# Gérard de Villefort — The Count of Monte Cristo character guide > Gérard de Villefort in The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Villefort, M. de Villefort, Noirtier **First appearance:** 0005-vi-the-deputy-procureur-du-roi ## Snapshot The deputy prosecutor who buries Dantès in a dungeon to bury his own father's Bonapartist secret, then rises as the law's living statue. ## Who they are He is the magistrate who signs the young sailor away not out of malice but out of cold self-preservation, and who spends the next twenty years converting that one buried act into a career. In society he is impeccable, funereal, and untouchable — a man who appears at balls for a quarter of an hour and never at theatres. He matters because his crime is the most respectable and the most unforgivable, and because the Count's return forces him to reckon with the family he built on top of a lie. ## Relationships ### [Valentine de Villefort](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/valentine_de_villefort) _family_ Villefort is Valentine's cold and ambitious father, whose ruthless actions endanger her life and happiness. ### [Mercédès](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/mercedes) _psychological_ Villefort harbors a secret obsession with Mercédès, stemming from their past and his guilt over Dantès' imprisonment. ### [Edmond Dantès](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/edmond_dantes) _rivalry_ Villefort, as a prosecutor, unjustly condemned Dantès, making him a primary target of the Count's elaborate revenge. ### [Maximilian Morrel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/maximilian_morrel) _rivalry_ Villefort opposes Maximilian's love for his daughter Valentine and actively works to keep them apart through manipulation. ### [Mercédès](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/mercedes) _psychological_ Villefort harbors a secret obsession with Mercédès, stemming from their past and his guilt over Dantès' imprisonment. ### [Valentine de Villefort](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/valentine_de_villefort) _family_ Villefort is Valentine's cold and ambitious father, whose ruthless actions endanger her life and happiness. ### [Edmond Dantès](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/edmond_dantes) _rivalry_ Villefort, as a prosecutor, unjustly condemned Dantès, making him a primary target of the Count's elaborate revenge. ### [Maximilian Morrel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/maximilian_morrel) _rivalry_ Villefort opposes Maximilian's love for his daughter Valentine and actively works to keep them apart through manipulation. ### [Edmond Dantès](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/edmond_dantes) _rivalry_ Villefort, as a prosecutor, unjustly condemned Dantès, making him a primary target of the Count's elaborate revenge. ### [Valentine de Villefort](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/valentine_de_villefort) _family_ Villefort is Valentine's cold and ambitious father, whose ruthless actions endanger her life and happiness. ### [Mercédès](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/mercedes) _psychological_ Villefort harbors a secret obsession with Mercédès, stemming from their past and his guilt over Dantès' imprisonment. ### [Maximilian Morrel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/maximilian_morrel) _rivalry_ Villefort opposes Maximilian's love for his daughter Valentine and actively works to keep them apart through manipulation. ## In the story ### [The Deputy Procureur du Roi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/vi-the-deputy-procureur-du-roi) The deputy procureur du roi, attending his betrothal feast, is called to handle the arrest of Edmond Dantès for Bonapartist conspiracy. ### [VII: The Examination](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/vii-the-examination) Deputy prosecutor who interrogates Dantès; burns the incriminating letter to protect his own political future. ### [VIII: The Château d’If](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/viii-the-ch-teau-d-if) Though not physically present, his broken promise to Dantès is a central source of Dantès' anguish and sense of betrayal. ### [The Evening of the Betrothal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/ix-the-evening-of-the-betrothal) Villefort is tormented by guilt after condemning Dantès, but he suppresses his remorse and proceeds with his ambitious plans to report to the king. ### [The King's Closet at the Tuileries](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/x-the-king-s-closet-at-the-tuileries) Villefort presents his urgent report to the king, detailing the Bonapartist conspiracy he uncovered in Marseilles. ### [The Corsican Ogre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xi-the-corsican-ogre) Villefort is rewarded by the king for his loyalty but is confronted by his father, Noirtier, revealing his conflicted loyalties. ### [Father and Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xii-father-and-son) Villefort is alarmed by his father's visit and the political implications. He reveals he burned a letter from Elba to protect his father and his own career, and he watches Noirtier's disguise with a mix of fear and admiration. ### [The Hundred Days](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xiii-the-hundred-days) Retains his position under Napoleon thanks to his father Noirtier, but delays his marriage. He deliberately preserves a compromising petition against Dantès to ensure his silence. ### [XIV: The Two Prisoners](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xiv-the-two-prisoners) Mentioned as the magistrate who arrested Dantès; he is no longer in Marseilles but has been transferred to Toulouse. ### [Number 34 and Number 27](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xv-number-34-and-number-27) Referenced indirectly through Dantès' memory of the letter Villefort showed him, which fuels his rage and sense of betrayal. ### [XVII: The Abbé’s Chamber](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xvii-the-abb-s-chamber) Revealed as the son of Noirtier, the man to whom the letter was addressed, confirming his betrayal of Dantès. ### [The Prison Register](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xxviii-the-prison-register) His marginal notes and handwriting are identified in the prison register, revealing