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I'm a little puzzled about something. When Valentine was poisoned, Monte Cristo didn't care until Max told him he loved her. Then, when Edouard died, Monte Cristo was shaken. Why? Isn't Edouard part of the 'accursed race'? Mme. Saint-Meran, Barrois and Valentine were all victims but Monte Cristo didn't really care. Why did he care with Edouard?
Good question. Perhaps Villefort didn't take it the way Edmond expected. Maybe the fact that Edward was so young. Poison is a painful way to die, so maybe he felt guilty that such a young person had to die in that manner.
That is a very good question, and I shall have to pay more attention to that section the next time I read it which should be in about 3 months.
Is it not a fact that he doens't think about the consequences of his vengeance until he sees that Villefort is absolutely devistated (hope that the spelling is right)?
I also think that it wasn't his aim to kill the son too, as he was born out of a relationship that was formed outside the situation that Edmond was in those 20 years ago: if Villefort hadn't burnt the letter he would never have been able to marry Mlle de Saint-Méran, as she was of a royalist noble family and the letter compromised Villefort's father who was helping Napoléon to escape Elba. Monte Cristo, I think, expected the second wife of Villefort to want to poison Villefort's first mother-in-law, his father, then his daughter, and then Villefort himself so that her son would inherit both the fortunes of the Saint-Mérans and Villeforts. I think that the strategy of Monte Cristo was such that he placed Villefort ultimately for the choice (as he was a procecutor and probably he would finally discover who was the person who poisoned everyone in the house, if not Monte Cristo's vengeance would be ok, because Villefort would dead): either she kills herself or Villefort has to publicly prosecute his wife and he will have lost his honour forever. I don't think it was his aim to kill Edouard because he would have been able to let the child die the first time when he rescued him from his carriage. There he provides the mother (Villefort's second wife) with the poison she will use for everyone in the house. I think he thought that the mother loved her son too dearly to take him with her in death. But this misjudgement costs him so much that he starts to dought what he is doing.
Because of this he will grant Danglars another chance without money. Initially he wants starve him, but evenutally he will try to pardon him for his actions, after Mercédès told him that not vengeance is an art, but that forgiving is. So she is the second who disapproves of what he is doing. (If I'm right about this).