Dantes' stop at Elba sets off the rest of the novel. He stopped in order to exchange letters between his captain and Napoleon, per the request of his dying captain, not knowing that such an exchange was politcally disasterous. When the ship docked, the shipowner made Dantes the new captain of The Phareon, since he had been of service to the dying captain and had guided the ship safely home. Therefore, the stop at Elba initially brought great happiness to Dantes: he was promoted and could then marry Mercedes, since he would be making money. However, because of his promotion, he made others jealous. They used the stop at Elba and the meeting with Napoleon to have Dantes arrested. His initial happiness was crushed at the Chateau D'If.