All that and that revenge doesn’t get you anywhere. The main character almost ruins the lives of those around him, as well as his own, becoming as evil as those who cast him unjustly into prison, in his search of revenge. Sad as it is he would never had gained an education in that time as a non-noble or rich person in that time period, so that the riches he gains, and actually just living are the best revenge because be does not allow them to ruin or change fundamentally what kind of person he was. Of course getting the children of his adversaries to adore him and hate their evil parents, is a good revenge because in a sense he is cutting the evil parent out of their lives and adding himself as mentor/father figure instead. He is gaining a posterity they stole from him as well. Revenge s pointless and will destroy who you are (or your soul if you prefer). The author has variations of this in at least 2 of his other books "man in the iron mask" and even "the three musketeers" with the theme of revenging the fathers death.
The only thing that comes close for me in a discussion of revenge and consequences of seeking it, in the same time period, Rafael Sabitini's "Scaramouche" a great favorite of mine.
