.Why didn’t Dumas make an Edmond and Mercedes ending together?

Alexandre Dumas read Homer (Dumas A., Mes Mémoires, Paris, Bouquins, 2003, p. 590)) and The Odyssey influenced the book The Count of Monte Cristo. In Book IV of The Odyssey, Telemachus visits Menelaus who won Helen back after his elopement with Paris. Helen was sorry for what she did, but still Menelaus needed to use drugs to forget his painful memories like Helen’s union with Paris. This influenced Alexandre Dumas. Edmond would never be happy with Mercedes and would never forget her marriage to Fernand. This would always make him have painful memories. Their marriage would be deeply unhappy.

Haydee does not bring the count the painful memories that Mercedes does. More realistic for him to be happy with Haydée.

The adaptations of 1934 with Robert Donat, 1998 with Gerard Depardieu and 2002 with Jim Caviezel make the mistake of transforming the Edmond and Mercedes union into a happy union. Their union should be unhappy and Edmond would always need Hashish to try to erase the memories that Mercedes was married for 20 years to the man who ruined his life.

  • Gilgamesh-ishtar@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    That’s my biggest issues with any count of monte cristo adaptions they never seem to understand that Edmond and Mercedes not getting together is a very important point thematically

    This is much more of a Hollywood option than one of adaptations.

    Hollywood made the 1922, 1934 and 2002 adaptations and all three Edmond and Mercedes end up together.

    The French adaptations of 1929, 1943, 1954 and 1979 have the Edmond and Haydee ending.

    Russia with the 1988 adaptation and England with the 1964 miniseries also kept the book’s ending.