OK, so it's been forever and a day since I've posted yet another spinstering adventure. The truth is, my life has settled down into a monotonous routine these past several weeks, punctuated by events involving one hundred and fifty yards of silk, 2000-seat auditoriums, interminable meetings, and the ever elusive definition of continuing scholarship.
Exciting, huh?
This semester, in my Intro to Theatre class, I showed my students the recent film version of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO as a good example of modern melodrama. This film makes me laugh every time I see it. Here we have our virtuous protagonist, the young, naive Edmund Dantes, brought down in the prime of his life. The man has everything: he was just made captain of a ship, his sweetheart, the lovely Mercedes, has accepted his marriage proposal, they just got busy with it down on the beach--all is right with the world. And then, Dantes is sent to the prison Chateau D'If, to rot for crimes he didn't commit.
Bummer, dude.
But like in all good melodrama, the virtuous protagonist prevails in the end. In prison, Edmund hooks up with this mentor, Faria, who teaches Edmund to read and write, and also gives him a map to a vast buried treasure. Of course, Edmund escapes the Chateau D'If, finds the treasure, plots his revenge, and then carries out that plot. And, in the big finale, he kills his one-time-best-friend-but-now-arch nemesis Fernand; he reclaims his sweetheart, Mercedes; finds out she only married Fernand because she was preggers (by Edmund, the rascal), and Fernand's son Albert is really his.
Way to go, Edmund.
The end of the movie is my favorite part. The film shows Edmund, Mercedes, their son Albert, and Edmund's wacky pirate sidekick Jacapo on the cliff of the Chateau D'If. Edmund has bought the island prison, thinking he would destroy it. But he has realized, now that he's exacted his revenge and killed Fernand (and gotten away with murder), that he has everything he ever wanted. So, Edmund walks off into the sunset with his happy little family. The final shot of the film is Edmund's prison cell, where over thirteen years of tortured imprisonment, he has carved into the wall (with who knows what implement, but just smile and nod) the phrase: God Will Grant Me Justice.
Hmmm. The moral of the story: Go ahead and take revenge on your enemies, its biblical justice for sure . . . ?
Anyway, I ask my students to write a short, one-page paper on why this film is a good example of melodrama, and I'm glad I did it. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have learned the following (and I'm quoting directly, verbatim):
All these elements make "The Count of Monte Cristo" a story with distinct traits of melodrama. This film is a great example of melodrama because it uses these examples without making the story overdramatic and without creating bathos.
Hmmm.
It's good to know that the movie has distinct traits of melodrama and not any of those lesser, wishy-washy traits.
I'm also glad to know that overdramatic is one word and not two. Imagine my surprise.
It's also good to know that a great example can use examples. Yeah.
But I must say the observation made about bathos is most astute.
Bathos.
Yes, now that someone's mentioned it, I noted the distinct lack of bathos is this movie. Indeed, that is certainly a characteristic missing in most melodrama. Perhaps I should consult the pond of the gods on this matter. Or would that be overdramatic?