his role in Dantès' imprisonment. ### [The House at Auteuil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xliii-the-house-at-auteuil) Referred to as the former royal attorney at Nîmes, he is the target of Bertuccio's vengeance and is accused of being a villain. ### [The Vendetta](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xliv-the-vendetta) The king's attorney who refused justice to Bertuccio and is now the target of his vendetta. ### [Ideology](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xlviii-ideology) Visits Monte Cristo to debate philosophy and fate, revealing his pride, his family's tragedy with Noirtier, and his calculated social persona. ### [Pyramus and Thisbe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/li-pyramus-and-thisbe) Referenced as Valentine's stern and indifferent father, whose authority and unchangeable will pose a major obstacle to her happiness. ### [M. Noirtier de Villefort](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lviii-m-noirtier-de-villefort) Leads the conversation with his father, coldly announcing Valentine's engagement to Franz d'Épinay, fully aware of the old man's political hatred for the d'Épinay family. ### [The Will](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lix-the-will) Opposes the will-making process, attempts to challenge Noirtier's mental capacity, and insists on Valentine's marriage to Franz d'Épinay. ### [LX: The Telegraph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lx-the-telegraph) The procureur is distressed over Noirtier's will disinheriting Valentine and is determined to proceed with her marriage to Franz d'Épinay despite his father's opposition. ### [Ghosts](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxii-ghosts) Visibly affected and trembling upon entering, he is identified by Bertuccio as the man he once tried to kill. ### [The Dinner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxiii-the-dinner) Visibly uneasy throughout the dinner and tour; he drinks wine nervously and reacts with livid fear when Monte Cristo describes the red room and hints at a crime. ### [The Beggar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxiv-the-beggar) Signals the departure and offers Madame Danglars a seat in his landau, showing concern for his wife. ### [The Office of the King’s Attorney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxvii-the-office-of-the-king-s-attorney) Meets with Madame Danglars in his office, reveals that the child's body was never buried in the garden, and expresses deep fear of Monte Cristo. ### [The Inquiry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxix-the-inquiry) Orders the investigation into Monte Cristo's past, driven by unease after the Auteuil dinner. ### [Bread and Salt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxxi-bread-and-salt) Arrives to fetch his wife and daughter after the news of M. de Saint-Méran's death. ### [Madame de Saint-Méran](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxxii-madame-de-saint-m-ran) Villefort is deeply unsettled, reflecting on his secret enemies and the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, before being confronted with the sudden death of his father-in-law and the urgent demands of his mother-in-law. ### [The Villefort Family Vault](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxxiv-the-villefort-family-vault) Hosts the funeral and the will reading, attempts to control the situation. ### [A Signed Statement](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxxv-a-signed-statement) Impatient and anxious, he tries to forbid Valentine from understanding Noirtier's communications and paces during the reading. ### [The Lemonade](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxxix-the-lemonade) Arrives during the crisis, calls for the doctor, and is visibly shaken by Barrois's sudden illness. He is unaware of Morrel's presence. ### [The Accusation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxxx-the-accusation) Confronted by d'Avrigny with the accusation that Valentine is the poisoner; he defends her desperately and begs for mercy. ### [LXXXIII: The Hand of God](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxxxiii-the-hand-of-god) Summoned as the king's attorney to witness Caderousse's deposition. ### [The Journey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/lxxxv-the-journey) Mentioned as the procureur actively pursuing the case against Caderousse, having heard of him in Marseilles. ### [Maximilian's Avowal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xciv-maximilian-s-avowal) Panics as Valentine falls ill, rushing to fetch Dr. d'Avrigny and acknowledging his house is accursed. ### [The Law](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xcix-the-law) As king's attorney, he refuses Madame Danglars' plea for clemency, insisting on the full rigor of the law. ### [The Apparition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/c-the-apparition) Villefort visits his father and daughter, and retires to his study at six o'clock. He receives the keys to Valentine's room from the nurse each night. ### [CII: Valentine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/cii-valentine) Grief-stricken upon learning of Valentine's death; buries his head in the bed. ### [Maximilian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/ciii-maximilian) Initially dismissive, but eventually agrees to seek revenge after learning the culprit's identity from Noirtier. ### [Danglars' Signature](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/civ-danglars-signature) Grieving Valentine's death, he immerses himself in work and prepares the accusation against Benedetto. ### [The Judge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/cviii-the-judge) The magistrate prepares for Benedetto's trial and confronts his wife about her murders. ### [CX: The Indictment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/cx-the-indictment) The king's attorney, exposed as Andrea's father and the one who attempted to kill him as an infant. ### [CXI: Expiation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/cxi-expiation) Overcome with guilt and horror after condemning his wife; rushes home to save her and their son, only to find them dead; descends into madness. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/gerard_de_villefort - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters