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| Fortunato (left) and Montresor (Wikimedia) |
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Sorry, Stephen King: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) still reigns as America's all-time greatest horror writer. And we're not just talking "ghost stories," but the horror that lies in the depths of the human soul. Case in point: the 1846 story "The Cask of Amontillado," in which an obviously-mad narrator named Montresor--"my treasure," reminding us of Gollum and his "precious"--takes revenge for some unnamed insult on his inaptly-named "friend," Fortunato ("Lucky").
Yikes.
Note: Items in [square brackets] and the notes were added by yours truly.
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- Read more about "The Cask of Amontillado" at Wikipedia
- Read more stories by Edgar Allan Poe FREE online
A. Montresor's "Problem"
[1] The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled--but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved, precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.
- Fortunato: the name can mean "fortunate" or "lucky"--ironic, as we shall see.
[2] It must be understood, that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.
[3] He had a weak point--this Fortunato--although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine. Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit. For the most part their enthusiasm is adopted to suit the time and opportunity--to practise imposture upon the British and Austrian millionaires. In painting and gemmary, Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack--but in the matter of old wines he was sincere. In this respect I did not differ from him materially: I was skilful in the Italian vintages myself, and bought largely whenever I could.
- millionaires: This word only entered English in the 1820s or 1830s; as the story was publish in 1846, Poe italicized it as a foreign (French) word.
- gemmary: knowledge of jewelry; in other contexts it can mean "jeweler."
- quack: a fake; a charlatan
B. Montresor "takes in" Fortunato
[4] It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much. The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him, that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand.
- carnival: In some places called "Mardi Gras," the last huge celebration before the austere practices of Lent, the season before Easter
- motley: the multicolored clothes worn by a jester; note the bells on his cap, here and later.
[5] I said to him: "My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking to-day! But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts."
- pipe: a large container for liquids or food; especially a vat or cask of wine
- Amontillado: a special kind of sherry (alcoholic drink) originally from Spain
[6] "How?" said he. "Amontillado? A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of the carnival!"
[7] "I have my doubts," I replied; "and I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter. You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain."
[8] "Amontillado!"
[9] "I have my doubts."
[10] "Amontillado!"
[11] "And I must satisfy them."
[12] "Amontillado!"
[13] "As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If any one has a critical turn, it is he. He will tell me--"
[14] "Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry."
- Amontillado from Sherry: Fortunato may be showing his ignorance here; Amontillado is sherry.
[15] "And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own."
[16] "Come, let us go."
[17] "Whither?"
[18] "To your vaults."
[19] "My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive you have an engagement. Luchesi--"
[20] "I have no engagement;--come."
[21] "My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted. The vaults are insufferably damp. They are encrusted with nitre."
- vaults: underground rooms, here for storing the bones of dead ancestors and precious wine
- nitre: or niter," a white substance that grows on cave walls
[22] "Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! You have been imposed upon. And as for Luchesi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado."
[23] Thus speaking, Fortunato possessed himself of my arm. Putting on a mask of black silk, and drawing a roquelaire closely about my person, I suffered him to hurry me to my palazzo.
- roquelaire: or "roquelaure," a long cloak
- palazzo: Italian for "palace." Although the setting is never named, it seems to be in an Italian city, a guess supported by this word. Note that "Montresor" is a French surname meaning "my treasure"; the narrator expresses a low opinion of Italians in [3], though it seems his family has been there a long time.
C. The Descent
[24] There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honor of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned.
[25] I took from their sconces two flambeaux, and giving one to Fortunato, bowed him through several suites of rooms to the archway that led into the vaults. I passed down a long and winding staircase, requesting him to be cautious as he followed. We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together on the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors.
- flambeaux: flaming torches
- Montresors: see the note on "palazzo" at [23]
[26] The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled as he strode.
[27] "The pipe," said he.
[28] "It is farther on," said I; "but observe the white web-work which gleams from these cavern walls."
[29] He turned towards me, and looked into my eyes with two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication.
[30] "Nitre?" he asked, at length.
[31] "Nitre," I replied. "How long have you had that cough?"
[32] "Ugh! ugh! ugh!--ugh! ugh! ugh!--ugh! ugh! ugh!--ugh! ugh! ugh!--ugh! ugh! ugh!"
- Ugh: This is meant to imitate the sound of a cough.
[33] My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minutes.
