*opens my mouth* *taps the mic with my teeth* *clears throat* “revenge is bad” is absolutely not a theme in the count of monte cristo (1844)
The theme is “don’t frame Edmond Dantes for treason. If ya do, there’s a 50% chance you’ll die, a 25% chance that (almost) your whole family will die, and a 25% chance you’ll go bankrupt”
to be honest i thought the theme was “italians are intrinsically evil regardless of if they are italian by birth or circumstance”
Alternatively it can also be “an unstable and corrupt government can ruin some innocent citizens’ lives”
Also “french people are overly dramatic all the time for no reason”
(Honestly it feels like the french characters and Italian/”italian” characters are having some sort of unspoken competition on who could be more dramatic)