Who is villefort father

Alexandre Dumas. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Jean Sylvain Bailly.

Antoine Barnave. Jean-Baptiste Drouet. Marquis de Favras. Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. Giovanni Bertuccio. He then recounts his story of the general, claiming that the man was trusted, betrayed the Bonapartists, and allowed to go free.

That he ended up dead should be no surprise. He says that Napoleon will never make it to Paris, that he will be hunted down on the road like a wild animal. Even the armies sent to hunt him will defect to the emperor. The Bonapartists, on the other hand, could tell Nortier where his son was staying a half hour after he arrived in Paris. Villefort admits his father has a point. Nortier says the difference is the Royalists work for money, while the Bonapartists work out of devotion.

Villefort watches on with a mix of terror and admiration. Nortier asks if his son thinks the police will recognize the murderer now, and Villefort responds that he hopes not. The case against Villefort is strong and yet, through it all, he doesn't lose his ability to judge others. As far as we know, he's a competent and passionate prosecutor; the conviction that he shows as a young man never fades, even as his moral compass gets a little out of whack.

This leads us to levy what is the fourth and, probably, most serious charge against him: hypocrisy. In this case, Villefort's greatest strength — his ability to judge, and his understanding of judgment — becomes his greatest weakness. Every time he lays into a criminal, we, who know of his own offenses, can't help but cringe.

He could just as easily be on the other side, could be the one under attack by a zealous prosecutor, and boy does that reflect poorly on a man meant to uphold the law. As Villefort tells Madame Danglars, his former mistress, "[E]very step we take is more like a reptile's progress across the sand, leaving a track behind it. And often, alas, the track is the mark of our tears! Unfortunately for Villefort, Monte Cristo manages to pick up the scent and follow the tracks.

The prosecutor ends up being prosecuted by the criminal, and he ends up insane, haunted by the ghosts of his pasts. Villefort's is likely the saddest fall of all: he loses everything, including the bright promise of his early career. His youthful enthusiasm — something Danglars and Fernand and Caderousse never share — proves a sad point of contrast for Villefort's critics.