Archetypes In The Count Of Monte Cristo

Heroes are classified in one of the three archetypes, epic, tragic, or romantic. In the Count of Monte Cristo, the Odyssey, and Thor, the main characters, Edmond Dantes, Odysseus, and Thor respectively, all represent the different types of heroes. Alexandre Dumas, Homer, and Kenneth Branagh all portray their hero’s archetype throughout their pieces of literature. Edmond’s revenge, Odysseus’ travel, and Thor’s battles all make these characters special heroes. Authors create diverse archetypal heroes in literature to show the audience what the world would be like if we had heroes in our lives.
Starting off with The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, which was written in 1844. The main character of the book is Edmond Dantes who was a sailor …show more content…
The main character in the poem is Odysseus, the king of Ithaca. Odysseus has been away from Ithaca for twenty years fighting wars and being lost at sea. He has left his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus back at Ithaca, and he is lonely without them. Homer describes Odysseus as having “Tear on tear brimming in his eyes.” This is showing that Odysseus is very emotional and that he has been away from home for way too long. All Odysseus wants to do is return back to Ithaca to see his family again. The first part of being a romantic hero is being emotional, and Odysseus is very emotional when he is on his own. Also, Odysseus gets a lot of help from magic, primarily the Greek gods. It says, “Athena showered that his distress should end, and soon. In quiet sleep she sealed his cherished eyes.” When Odysseus was suffering through the storm and finally reached safety, Athena helped him relax and fall asleep through all of the chaos that was going on. Another characteristic of being a romantic hero is getting help from magic, and Odysseus got help from Athena as well as some of the other Greek gods. Odysseus also sacrificed his love for Penelope when he went off to war. Before Odysseus went to fight in the Trojan War, he told Penelope that if he doesn’t return by the time Telemachus grows a beard, she can marry someone else. Odysseus was always thinking about his family the whole time, but he was wanted to make sure that he was always happy even if it was without him. Having a personal sacrifice is another part of being a romantic hero, and Odysseus was willing to sacrifice his love for their happiness. One more thing that makes him a romantic hero is that he triumphed over evil. In the Trojan War, he was able to defeat the Trojans and take down Troy. Odysseus always thought about his family when he was doing anything and he was very unselfish which makes him a real romantic