The Winners and Losers of Monte Cristo: A "What If" Scenario

This article came about while I was musing about "What If" scenarios. The Count of Monte Cristo is a long book, and most of the characters came through it irrevocably changed, some for better, some for worse.

But "What If" the events in the book did not happen?  Suppose Dantes was arrested, imprisoned, escaped and found the treasure, but chose to forego any revenge, and settled in London, or Florence, or Vienna with his windfall, leaving the chips to fall where they may in Marseilles and Paris?

Interestingly enough, some fates were inevitable. There were characters who already had the means to execute their own schemes and plans, regardless of the existence of the Count! Let's take a closer look!

	Character		Notes on canonical ending	What if book's events did not happen?
1	Edmond Dantes	Winner	Became extremely rich and powerful, with a young wife. Might have to deal with some residual guilt that innocent people were screwed by his revenge plans.	Winner. He'd be living high on the hog, but he'd be alone. And many people would have died, or would be living a far worse fate without his involvement.
2	Monsieur Morrel	Winner	Dead, but died prosperously and in the loving company of his children. Left a decent inheritance to them.	Loser. Would have died by suicide, heavily in debt and in disgrace, with no money to pass on to his children.
3	Baron Danglars	Loser	Bankrupt, name tainted and his entire family gone. He'll need to move to another country with his 50,000 francs and start over.	Winner. Rich and respected, as long as he keeps his speculations in-check. Would still be married, as long as he turns a blind eye to wife's affairs.
4	Louis Dantes	Loser	Dead due to self-starvation over the loss of his only beloved child, Edmond.	Wash. Dead due to self-starvation over the loss of his only beloved child, Edmond.
5	Fernand Mondego	Loser	Dead, and his name tainted all across Europe. His own family disowned him.	Winner. Alive, and undeservedly enjoying the riches and family life that he'd stolen from others.
6	Mercedes Herrera	Loser	Lifetime of weeping and praying and poverty. Feeling guilty over not waiting for Dantes and gave up on life and a future.	Winner. Not truly bad off- still living with Fernand, who, by all accounts, is not a terrible or abusive husband. She can continue to throw parties and balls, as befits a woman of her social status.
7	Caderousse	Loser	Dead. He was murdered by his own slimy partner in an attempt to rob the Count.	Somewhat Winner. Probably still alive, but broke. His inn probably fails, and he and his sickly wife would have to hit the road and live like tramps.
8	Gerard de Villefort	Loser	Reputation in total shambles after being outed as an attempted baby murderer. Went mad after losing his wife and little son.	Winner. Would still be the highly regarded head prosecutor of the King. Would have lost his in-laws, his daughter, Valentine and his father, Noirtier to "mysterious circumstances", but would still have his wife and little boy.
9	Marquis de Saint-Meran	Wash	Dead, via a poisoning scheme by Madame de Villefort to gain an inheritance for her son, Edouard.	Wash. Dead, via a poisoning scheme by Madame de Villefort to gain an inheritance for her son, Edouard.
10	Marquise de Saint-Meran	Wash	Dead, via a poisoning scheme by Madame de Villefort to gain an inheritance for her son, Edouard.	Wash. Dead, via a poisoning scheme by Madame de Villefort to gain an inheritance for her son, Edouard.
11	Renee de Saint-Meran	Wash	Died young, after having her daughter, Valentine.	Wash. Would have died anyway.
12	Noirtier	Winner	Safely camped out in Leghorn and left the Villefort house. Will most likely live with Val and Max in their new home.	Loser. Would be dead, killed in some fashion by Madame de Villefort.
13	Abbe Faria	Winner	His death was inevitable, but at least his last few years was spent in the company of a friend.	Winner. His death was inevitable, but at least his last few years was spent in the company of a friend.
14	Jacopo	Winner	Has his own little ship, and, with the Count's departure, is free to do whatever he wishes as a self-employed captain.	Loser. Would be considerably poorer as a simple crewman on the smuggling ship, the Jeune Amelie.
15	La Carconte	Wash	Killed in a struggle with Johannes the jeweler trying to steal a diamond.	Wash. Would have died anyway- she was weak and sickly, and if the inn business failed, she'd be homeless and on the road with her hubby as tramps.
16	M. de Boville	Wash	Still employed, Managing donations for the hospitals.	Wash. No better or worse off.
17	Julie Morrel Herbault	Winner	Comfortable, and married to her love, Emmanuel Herbault.	Loser. Poor, and single, upset that Emmanuel's family won't allow them to be married.
18	Emmanuel Herbault	Winner	Comfortable, and married to his love, Julie Morrel.	Loser. Unemployed, as Morrel and Son business came crashing down and all its employees would be laid off.
19	Maximilian Morrel	Winner	Rich, and soon to be married to his one true love, Valentine Villefort.	Loser. Still in the French Army, but desperately working hard to support his sister, and pay off the family debts to redeem his father's name.
20	Franz d’Epinay	Wash	Did not marry Valentine. So he's still as wealthy as he ever was, and free to find another bride, and hopefully, a willing one.	Wash. Since Valentine would have died from being poisoned by Madame de Villefort, Franz neither wins nor loses.
