The character of Montresor, at first glance, is highly ambiguous, but in reality, he is entirely different. Montresor has no reason to deny his guilt; he confesses to his murder. In this revenge upstart, he sees who took the place of a worthy killer. Montresor sees in Fortunato a man who is not worthy of his home in society. Unlike Fortunato, Montresor knows his history and values his family and heritage. At the time of the trial, Montresor is proud of what he did because it was fair in his eyes. After all, the arrogant, rootless upstart got what he deserved. However, as the novel shows, this will alter in the future.
It is unavoidable that Montresor feels compelled to act against Fortunato in order to preserve his family’s honor. Poe devoted a significant portion of the narrative to describe the Montresors. Their notoriety made Montresor “wealthy, respected, revered, [and] beloved,” and they “were a big and numerous family” (Poe, 2022). All of them, however, are historical accounts. Because of the passage of time, Montresor indicates that things have changed. His family has sunk from glory, and he appears to be the one to blame. It is now his responsibility to safeguard his dignity and that of his family by assassinating the guy who has taken his place in society. It is not as simple as Montresor would have his reader believe when he addresses the anonymous “you” at the novel’s start.
Poe has Montresor employ intriguing words to describe Fortunato and himself throughout the novel. He refers to Fortunato as his “buddy” all the time. In most cases, a murderer murders someone they dislike (Poe, 2022). Therefore, this is an unusual choice of diction. Poe demonstrates that Montresor has some unresolved and strange sentiments about his murderous conduct deep within himself by his choice of language. This argument is reinforced in the story’s closing paragraph, where Montresor admits that his “heart grew ill” right before he left the catacombs (Poe, 2022). This is “due to the moisture of the catacombs,” he explains, although there is a delay between “ill” and “on” (Poe, 2022). This pause might be understood as a moment of reflection for Montresor, in which he must remember to keep his genuine sentiments hidden from his reader. The heart is not sickened by damp tombs. This form of disease only arises from one’s conscience when they understand that they have just done something heinous. Montresor’s heart was sick to his stomach because he felt terrible for his unwittingly committed crime.
Revenge’s interpretation is based on the discourse between the two main characters, Montresor and Fortunato, in which Fortunato is uninformed of the power and distinction of Montresor’s predecessors (Poe, 2022). This argument claims that Montresor and his family fear being displaced as nobility by a man who is uninformed of and disdainful to his forefathers. Because he is stopping Montresor from obtaining honor, the reader is made to assume that Fortunato is the enemy. If the audience only read this section of the story, they will come to these conclusions; yet, if readers look at Poe’s work, they notice Montresor’s underlying features.
The Cask of Amontillado is not about a killer seeking vengeance. It is the story of a murderer’s sorrow after more than fifty years of guilt for a heinous crime he was compelled to perform. According to this alternative reading of the event, Montresor sees family honor as his adversary, not Fortunato. This was the motivating factor for his murders. Montresor is a nice guy at heart, but the strain of following in his family’s footsteps of success has corrupted him.
Reference
Poe, E. A. (2022). The cask of Amontillado – original edition(annotated) (Kindle Edition). Amazon.