Two words - Wait and Hope

When I was growing up, I remember watching an animated version of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo.  To be honest, the only part that I really remember was when the main protagonist, Edmond Dantès, is locked up in prison and meets his mentor, the Abbé Faria, an Italian priest and polymath who teaches him mathematics, science, theology, arts, literature, philosophy, and languages during the decade or so that they try to dig a tunnel below the prison walls to make their escape.  

Several years ago, I picked up a copy of the book and read it for the first time.  It's a great story with so much more to it than what I had remembered from my childhood.  Over the years, I've watched the different film versions of the book, including the 2002 version starring Jim Caviezel as Dantès, legendary actor Richard Harris as Faria, and Guy Pearce as Fernand Mondego, one of the story's main antagonists.  

During a recent flight home from a trip to London, I watched the 2024 French language version of The Count of Monte Cristo (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo).  I thought the movie was excellent.  While the novel is far too complex to be fully adapted to film, I thought this version came the closest to the story as originally told by Dumas.  

Both the novel and the 2024 film end with a quote that I thought was really important.  I don't want to spoil the story, but at the very end, Dantès looks upon his closest friends and departs with the message that "All human wisdom is contained in these two words - wait and hope."  It's a powerful reminder to all of us that patience, perseverance, and faith are the keys to leading through adversity.