The protagonist of the novel, Edmond, first appears as a strong and intelligent young man of 19 who is preparing to be promoted to captain of a ship and marry his fiancée, Mercédès. Instead, he finds himself a prisoner in solitary confinement with no prospect of release. His mental health declines, and he later attempts suicide by starvation. After he is befriended by Faria, he gains the education and the fortune that will allow him to reinvent himself as the Count of Monte Cristo once he escapes.

Edmond’s escape constitutes a symbolic death and rebirth, after which he is free to craft a new identity. As the Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond appears as an almost superhuman figure. He is fluent in numerous languages, has traveled widely, and knows the customs of many countries, including their means of execution, and is an expert swordsman and shot. He has reduced his need for food and sleep to almost nothing. The characters around him speak of him as an angel or as someone who has sold his soul to the devil, and Monte Cristo himself speaks of his single-minded quest for vengeance in theological terms, saying that he has made himself into an instrument of fate, even likening himself to Christ.