So I was thinking about manic pixie dream girls, and I'm not sure I agree with this opinion I just formed, but... it's there, and I'll defend it in the interest of a good discussion.

In the Count of Monte Cristo, the Abbe Faria is an elderly priest who Edmund Dantes meets in prison. The Abbe is smart, well-read, principled, disciplined, a long-term thinker, kind, courteous, and all-around just a perfect guy. Over Edmund's years in prison, the Abbe becomes as a father to him, and teaches him all of his knowledge of politics, chemistry, linguistics, astronomy, history, and other assorted sciences.

Now, if a manic pixie dreamgirl is an upbeat, quirky love interest who exists only to spur on the main character's development... The Abbe Faria is coping unreasonably well with imprisonment, is certainly an odd character by his time's standards, even having a reputation among the prison guards as insane, he forms a bond of love with Dantes, and he teaches Dantes to become a better person and then promptly dies, getting out of the way of the plot. These are all of the signature characteristics of a manic pixie dream girl, other than gender.

So... yeah!