The Teeth of the Tiger · Theme
Inheritance and Greed
How The Teeth of the Tiger develops Inheritance and Greed.
The Mornington inheritance of a hundred million francs is the central prize, motivating a series of murders and manipulations, illustrating how greed corrupts and fuels elaborate criminal schemes.
Where it surfaces
- I: d’Artagnan, Porthos… and Monte Cristo
The entire chapter revolves around the reading of Cosmo Mornington's will, the conditional legacy to Don Luis, and the search for the Roussel heirs, highlighting themes of wealth and entitlement.
- A Man Dead
The Mornington will and the hundred-million-franc inheritance drive the plot, with characters like Caceres attempting to claim it fraudulently.
- IV: The Clouded Turquoise
The motive of the enormous fortune drives suspicion toward Mme. Fauville, as she stands to inherit after the deaths of her husband and stepson.
- XV: The Heir to the Hundred Millions
The Mornington inheritance drives the plot, with Perenna suspected of eliminating heirs to claim the fortune.
- XX: Florence's Secret
The cripple's plan to claim the hundred-million inheritance drives the murder plot and his monologue.