Monte Cristo seeks revenge on Villefort by depriving him of his position that he has worked so long for while completely ruining his reputation and harming his family. Dantes is imprisoned in the Chateau d’If by Villefort who serves as the deputy procurer du roi at that time, and Villefort imprisons Dantes to protect himself and bolster his chance of becoming acting public prosecutor. In addition to this initial offense, when Napoleon takes over, Villefort can release Dantes, but refuses to do so because he is unsure of whether or not Louis XVIII will become king again. Thus, while Villefort does not personally have anything against Dantes, he is selfish and is willing to punish others in order to ensure his position and reputation are secure. …show more content…
He would sacrifice anything to his ambition, even his own father” (36). In addition, Villefort further harms his own family by sacrificing his own daughter’s happiness by forcing her to marry Franz d’Epinay to suppress Noirtier’s murder of General Quesnal as a way to position himself better in the eyes of the public as well as by attempting to kill his and Madame Danglars’ son for the sake of his reputation. Thus, in his revenge plan, Monte Cristo not only destroys Villefort’s position due to his extreme self-interest and selfishness, but also harms Villefort’s family since Villefort is willing to hurt his own family and ruins Dantes’ future with Mercedes by unjustly imprisoning him. Aware of her intentions, Monte Cristo accomplishes his revenge plan by giving Madame Villefort poison so that she can kill the Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Meran, Noirier, and Valentine. However, this situation once again reveals Monte Cristo’s incomplete knowledge and the limitation of human justice as he fails to recognize that Maximilian Morrel, whom he loves, is in love with