the most part, Edmund Dantes becomes the Bryonic hero, the anti-hero, since his goals are antithetical to the ones of the traditional hero.  For instance, he saves the son of Mme de Villefort so that she will be impressed by the vials of herbs and medicines that the Count of Monte Cristo possesses.  Yet, in his design to have de Villefort destroyed, Monte Cristo cannot allow the innocent Valentine, whom the son of his old employer loves, to be destroyed also.  So, like thedeus ex machina of ancient Greek plays, Monte Cristo intervenes with fate, and in saving Valentine he designs a plan to also save the despairing Maximillian Morrel.

As he completes his plan to destroy his last enemy, Ferdinand, Comte de Morcerf, Monte Cristo has the "glove thrown" by Albert de Morcerf, who challenges the Count because he has insulted his father's character.  Set to sacrifice the son for revenge against the father, Edmund Dantes sees the tears of the mother of Albert, Mercedes, and he spares the life of the son of the woman whom he has continued to love.

Having accomplished his acts of revenge against his enemies, the Count of Monte Cristo/Edmund Dantes experiences a resurrection of the soul of his youth and is able to love Haydee.  He tells her,

'God has sustained me against my enemies and I see now He does not wish me to end my triumph with repentance.  I intended punishing myself, but God has pardoned me! Love me, Haydee!  Who knows?  perhaps your love will help me to forget all I do not wish to remember!'

At the end of the novel, the anti-hero Edmund Dantes/aka/"The Count of Monte Cristo" admonishes Maxmillian,

Live and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget that, until the day comes when God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these words:  Wait and hope!

No stock character, Edmund Dantes of "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a character of naivete who knows that there is evil but chooses to be unaware of it.  In an early chapter, he reponds to Danglars's question, "...are you anticipating trouble?  It seems to me you have everthing you can desire" by saying,

That is just what alarms me....I cannot help thinking it is not man's lot to attain happiness so easily.  Good fortune is like the palaces of the enchamted isles, the gates of which were guarded by dragons.  Happiness could only be obtained by overcoming these dragons, and I, I know not how I have deserved the honour of becoming Mercedes's husband.

Even with this premonition, Dantes does not anticipate the treachery of the three men who are instrumental in his becoming a political prisoner in the Chateau d'If.  There he suffers terribly, but meets the Abbe Faria who, in teaching him logic, leads Dantes to comprehend who his enemies truly are.  At this point, Dantes embraces the evil intention of wreaking revenge upon his enemies if he ever has the opportunity.

Of course, after Dantes escapes and finds the Abbe's treasure, he spends years learning about herbs and poisons  and devising his plan of revenge.  At this point, Dantes is a villain, yet at the same time, he repays the kindness of the shipmaker for whom he worked as a youth.  For, Morrel and his family are in debt, having lost two of his three ships, and Dantes secretly leaves them what they need to pay this debt.

Wrongly, Dantes feels justified in his revenge against Danglars, Ferdnand Mondego (the Count de Morcerf), and Monsieur de Villefort, the three men who were his nemesis even though he continues his acts of kindness to Maxillian Morrel and Valentine de Villefort.  However, he does not count on the consequences of this revenge.  Because her husband Ferdnand has been disgraced, Mercedes, his former fiancee, now leaves Paris and dashes any hopes that Dantes may have had to be with her.

In an act of expiation for his sins, Edmund Dantes, "Count of Monte Cristo" Dantes hopes to avert the suicide of Maxillian.  He brings the young man to a place where his love Valentine is, the young woman whose life Monte Cristo also saved.

He is calling you in his sleep, he to whom ou have entrusted your life is calling you.  Death would have separated you, but by good fortune I was near and I have overcome death!  Valentine, henceforth you must never leave him, for, in order to rejoin you , he courted death.  Without me you would both have died; I give you to one another.  May God give me ccredit for the two lives I have saved!"

Thus, by overcoming death, Dantes redeems himself and does the young people the good turn of saving their lives and teaching them to "Wait and hope."  A young innocent, who through circumstances of fate, is imprisoned and courts evil in his revenge, Edmund Dantes redeems himself later as he prevents other young innocents from losing their lives.  He is no villain, and certainly not a typical hero.

One element of the story that does not fit the usual pattern in some ways, is the fact that at a certain point, Edmond questions his divine (previously assumed) right to revenge for his wrongful imprisonment and the wrongs visited upon him.  Most heros and villains have a very clear and single minded purpose but here it is clear that Dantes doubts himself.  Of course after his visit to the prison, he regains his nerve and commits himself again to the plot.

Another difference is that he doesn't end up with the girl, rather she ends up by herself where she can consider and perhaps repent of the mistakes she made and he moves on with his new life.  Of course in the movie they ruin this little wrinkle!!