[34] "It is nothing," he said, at last.
[35] "Come," I said, with decision, "we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchesi--"
[36] "Enough," he said; "the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough."
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| Casks of Amontillado (Wikimedia) |
[37] "True--true," I replied; "and, indeed, I had no intention of alarming you unnecessarily--but you should use all proper caution. A draught of this Medoc will defend us from the damps."
- draught: or "draft," a drink of something
- Medoc: a Bordeaux (French) wine
[38] Here I knocked off the neck of a bottle which I drew from a long row of its fellows that lay upon the mould.
[39] "Drink," I said, presenting him the wine.
[40] He raised it to his lips with a leer. He paused and nodded to me familiarly, while his bells jingled.
[41] "I drink," he said, "to the buried that repose around us."
- the buried: "the people that are buried"; it is mentioned at [25] and later that these are catacombs; bones will show up shortly.
[42] "And I to your long life."
[43] He again took my arm, and we proceeded.
[44] "These vaults," he said, "are extensive."
[45] "The Montresors," I replied, "were a great and numerous family."
[46] "I forget your arms."
- arms: or "coat of arms," a symbolic image containing a family's quest, a representation of their history and/or values. The Montresor arms [47] shows a foot stomping on a snake.
[47] "A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel."
- d'or: "of gold"
[48] "And the motto?"
- motto: a short saying that states someone's belief
[49] "Nemo me impune lacessit."
- Nemo me impune lacessit: "No one attacks me with impunity" or "Anyone who messes with me is gonna get it!"
[50] "Good!" he said.
[51] The wine sparkled in his eyes and the bells jingled. My own fancy grew warm with the Medoc. We had passed through walls of piled bones, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs. I paused again, and this time I made bold to seize Fortunato by an arm above the elbow.
- puncheons: large barrels
[52] "The nitre!" I said: "see, it increases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults. We are below the river's bed. The drops of moisture trickle among the bones. Come, we will go back ere it is too late. Your cough--"
- ere: an old-fashioned word for "before"
[53] "It is nothing," he said; "let us go on. But first, another draught of the Medoc."
[54] I broke and reached him a flagon of De Grâve. He emptied it at a breath. His eyes flashed with a fierce light. He laughed and threw the bottle upwards with a gesticulation I did not understand.
- flagon: like a large pitcher
- De Grâve: a type of wine; also here perhaps a pun, "of [the] grave"
[55] I looked at him in surprise. He repeated the movement--a grotesque one.
[56] "You do not comprehend?" he said.
[57] "Not I," I replied.
[58] "Then you are not of the brotherhood."
[59] "How?"
[60] "You are not of the masons."
- masons: another sick pun. The Masons are a "secret order" and the "gesticulation" in [54] seems to be secret sign. But Montresor is going to be a literal mason (a worker in stone) in a moment.
[61] "Yes, yes," I said, "yes, yes."
[62] "You? Impossible! A mason?"
[63] "A mason," I replied.
[64] "A sign," he said.
[65] "It is this," I answered, producing a trowel from beneath the folds of my roquelaire.
[66] "You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. "But let us proceed to the Amontillado."
[67] "Be it so," I said, replacing the tool beneath the cloak, and again offering him my arm. He leaned upon it heavily. We continued our route in search of the Amontillado. We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame.
D. The killing field
[68] At the most remote end of the crypt there appeared another less spacious. Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris. Three sides of this interior crypt were still ornamented in this manner. From the fourth the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size. Within the wall thus exposed by the displacing of the bones, we perceived a still interior recess, in depth about four feet, in width three, in height six or seven. It seemed to have been constructed for no especial use in itself, but formed merely the interval between two of the colossal supports of the roof of the catacombs, and was backed by one of their circumscribing walls of solid granite.
[69] It was in vain that Fortunato, uplifting his dull torch, endeavored to pry into the depths of the recess. Its termination the feeble light did not enable us to see.
[70] "Proceed," I said; "herein is the Amontillado. As for Luchesi--"
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| The horror! (Wikipedia) |
[71] "He is an ignoramus," interrupted my friend, as he stepped unsteadily forward, while I followed immediately at his heels. In an instant he had reached the extremity of the niche, and finding his progress arrested by the rock, stood stupidly bewildered. A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite. In its surface were two iron staples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally. From one of these depended a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. Withdrawing the key I stepped back from the recess.
