# Policar Morrel — The Count of Monte Cristo character guide

> Policar Morrel in The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** M. Morrel, Morrel, Monsieur Morrel

**First appearance:** 0000-i-marseilles-the-arrival

## Snapshot

The honest shipowner of Marseilles whose kindness to a young sailor becomes the moral anchor of a story full of men who have none.

## Who they are

Morrel is the rare figure in this novel who acts well without calculation: he defends Dantès to the authorities, keeps faith with the old captain's family, and refuses to abandon his creditors even as ruin closes in. His decency is not weakness — it is the standard against which the Count's elaborate revenge can be measured, and the reason the Count can never quite treat him as a pawn. In the early arc, Morrel's fate is the first test of whether Providence, or a mysterious Englishman, will intervene on behalf of the just.

## In the story

### [I: Marseilles—The Arrival](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/i-marseilles-the-arrival)

Shipowner who welcomes Dantès; pleased with the voyage; hints at promoting Dantès to captain; mentions his uncle who served with Napoleon.

### [The Marriage Feast](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/v-the-marriage-feast)

The shipowner who tries to help Dantès and authorizes Danglars to command the Pharaon in his absence.

### [VII: The Examination](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/vii-the-examination)

Shipowner and Dantès' employer; pleads for Dantès' release but is coldly received by Villefort.

### [The Hundred Days](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xiii-the-hundred-days)

The honest shipowner repeatedly petitions for Dantès' release but is placated by Villefort's promises. After Waterloo, he ceases his efforts to avoid self-compromise.

### [The Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xxvii-the-story)

The honest shipowner who interceded for Edmond and supported his father; his red silk purse is exchanged for the diamond.

### [The Prison Register](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xxviii-the-prison-register)

His firm, Morrel & Son, is in financial trouble; his petition for Dantès is found in the register.

### [The House of Morrel & Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xxix-the-house-of-morrel-son)

The head of Morrel & Son, now aged and burdened by financial ruin, anxiously awaits the return of the Pharaon to stave off bankruptcy.

### [The Fifth of September](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/chapters/xxx-the-fifth-of-september)

The shipowner, on the brink of suicide due to financial ruin, is saved by the discovery of a purse and the return of the Pharaon.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_count_of_monte_cristo_se/characters/policar_morrel
- 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