The classic horror short story "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe tells of a man named Montresor, who plots elaborate vengeance on someone he supposes is an enemy. His motivation is summed up in the first sentence: "When he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge." Sane people might possibly want to repay insult, but not with murder. Montresor prepares a far chamber in his family vaults with the tools and materials he needs, makes sure that his servants will be gone from the house, and then comes up with a story about a hidden case of Amontillado, a type of sherry wine, to lure Fortunato to his doom. He knows that Fortunato considers himself a wine connoisseur, would scorn the opinion of Luchresi, and would offer his own services as a tester.
When they meet at the carnival, Montresor converses with Fortunato so skillfully that it is Fortunato's suggestion that they immediately go to the vaults. Montresor cleverly protests, but not too much. At the empty house, Montresor obtains two torches, and he and Fortunato pass through numerous rooms before they come to the archway leading to the vaults and a winding stairway that takes them downward.
At this point, when they have reached the damp ground of the catacombs, Fortunato hesitates. There are three reasons for this. Firstly, he is already drunk. He sways uncomfortably on his feet, and when he looks at his host, Montresor observes that his eyes are "two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication." Fortunato also sees white streaks of niter upon the otherwise dark walls. Montresor calls it "white web-work." This may be creepy-looking, and it is also unhealthy. Finally, Fortunato has a severe fit of coughing that renders him unable to move or speak for several minutes.
Again Montresor pretends to persuade him to retreat. Fortunato would have done well to listen, although by this point it is probably already too late for him to save himself. Instead, he insists on continuing. Even the niter heavy upon the walls and the heaps of skeletons that they pass do not deter him, and finally he is chained up by Montresor and left in the vaults.
In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Fortunato’s initial hesitation lends verisimilitude to the story and prevents Montresor from gaining his victory with unconvincing ease. Most importantly, it gives Montresor the occasion to display his cunning in the use of reverse psychology. Instead of insisting that Fortunato should accompany him and trying to pressure him into doing so, Montresor refers to their mutual acquaintance Luchresi, whose reputation as a connoisseur of wine rivals Fortunato’s own. This appeal to Fortunato’s vanity proves entirely successful, and he insists on proceeding, while Montresor increases his resolution by raising objections.
There is no doubt that Montresor, brooding on his revenge, will have considered the nature of Fortunato’s last thoughts as he dies slowly in the catacombs. The reflection of how easily he could have escaped and how simple it was for Montresor to dupe him into continuing regardless of any objections will only lend additional bitterness to his end. This, of course, will make the revenge all the sweeter and more complete in Montresor’s eyes.
From the beginning of the story, Montresor makes it clear that he considers himself the injured party. We never learn the exact insults and indignities that he so strongly feels Fortunato has imposed on him, but there is no doubt that he wants the reader to know that he is superior to his rival.
Montresor knows the other man well enough to understand his weaknesses and prey upon them. Fortunato cannot resist the fine wine that Montresor offers him. His gluttonous nature is one thing Montresor has counted on—and correctly so.
When they pause partway down, Fortunato has a nasty coughing fit, and his future killer feigns concern. Despite the threat to his health that the damp underground way presents, the man is determined to drink the prized wine. Montresor is again establishing his superiority by showing how well he has anticipated his rival's moves, while the other is clueless as to what Montresor is up to.
After Montresor and Fortunato descend into the catacombs, we see Fortunato hesitate before entering because of a fit of coughing. Poe included this for two reasons. One, it shows the reader Fortunato's weakness, his lungs. Second, it helps foreshadow the ending of the text. By pointing out the "white webwork which gleams from [the] cavern walls" and showing Fortunato's reaction when being around the niter for only a short time, the reader can surmise that further exposure to this mold will contribute to the downfall of Fortunato and is a key part to Montresor's diabolical plan.
Fortunato follows Montresor down a long, winding staircase to the Montresor family catacombs. Fortunato then hesitates for a few minutes before entering into the vaults because the niter on the walls gives him a coughing fit. As Montresor remembers it, the scene unfolds as follows:
"It is farther on," said I; "but observe the white web-work which gleams from these cavern walls."
He turned towards me, and looked into my eves with two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication.
"Nitre?" he asked, at length.
"Nitre," I replied. "How long have you had that cough?"
"Ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh!"
My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minutes.
Poe includes this detail to show how weak Fortunato's lungs are. It is dangerous for him to be breathing the bad air in the catacombs. One can imagine that once Montresor walls him up, he will be coughing; thus suffering terribly, with nobody to hear him or help him.
However, the detail serves an even more diabolical purpose for Poe, for it shows how sadistic Montresor's plan is. Montresor says early on that he wants Fortunato to suffer from the revenge Montresor exacts on him. Montresor has seemingly thought of every detail that will increase his enemy's pain.
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