HOLD ON I JUST REALIZED
SO we all know Dumas likes to put some Shakespeare parodies in his books, right??
So Maximilien and Valentine are definitely supposed to be Romeo and Juliet with the whole “oh no she’s dead I’m gonna kill myself” and “oh no a Morrel can never be with a Villefort and vice versa” and “but wait! She isn’t actually dead! She just drank the thing that makes it LOOK like she’s dead!”
And Franz is probably supposed to be Paris then
And we all know that Caderousse’s wife is probably supposed to be Lady Macbeth with the whole “Don’t be a coward, you coward! Just murder the guy already!”
So I guess it’s not that far off to compare Benedetto to Edmund of Gloucester? I mean it works out well, with the whole “and I’m not really responsible for anything I do, it’s not my fault I was born lol sorry dad but maybe take better care of your illegitimate kids next time”
I think Dumas probably put a lot more parallels in there that I just didn’t notice?
Maybe Edouard is that kid from Coriolanus? Idk I never read Coriolanus.
Maybe Fernand is Macbeth?
Maybe Albert is Hamlet? ( “I’m gonna avenge my dad/ my dad’s honor! Yeah!” )
Maybe Heloise is both Goneril and Regan? ( “oh boy if only I’d get that neat inheritance money! Also I’m gonna poison people. And poison myself. )
Maybe Edmond is Macduff? ( “my family/ father was killed/ died because of you , and now I’m gonna return to my homeland and get some revenge.” )
Idk can anyone come up with more parallels? I’m sure there are more
I bet every character is a parody of some Shakespearean character
Fernand reminds me of Othello. Sanguine and passionate military young man who gets pushed to heinous crimes by jealousy and obvious Iago parallel Danglars pushing on his insecurities (including the stereotype that Catalan men are jealous, quick to violence and prideful, and therefore he’s not really a man if he’s not willing to get revenge on Edmond - which does remind me of the way the racial theme in Othello is set up, with the tragedy of racism pushing him to the point he ends up “confirming the stereotype”)
I like this idea. Ok so here’s the list so far of who’s who-
Maximilien- Romeo
Valentine- Juliet
Franz- Paris (?)
Caderousse’s wife- Lady Macbeth
Benedetto- Edmund of Gloucester
Edouard- that one kid from Coriolanus (?)
Fernand- Othello
Danglars- Iago
Albert- Hamlet
Heloise- Goneril/Regan (?)
Edmond- Macduff