharaon in a small boat and senses that something has gone... (full context)

Dantes welcomes Morrel aboard the ship and readies it for “mooring and mourning.” Morrel meets with a man... (full context)

Justice, Revenge, and God’s Will Theme Icon

Dantes also mentions to Morrel and Danglars that he caught sight of, and spoke to, Napoleon at Elba. Napoleon asked... (full context)

Changes of Identity and Station Theme Icon

Morrel calls Dantes back over to finally discharge him of his present duties on the ship.... (full context)

...man who lives in her neighborhood. Caderousse also mentions that Dantes has skipped dinner with Morrel to see his father. (full context)

...feast of their betrothal. They walk to a banquet hall in a group that includes Morrel, the owner of the Pharaon, Fernand (whom Mercedes now refers to as her “brother,” to... (full context)

...item with the customs bureau that’s causing this trouble, Old Dantes and Mercedes are terrified. Morrel returns from the police station hours later to report that Dantes has been accused of... (full context)

...that Fernand could have picked up the paper and given it to the crown prosecutor. Morrel finds Danglars later that day and asks him if he believes Dantes to be a... (full context)

...a committed Royalist. Before he enters his drawing room to speak to Dantes, Villefort encounters Morrel, who has come to his house to defend Dantes. Villefort, however, is haughty with Morrel,... (full context)

Morrel, the narrator says, still believes that Dantes is innocent, but because the rumor is out... (full context)

...Napoleon ascends to the throne again, and after Louis XVIII has fled with his Royalists, Morrel believes that he can once again plead his case to Villefort. Morrel is emboldened because... (full context)

Morrel meets with Villefort in his office, and Villefort pretends not to have remembered the imprisonment... (full context)

Morrel is overjoyed to hear this. Villefort does indeed write a letter before Morrel, saying that... (full context)

...allowed back into society. Danglars, afraid during the Hundred Days that Dantes would return, asks Morrel to be shipped to Spain. Fernand signs up for Napoleon’s army at Waterloo, and when... (full context)

...of formal learning. In prison, he can only think of himself, Mercedes, his father, and Morrel, and they seem like ghosts to him. After a time, he resolves to let himself... (full context)

...past the gendarmes and past a sailor he knew from his days on the Pharaon, Morrel’s vessel. He gives that sailor a large tip for no reason other than charity, and... (full context)

...came over many times to help him and offer to take care of him, and Morrel offered money. But Old Dantes insisted that he wanted to wait for Dantes on his... (full context)

The Abbe asks after Morrel, and Caderousse informs him that Morrel’s business has been faltering, that he has lost in... (full context)

...envoy comes first to the mayor of Marseille, asking after the financial situation of M. Morrel, in whose company, the envoy claims, Thomson and French has invested a good deal of... (full context)

...As the envoy appears already to know, de Boville has invested 200,000 francs in the Morrel company, and fears that this debt will never be repaid, that the firm will go... (full context)

...original note that Danglars wrote, with his left hand, along with Villefort’s letter, written on Morrel’s urging during the 100 Days, that Dantes really was an ardent supporter of Napoleon. Without... (full context)

The narrator begins the chapter by describing the desolate mood in the house of Morrel and Co., where there is almost no money in the cashbox. Morrel has had to... (full context)

When he is brought into Morrel’s study, the envoy doesn’t seem to recognize Morrel; Morrel has aged greatly in 14 years... (full context)

Morrel, deeply saddened at the thought that his last, best hope at financial solvency has been... (full context)

It is now only the envoy and Morrel again in his office. The envoy reveals to Morrel that Thomson and French has bought... (full context)

The narrator continues in his story of the financial dissolution of the firm of Morrel and Co. Although Thomson and French are owed about 300,000 francs by Morrel, he has... (full context)

The crew of the Pharaon has largely disappeared after collecting wages from Morrel, although no one seems to know exactly where they’ve gone to. Morrel spots Penelon around... (full context)

It occurs to Morrel to ask Danglars, whose fortune is so vast, to guarantee another set of loans for... (full context)

...The family is terrified about their finances, and terrified, too, at the behavior of M. Morrel, who at this point seems entirely calm, cool, and detached. On Sept. 5th, Julie receives... (full context)

...as a means of preserving his honor. Maximilien is horrified, initially, at the thought, but Morrel convinces his son that his own death will preserve the family’s honor and keep Morrel... (full context)

Just before 11 am, however, Julie bursts into the office where Morrel has been waiting with his pistols. Julie announces that, in the apartment of Old Dantes,... (full context)

...compounded when Emmanuel, who has been separated from Julie, rushes into the room, where the Morrels and Cocles have all gathered, to say that reports are in from the port, that... (full context)

The Count is then startled by Julie’s admission that Old Morrel believed the “real” agent of mercy to have been the ghost of Edmond Dantes himself,... (full context)

...that he is Edmond Dantes, and that he is the man responsible for saving Old Morrel exactly ten years ago when that man was afraid he would become bankrupt. Julie and... (full context)