Fernand de Morcerf

Fernand Mondego (later Count de Morcerf; pronounced [fɛʁ.nɑ̃ mɔ̃.de.ɡo, kɔ̃t də mɔʁ.sɛʁf]) is a fictional character in the 1844 adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and one of the three main antagonists alongside Baron Danglars and Gérard de Villefort. He is, at the beginning of the novel, a Catalan fisherman in Marseilles who is in love with his cousin, Mercédès Herrera. Due to his jealousy over her engagement to the protagonist Edmond Dantès, Fernand mails the accusation letter that leads to his imprisonment in the Château d'If. After Dantès is incarcerated in the Château d'If, Fernand marries Mercédès and embarks on a military career, serving as a military officer under the Albanian ruler Ali Pasha among other things. He moves to Paris, where he acquires a fortune, the rank of general, and the title of Count de Morcerf, largely through his betrayal and murder of his former employer Ali Pasha. The Count of Monte Cristo causes the unmasking of Fernand's war crimes and treason through the testimony of Ali Pasha's daughter, Haydée, which results in his social ruin, the desertion of his family, and his ultimate suicide.