- staples: here, metal loops driven into a wall to hold other hardware
- depended: hung
[72] "Pass your hand," I said, "over the wall; you cannot help feeling the nitre. Indeed it is very damp. Once more let me implore you to return. No? Then I must positively leave you. But I must first render you all the little attentions in my power."
[73] "The Amontillado!" ejaculated my friend, not yet recovered from his astonishment.
[74] "True," I replied; "the Amontillado."
[75] As I said these words I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I have before spoken. Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar. With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche.
[76] I had scarcely laid the first tier of my masonry when I discovered that the intoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure worn off. The earliest indication I had of this was a low moaning cry from the depth of the recess. It was not the cry of a drunken man. There was then a long and obstinate silence. I laid the second tier, and the third, and the fourth; and then I heard the furious vibrations of the chain. The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased my labors and sat down upon the bones. When at last the clanking subsided, I resumed the trowel, and finished without interruption the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh tier. The wall was now nearly upon a level with my breast. I again paused, and holding the flambeaux over the mason-work, threw a few feeble rays upon the figure within.
[77] A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back. For a brief moment I hesitated--I trembled. Unsheathing my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess; but the thought of an instant reassured me. I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied. I reapproached the wall. I replied to the yells of him who clamored. I re-echoed--I aided--I surpassed them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the clamorer grew still.
- rapier: a thin, light sword
[78] It was now midnight, and my task was drawing to a close. I had completed the eighth, the ninth, and the tenth tier. I had finished a portion of the last and the eleventh; there remained but a single stone to be fitted and plastered in. I struggled with its weight; I placed it partially in its destined position. But now there came from out the niche a low laugh that erected the hairs upon my head. It was succeeded by a sad voice, which I had difficulty in recognising as that of the noble Fortunato. The voice said--
- erected the hairs upon my head: i.e., "made the hair on my head stand up"
[79] "Ha! ha! ha!--he! he!--a very good joke indeed--an excellent jest. We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo--he! he! he!--over our wine--he! he! he!"
[80] "The Amontillado!" I said.
[81] "He! he! he!--he! he! he!--yes, the Amontillado. But is it not getting late? Will not they be awaiting us at the palazzo, the Lady Fortunato and the rest? Let us be gone."
[82] "Yes," I said, "let us be gone."
[83] "For the love of God, Montressor!"
[84] "Yes," I said, "for the love of God!"
[85] But to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply. I grew impatient. I called aloud--
[86] "Fortunato!"
[87] No answer. I called again--
[88] "Fortunato!"
F. Years later...
[89] No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick--on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make an end of my labor. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!
- In pace requiescat!: We would more commonly use a different word order, requiescat in pace or "R.I.P.," "Rest In Peace."
A. Montresor's "Problem" [1-3]
A man named Montresor was injured many times, then insulted, by another named Fortunato. This was too much, and he now intends to take revenge. Pretending still to be a friend, he will play on Fortunato's vanity--he is a "wine snob"--and convince him that he needs help identifying a large amount of a type of wine, the "Cask of Amontillado" in the title.
B. Montresor "takes in" Fortunato [4-23]
Montresor runs into a clearly-drunk Fortunato one evening during Carnival ("Mardi Gras"), seemingly by accident. Fortunato is wearing the costume of a jester or "fool." Montresor claims he was looking for another man, Luchesi, to solve his problem. Fortunato's pride causes him to insist that he can identify the sherry better than Luchesi. Using reverse psychology, Montresor continues to insist that this is not a good idea. Fortunato is hooked.
C. The Descent [24-67]
The pair goes to Montresor's mansion and, taking two torches, descends into the underground vaults where wine is stored--along with the bodies of Montresor's ancestors. Fortunato exhibits a nasty cough as Montresor points out the nitre growing on the walls, indicating damp. Several times Montresor pretends to turn Fortunato back, but they drink more wine and continue.
There is a discussion of the former importance of Montresor's family and their pride, summed up in their motto which means "No one messes me and gets away with it." They drink more, and Fortunato tries to discover if Montresor is a member of the Masonic order, "the brotherhood." There is a sick joke here, as Montresor plans soon to do some actual masonry, and shows his trowel. They keep going until they reach the destination Montresor had in mind--and it's not a barrel of wine.
D. The killing field [68-70]
A detailed and somewhat confusing description of the end of the path is given, niches within niches, with a pile of bones nearby.
