The Cost of Vengeance

As his schemes unfold, Dantès learns that revenge cannot be aimed precisely. His traps catch innocent people — children, wives, and bystanders who had nothing to do with the original crime. When a young boy dies as a side effect of his plan, Dantès is shaken. He starts to see that the years he spent perfecting his revenge were years he did not spend living his own life.

Perfect revenge, Dumas shows, is a hollow victory. To become the Count, Dantès had to bury the trusting young sailor he used to be. By the time his enemies are destroyed, that innocent man is gone for good. He gets the justice he wanted, yet the person who longed for it no longer exists to enjoy it. The price of revenge was himself.