The Count of Monte Cristo LXVI Summary

Summary

The chapter opens with Danglars arriving at Monte Cristo’s house after waiting in vain at Madame Danglars’s for Debray; Monte Cristo is momentarily detained by an abbé (Abbé Busoni) but soon receives Danglars. The banker arrives worried and recounts a sequence of financial misfortunes: a suspended correspondent in Trieste (Jacopo Manfredi), returned bills, and heavy losses from his wife’s speculative ventures tied to a supposed telegraphic report about Don Carlos, altogether amounting to about 1,700,000 francs.

Monte Cristo listens, sympathizes, and then launches into a practical lecture about types of fortunes (first-, second-, and third-rate), warning Danglars about the dangers of a fluctuating, credit-dependent capital. The conversation shifts toward Major Cavalcanti—an apparently wealthy, stingy Italian with a young son—and the banker’s recent dealings with him: a 40,000-franc bond and an allowance of 5,000 francs per month for the son. Monte Cristo suspects the son has been brought to Paris to seek a wife, and Danglars candidly considers matrimonial matches as financial speculation. Danglars and Monte Cristo compare names and titles—Danglars boasts of his barony while questioning the true origins of the Morcerf family—and Monte Cristo suggests investigating Fernand Mondego’s (Morcerf’s) past in Greece, specifically any role in Ali Tepelini’s affairs. Danglars departs abruptly to write to his correspondents in Greece, possibly to unearth compromising information.

Key events

1. Danglars waits for Madame Danglars and then goes to the Chamber; meets Monte Cristo afterward.
2. Danglars explains large recent financial losses (Trieste bankruptcy, Spanish speculation tied to Don Carlos).
3. Monte Cristo classifies fortunes into three types and warns Danglars about credit risks.
4. Discussion of Major Cavalcanti and his son Andrea’s allowance and possible marriage plans in Paris.
5. Conversation turns to matrimonial strategy: Danglars contemplates marrying into advantage.
6. Monte Cristo hints at Fernand Mondego's obscure past in Greece and advises Danglars to investigate.
7. Danglars rushes off to write to his correspondent in Yanina about Fernand Mondego.

Analysis

This chapter performs several narrative functions at once: it develops Danglars’ character (practical, speculative, anxious about status), advances plot threads (the Cavalcanti introduction and Andrea’s potential marriage), and deepens Monte Cristo’s role as an observer, counselor, and subtle manipulator. The long, didactic passage where Monte Cristo defines first-, second-, and third-rate fortunes both illuminates 19th-century attitudes toward capital and credit and signals stakes—financial instability endangers social position and can motivate risky social maneuvers like marriage for money.

Themes of appearance versus reality and social climbing run through the dialogue: Danglars brags about noble status while privately fretting over losses; noble titles and provenances (Morcerf/Fernand Mondego) are treated as marketable assets. The chapter also foreshadows investigations and intrigues—Monte Cristo’s suggestion to probe Fernand’s past plants a seed for future revelations. Narratively, Dumas uses conversational exposition to distribute background information and to link financial, social, and personal motives, making marriage a transactional arena. The arrival and brief mention of Abbé Busoni subtly remind readers of hidden identities and intermediaries who move between social circles—an ongoing structural device in the novel.

Important quotes

“Have you had another fall at the Bourse?”

Monte CristoA concise opening question that prompts Danglars to describe his recent financial troubles and sets the chapter’s economic theme.

“I make three assortments in fortune —first-rate, second-rate, and third-rate fortunes.”

Monte CristoMonte Cristo’s taxonomy of fortunes frames the novel’s concern with credit, risk, and social standing and warns Danglars about the dangers of speculative wealth.

Characters in LXVI

• Danglars
• Madame Danglars
• Debray
• Monte Cristo
• Abbé Busoni
• Major Cavalcanti
• Jacopo Manfredi
• Andrea Cavalcanti
• M. de Morcerf
• Madame de Morcerf
• Albert de Morcerf
• Mademoiselle Danglars
• Don Carlos
• Fenzi
• Ali Tepelini