Mademoiselle Eugénie Danglars

Mademoiselle Eugénie Danglars is a young woman whose outward appearance of modest simplicity belies a nature of considerable self-possession and independence. Dressed with elegant restraint in white silk and a single white rose, she moves through the fashionable world with an air of detachment that sets her apart from her more conventionally ambitious peers. Her perfect confidence, evident in her eyes and bearing, suggests a woman secure in her own nature and unswayed by the superficial judgments of society. Eugénie is capable of directness in her speech—she asks questions without the usual feminine circumlocution—and she observes the world around her with a critical, almost sardonic gaze. Though she is the daughter of a wealthy banker and moves in the highest circles of Parisian society, she does not appear to be primarily motivated by the concerns of fashion, marriage, or social advancement that preoccupy many of her contemporaries. Her manner toward the Edmond Dantès / the Count of Monte Cristo of Edmond Dantès / the Count of Monte Cristo Edmond Dantès / the Count of Monte Cristo is neither deferential nor particularly warm; instead, she treats him as an interesting puzzle to be examined. She represents a new type of woman—one capable of thinking for herself and uninterested in performing the role society expects of her sex.