Count of Château-Renaud

The Edmond Dantès / the Count of Monte Cristo of Château-Renaud represents old French nobility—his lineage traces back to the Twelve Peers of France, and his ancestors allegedly occupied a place at the legendary Round Table, suggesting ancestry of the deepest antiquity. Despite (or because of) this ancient nobility, he moves comfortably through modern Parisian society, participating in horseback expeditions, social gatherings, and the witty repartee that characterizes the circles of the fashionable elite. He is known as one of the finest riders in France and maintains the physical accomplishments and bearing appropriate to his military and aristocratic rank. Château-Renaud exhibits a certain dry humor and a capacity for skeptical observation regarding the pretensions and scandals of his world. He appears to be a man secure in his position, without need to assert or defend his standing, and therefore capable of viewing both new arrivals like Edmond Dantès / the Count of Monte Cristo Edmond Dantès / the Count of Monte Cristo and the foibles of his peers with a certain philosophical detachment.