E. The trap is sprung [71-88]
Montresor tricks Fortunato into stepping inside the furthest-back niche, where he quickly chains him to the back wall. He moves the pile of bones to reveal building materials--mortar and stone--and begins to build a wall at the front of the niche, using the trowel he had brought with him.
Fortunato sobers up, and Montresor relishes his panic, even sitting down at one point to listen to him rattling his chains in a panicked attempt to escape. As he nears the top tier of the wall, he holds up the torch to observe Fortunato's misery, and pokes at Fortunato with his sword.
As midnight approaches, Montresor finishes his task and hears Fortunato speculating that this is surely a joke--ha, ha, ha, very funny, now let me out--and then a final cry of despair, followed by silence.
F. Years later... [89]
The work is finished. As Montresor looks back from 50 years later, he is happy to note that he has never been caught.
- What sort of injuries and insult could drive a man to such an extreme revenge? [1]
- Is it true that "A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser" etc.? That is, if the one who takes revenge is punished as well, does that mean the revenge was useless? [1]
- Likewise, is it true that "the avenger" must "make himself felt as such" to the offending party, and not take revenge anonymously? [1]
- Is Fortunato lucky, as his name implies? Or, at least, was he before? [1]
- What is Fortunato's "weak point"? How does this contribute to his predicament? [3]
- Is the time (Carnival) important to the story? Why or why not? [4]
- Does Montresor truly run into Fortunato "by accident"? How can we know? [4]
- How does Fortunato's costume contribute to the story?
- Note how Montresor goads Fortunato in [15]. What are some other examples?
- Why does Montresor change his tack from "you're busy" to "the vaults are cold and damp" to discourage Fortunato? [21]
- Why does Montresor put on a mask? [23]
- How does Montresor's manipulation of the servants help us understand how he works Fortunato? [24]
- Why did Poe give the narrator a name that means "My treasure"? [25]
- Why does Poe make the narrator someone of French (non-Italian) descent? [25]
- Why does Fortunato insist that his cough "is nothing"? [34]
- What is the irony of Montresor's "True--true," when Fortunato says, "I shall not die of a cough"? [36]
- Why is it important that "The Montresors... were a great and numerous family," past tense? [45]
- Is anything implied by Fortunato's forgetting the Montresor coat of arms? [46]
- How does the image in the coat of arms (along with the motto) reinforce Montresor's mission? [47, 49]
- Why does Fortunato judge the Montresor coat of arms to be "Good"? [50]
- Why does Montresor keep emphasizing the presence of the nitre? [52 and elsewhere]
- Why does Fortunato choose that particular moment to test whether Montresor is a Mason? [54 and following]
- Why dies Montresor insist that he is "of the masons"? [61]
- Why did Fortunato "recoil" at the site of Montresor's trowel? [66]
- It seems the description of the niche is confused: "Three sides of this interior crypt were still ornamented [with bones]. From the fourth the bones had been thrown down... Within the wall thus exposed by the displacing of the bones, we perceived..." etc. If three walls were still "ornamented" with bones, and the fourth (back) wall was "exposed," that's four walls. How would they get in? [68]
- Why does Fortunato suddenly declare that Luchesi is "an ignoramus," a very ungentleman-like thing to say? [71]
- Why does Montresor say, "Once more let me implore you to return," after he has already chained Fortunato to the wall? [72]
- Why does Fortunato call out, "The Amontillado!" after he has already been chained? [73]
- What can we learn from the fact that the pile of bones conceals "a quantity of building stone and mortar"? [75]
- How could Montresor know that Fortunato's "low moaning cry was "not the cry of a drunken man"? [76]
- Why would a "succession of loud and shrill screams" which seemed to "thrust [Montresor] violently back" cause him to pull out his sword? What was he trying to achieve with it? [77]
- Is it significant that Montresor completes his task at "midnight"? [78]
- Why does Fortunato's "low laugh" cause Montresor's hair to stand on end? [78]
- What do you make of Fortunato's attempt to pass the whole thing off as a joke? [79]
- Why does Montresor say, "let us be gone"? [82]
- Why does Montresor grow impatient when Fortunato stops answering him? [85]
- Is Fortunato alive as Montresor leaves? How do we know? [89]
- How do you feel about Montresor getting away with such a horrible act? [89]
- Is Montresor's In pace requiescat!" meant to be ironic? How can we tell? [89]
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