Character Analysis
Like any good son, Edmond loves his father. Like any good father, the elder Dantès loves his son. It says a lot that, upon his arrival in Marseille, Edmond visits his father before he visits Mercédès. Unfortunately, Old Dantès's kind nature, the very thing that makes him a loving father, proves to be his undoing. He's pretty naive when it comes to dealing with other people: he uses the money Edmond leaves to cover living expenses to pay back Caderousse – and leaves himself to starve. Extremely proud of his son's betrothal to Mercédès, he's also devastated when Edmond is taken away by the police, so devastated that he quickly dies of grief.
When Edmond returns home to find his father dead, his thirst for revenge only increases. As with Abbé Faria, even in death Old Dantès lives on in Edmond's heart.