Mercedes
Mercedes is the woman that Edmond is in love with. She is said to be beautiful with dark hair, beautiful eyes, and perfect lips. Edmond desperately awaits the day when he can marry her. He thinks about her every day when he is out at sea. Mercedes comes from a fairly poor family but worked so that she could have a better life. She is also madly in love with Edmond. They are at their betrothal feast when Dantés is arrested and this is the last time she sees him for many years.
Fernand also is very madly in love with her, but he is willing to go to any lengths to take her away from Edmond. She tells him, "No other man will ever be my husband Fernand. I love Edmond. If he dies, I die." (Dumas page 12) At the beginning of the book, it looks as if she will keep to what she said. Mercedes is kind and caring towards most people. However, when Edmond is arrested she waits just eighteen months and then marries Fernand, the very man who betrayed Edmond. She also has a child with Fernand which deeply hurts Edmond. In a conversation with Caderousse, Edmond asks about Mercedes. He is deeply displeased with his life and tells Dantés, "I'm sure she's not happy." (Dumas page 109)
She does marry Fernand, but there is no doubt that this decision was one of the main conflicts she faces in the book. She struggled with whether she should wait as long as it takes for Edmond to come home or if she should marry the other man who loved her. Another conflict she faces is when Dantés returns as the Count of Monte Cristo and befriends he son Albert. She warns her son not to trust Edmond because she herself is worried about the Count's intentions. She also goes to the Count and begs that he not fight Albert. She explains how she already had her love Edmond taken from her and could not stand to see her son die as well. She tells him, "Edmond! Don't kill my son Edmond! Forgive, Edmond, forgive for the sake of Mercedes, who still loves you!" (Dumas pages 375 and 377)
Fernand also is very madly in love with her, but he is willing to go to any lengths to take her away from Edmond. She tells him, "No other man will ever be my husband Fernand. I love Edmond. If he dies, I die." (Dumas page 12) At the beginning of the book, it looks as if she will keep to what she said. Mercedes is kind and caring towards most people. However, when Edmond is arrested she waits just eighteen months and then marries Fernand, the very man who betrayed Edmond. She also has a child with Fernand which deeply hurts Edmond. In a conversation with Caderousse, Edmond asks about Mercedes. He is deeply displeased with his life and tells Dantés, "I'm sure she's not happy." (Dumas page 109)
She does marry Fernand, but there is no doubt that this decision was one of the main conflicts she faces in the book. She struggled with whether she should wait as long as it takes for Edmond to come home or if she should marry the other man who loved her. Another conflict she faces is when Dantés returns as the Count of Monte Cristo and befriends he son Albert. She warns her son not to trust Edmond because she herself is worried about the Count's intentions. She also goes to the Count and begs that he not fight Albert. She explains how she already had her love Edmond taken from her and could not stand to see her son die as well. She tells him, "Edmond! Don't kill my son Edmond! Forgive, Edmond, forgive for the sake of Mercedes, who still loves you!" (Dumas pages 375 and 377)