Byronic hero How is Edmond dantes a Byronic hero?

The Byronic hero was created by the English poet Lord Byron. He wanted a different kind of hero, one with many flaws; the other stories published in his time had the perfect hero, the knight in shinning armor.

A statue of Lord Byron

The proof that The Count of Monte Cristo, or Edmond Dantes is a byronic hero can be found in the many experiences he has throughout his adult life. When he was in prisoned at the Chateau d' If, and the feeling of betrayal his so-called friends gave him were two events that explain as to why his is described as such.

When Edmond Dantes was 19 years old he was the captain of the Pharaon, was about to be married to a beautiful woman, Mercedes, and was wrongly accused of helping Napoleon rise to power by trafficking a letter to shore for him. He was questioned by Monsieur de Villefort, who promised to let him free an innocent man the following day only to find that he was in fact being sent to the Chateau d' If, a prison perched on an island.

Captain, engaged man, prisoner

In prison Dantes was alone at first and refused to eat, but soon sucummed to eat after starving himself for a week or two. As the weeks went on, Dantes had heard a scratching noise on the other side of his cell wall only to discover a man, Abbe Faria who began to teach the young man his many skills like math, physics, history, and 3 to 4 living languages. Dantes and Faria grew as friends over the years of their imprisonment. They were up to the point when Faria had an attack of some kind and died in Dantes presence, he lost his only companion. He saw this tragic death as an escape, he used his friend's body bag as a disguise and was thrown into the sea during a storm. He swam until he saw an island in the distance. When he reached the island, a ship wrecked onto the rocky shore. Dantes asked one of the sailors what year it was to which they replied 1829, fourteen years after he was arrested back in 1815.

the death of a friend led to Dantes' escape after waiting 14 years

This event proves Edmond Dantes is a byronic hero because before Dantes found Abbe Faria he was in total isolation, this can damage a man's mental state and traumatize him deeply. Also seeing the death of his companion can alter his mental health. Dantes is also suicidal and spiritually doubtful in prison because he was starving himself as well as doubting his faith in God not knowing why he was imprisoned.

Another event that made Edmond Dantes a byronic hero is the act of betrayal his friends Caderouuse, Danglars, and Fernand Mondego commited. They decided to write a fake letter supposedly from Napoleon and have Edmond deliver it to Monsiuer d' Villefort's father. This sent Dantes to prison and the three went on their way. When Dantes escaped he went to find the three men after he learned about they're betrayal to him and ruin their lives by posing as various characters like a priest and the Count of Monte Cristo.

the Count of Monte Cristo and the Preist

As the priest, he went to go talk to Caderouuse. During this chat Dantes pulls information out of him about why He was arrested 14 years before. then he went to go find the others as the count of Monte Cristo to gain more information and ultimately cause their downfall. This proves that Edmond Dantes can be manipulative and Intelligent by creating these very real disguises and having the right information to make his victims do as he wishes.

different Byronic Heros

Edmond Dantes is proven to be a byronic hero becuse of his manipulative ways and traumatized prison experience. he uses his intelligence and wealth to trick people into his traps.

Jane Wantland, Period 3, 12/8/16

Credits:

Created with images by Ben Sutherland - "The face of Lord Byron" • sv1ambo - "HM Bark "Endeavour" replica" • Olessya - "ring wedding wedding rings" • Tama66 - "lost places window grid" • deaf dude - "Wreck at St Catherines Ontario Summer 05" • greg westfall. - "cemetery near salem, mass." • The hills are alive* - "other time" • robertobarresi - "bora wind stormy sea" • OakleyOriginals - "Loneliness" • Camillaen - "Isolation" • Unsplash - "sailing boat ocean open water" • M.Pardy - "Joseph Wright of Derby - Portrait of nobleman with his wife, National Gallery of Prague, Collection of ancient european art, Sternberk Palast" • Greg Hayter - "priest" • walknboston - "I Know -Han Solo" • kevin dooley - "Batman" • ErikaWittlieb - "joker heath ledger batman"

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