Chapter 17 - The Abbé’s Cell

Summary

Edmond Dantès explores Abbé Faria’s cell and discovers the intellectual treasures the older prisoner has crafted, including writing tools and a manuscript on Italian monarchy. Together, they analyze the anonymous denunciation that led to Dantès’s imprisonment, deducing that Danglars wrote the letter to seize Dantès’s captaincy and that Deputy Crown Prosecutor Villefort destroyed evidence to protect his Bonapartist father, Noirtier. Faria then reveals a plan to tunnel beneath the sentry’s post for their escape, but during the work, he suffers a paralyzing seizure. Dantès revives him with a special tincture, and after Faria admits he can no longer escape due to his paralysis, Dantès swears an oath of devotion to stay with him until his death, after which they begin to seal the tunnel beneath the gallery.

Characters

• Dantès / Edmond — Dantès follows Faria into the abbé's cell, examines his self-made writing implements and manuscript, and deduces the identity of his betrayers through logical questioning. He then assists Faria during a violent seizure, revives him with a tincture, and swears an oath never to abandon the dying man, before beginning to seal the escape tunnel.
• Abbé / Faria (the abbé) — Faria reveals his hidden treasures and teaching materials to Dantès, guides him through an investigation that identifies Danglars and Villefort as conspirators, and explains his escape plan. He suffers a seizure that leaves him paralyzed, accepts Dantès’s vow of loyalty, and directs him to block the tunnel before the sentry discovers it.