Story so far
On the fifth of October, Maximilian Morrel lands on the Island of Monte Cristo resolved to die, greeting the Count of Monte Cristo (Edmond Dantès) with the gladiator's salute, 'he who is about to die salutes you.' Still inconsolable over Valentine de Villefort, he refuses the count's offers of a hundred millions and every earthly enjoyment—'my soul is no longer my own'—and, in the marvellous grotto, swallows the greenish substance from the count's jewelled box to fade away 'while pronouncing Valentine's name.' As the drug takes him and the count rises before him 'in the attitude of an avenging angel,' a door opens and a woman of marvellous beauty appears—Valentine herself, saved by the feigned death the count engineered. Waking an hour later, Maximilian at first despairs to find himself alive and seizes a knife—until Valentine's voice and smile turn his anguish to rapture, and he falls on his knees before her as before a celestial vision. His month of grief ends in the count's promised miracle: the woman he mourned is living, and betrothed to him.
Appearance
A tall young officer of about thirty-one, black-haired and moustached, wan and hollowed by grief, then transfigured with dazzled, disbelieving joy.
Role
The grieving officer brought to die, restored to life and love by the reunion with the living Valentine.
Relationships
Edmond Dantès — His benefactor, who lets him believe he takes poison, then reveals the living Valentine as his final gift.
Valentine de Villefort — His beloved, thought dead, revealed alive on the island and betrothed to him at last.
Sources — 17 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 30
- Morrel's upright soldier son, called home in the crisis, who agrees to live and rebuild the family honor.
Chapter 40
- Grown into a decorated captain of Spahis, Maximilian meets the Count in Paris and is electrified at the name of his family's secret benefactor.
Chapter 50
- Warmly hosting the Count, Maximilian recounts his family's rescue and his father's dying conviction: 'it was Edmond Dantès.'
Chapter 51
- The honorable captain reveals a secret passion: he has turned gardener to court Valentine de Villefort through her garden gate.
Chapter 57
- Maximilian meets Valentine at the gate, dreads Franz's imminent return, and confesses a mystical faith that the Count secretly shapes his fortune.
Chapter 70
- At the Morcerf ball Maximilian exchanges a silent, coded greeting with Valentine across the room before her family is called away by grief.
Chapter 73
- Desperate to stop Valentine's marriage, Maximilian plans to elope, overhears that Saint-Méran was poisoned, and swears to Noirtier to wait for his help.
Chapter 78
- Maximilian learns from a radiant Valentine that Noirtier has broken the marriage; overjoyed, he vows to worship the old man and to wed her at last.
Chapter 79
- Summoned by Noirtier, Maximilian hears the plan that will let him wed Valentine—then watches in horror as old Barrois is poisoned before them.
Chapter 88
- Summoned to the Opera, Maximilian witnesses Albert insult the Count, learns Haydée is Ali Pasha's daughter, and agrees to be his friend's second in the dawn duel.
Chapter 90
- Sleepless with dread, Maximilian seconds the Count, marvels at his deadly aim, begs him to spare Albert—and confides he loves a girl more than his life.
Chapter 94
- Terrified for the dying Valentine, Maximilian races to the Count and at last confesses he loves her—wringing from Monte Cristo a lion's roar of anguish and a vow of hope.
Chapter 103
- Wild with grief over Valentine's body, Maximilian carries Noirtier upstairs, proclaims himself her betrothed, and denounces her murder—vowing to be her avenger.
Chapter 105
- About to shoot himself over Valentine's grave, Maximilian is stopped by the Count—who reveals he is Edmond Dantès, saviour of the Morrels, and wins a month's reprieve on his life.
Chapter 112
- Sunk in apathetic grief, Maximilian follows the Count from Paris to Marseilles, revisiting the quay of his boyhood before going to weep at his father's grave.
Chapter 113
- Grieving at his father's grave, Maximilian hears the Count's veiled tale of still deeper sorrow and renews his oath to come to the Island of Monte Cristo on the fifth of October.
Chapter 117
- Come to the Island of Monte Cristo to die, Maximilian swallows the Count's draught—and wakes from its trance to find Valentine alive and his, restored by the Count's final miracle.