21	Ali	Winner	Presumed to be on the Count's yacht to continue to be of service.	Loser. Dead. Would have been executed by the Sultan.
22	Albert de Morcerf	Loser	Signed up for the Spahis and off to war in Algeria. Dangerous occupation, in a land understandably hostile to European colonization.	Winner. Rich, but involuntarily married to Eugenie Danglars. Would probably be spending a lot of time outside the house.
23	Signore Pastrini	Wash	Still running his hotel in Rome.	Wash. No better or worse off.
24	Bertuccio	Winner	Well-paid as the Count's steward. Presumed to be on the Count's yacht to continue to be of service.	Loser. Alone, and probably still doing smuggling stints.
25	Cucumetto	Wash	Killed by Luigi Vampa for trying to kidnap Vampa's girlfriend.	Wash. Same fate.
26	Countess G-	Wash	Wealthy, and quite a socialite.	Wash. No better or worse off. She just has less to gossip about if the Count never existed.
27	Haydee	Winner	Wealthy, and with her father's name and status restored to her. She loves the Count, he loves her, and they sail away together.	Loser. Would have been bought as a wife or concubine for some Sultan. Either way, it's involuntary and she'd have no control over her own life.
28	Peppino	Winner	Alive, pardoned, and joined Luigi Vampa's gang. He'd better not get caught, because the Count isn't around to bail him out a second time.	Loser. Would have been executed in Rome in front of a huge crowd.
29	Luigi Vampa	Winner	Rich. He and his men got 5 million francs from Danglars. Maybe he and his men can retire from the bandit business, to the relief of the locals.	Loser. Still a bandit, and not as rich. Might continue to kidnap and kill (or threaten to kill) people for ransom money.
30	Beauchamp	Wash	Still editing newspapers, but without Albert as a friend.	Wash. Would be a newspaper editor either way.
31	Chateau-Renaud	Wash	Still socializing with his upper-class buddies, if he can avoid his tendencies for walking into danger.	Wash. No better or worse off.
32	Benedetto	Wash	Exposed his father, Villefort, publicly. Still a murderer, but people think he might be spared the noose due to "extenuating circumstances".	Wash. Considering his criminal nature, he'd still be committing crimes, major and minor, and probably would be in prison for something or other.
33	Assunta Bertuccio	Wash	Killed by her foster son Benedetto and his thug friends.	Wash. Same. Killed by her foster son Benedetto and his thug friends.
34	Johannes the jeweler	Loser	Killed in a struggle with La Carconte and Caderousse over a diamond.	Winner. Would still be alive, since he'd have no dealings with Caderousse if there was no diamond.
35	Madame Danglars	Wash	Rich, thanks to speculation, but abandoned by hubby and daughter. She's still attractive, and has the means to live well and find a new lover.	Wash. Rich, and still married to Danglars, with Debray on the side as a lover.
36	Lucien Debray	Wash	Rich, due to stock speculation with Madame Danglars' money. He split from her and paid her. Can always find a new mistress.	Wash. No better or worse off.
37	Madame de Villefort	Loser	Dead. Poisoned by her own hand.	Winner. Would still be alive, and the wife of the King's Prosecutor. Would have gotten away with four murders.
38	Edouard de Villefort	Loser	Dead. Poisoned by his contemptible mother.	Winner. He'd be alive, and the spoiled, overindulged little darling and the only surviving child of Villefort.
39	Valentine de Villefort	Winner	Rich, and soon to be married to her one true love, Maximillian Morrel.	Loser. She'd be dead, poisoned by her evil stepmother.
40	Eugenie Danglars	Winner	Ran away to Italy with her lesbian lover and a comfortable amount of money and jewelry. She's smart and talented and has a new career planned.	Loser. Unhappily married to Albert De Morcerf. Might have clandestine lesbian affairs on the side.
41	Major Cavalcanti	Winner	Received a nice payoff from the Count and squandered it gambling. Back to square one, but at least he had fun while it lasted.	Loser. Would still be impoverished, looking for "get rich quick" opportunities.
42	Telegraph operator	Winner	Retired early with 25,000 francs to buy his own little house and land for gardening.	Loser. Would still be slaving away at the telegraph, with only a pittance for a retirement to look forwards to.
43	Doctor D'Avrigny	Wash	Still a doctor. If he can tend to Villefort's madness, he might be in for a steady job and income for a long time.	Wash. No better or worse off.
44	Louise d’Armilly	Winner	Ran away with Eugenie Danglars to Italy. Talented musician, and future looks bright.	Loser. Far poorer, and still making a living teaching music to rich people's children in Paris.
45	Barrois	Wash	Dead. Poisoned by drinking tainted lemonade.	Wash. Would still be dead, as Madame Villefort would keep trying to kill Noirtier, and Barrois is bound to drink poison eventually.

Conclusion: 

Winners=18. Losers=10. Wash=17. 

Out of the 10 losers, 5 of them were terrible people who would/could do harm to others. Sadly, 5 of the losers were innocent, harmless people caught in a web of bad circumstances. As for Albert and Mercedes, they had ended up in worse circumstances, but it was voluntary on their part, as they had renounced their money and property.